Philippine Election 2013: Churches or Religious Leaders Should Refrain from Endorsing or Opposing the Election of Candidates

The Philippine election is just around the corner. Since the country gained independence from the United States, it has been the practice of some churches through their priests or religious leaders to endorse or oppose the election of candidates for public office. At present, some priests of the Catholic Church are endorsing or opposing the election of some senatorial candidates over the Reproductive Health (RH) Law. People are also expecting that within several days the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a minority but strong and solid sect will publicly announce its endorsement of senatorial bets. Members of this sect are known for voting as a bloc during election.

Despite the fact that RH Bill is already a law, the Catholic Church is still fighting against its implementation. It also vows to oppose measures on matters that promote abortion, gay marriage and other social issues. Filipinos look up to their religious leaders for moral guidance and spiritual enrichment. Because of that role the church has been at odds with government leaders who were dictatorial and corrupt. A case in point is the role played by the church in denouncing the Marcos regime for its violations of human rights and other excesses. Most people however are averse of the church interfering on their right of suffrage or of priest engaging in partisan political activity. Partisanship during the election may involve telling the members on whom to vote during the election or telling the voters not to vote for some candidates especially if it is done through the pulpit or publicly through the radio and other media. There is no issue if a religious leader expresses his voting preference in a private and personal forum or in a private conversation with his flock, friends and acquaintances.                                               

The involvement of religious leaders in partisan political acts, and the practice of politicians in seeking the help of a religious leader to boost their candidacy are not good since it may bring about undesirable consequences. Politicians who think that they win because of the help of a church through its leaders will be beholden to them so that they may not make policies or enact laws that are detrimental to the interest of that religious group. In return the religious group may turn a blind eye to the inefficiency or the abuses of the powers that be.

If religious leaders can really make politicians win an election because of their hold on their members, then they are a force to reckon with in the Philippine society. Politicians would not dare to cross their path lest they lost in the election. Under these circumstances said religious leaders can exert its influence or pressure on officials in the important branches of the government which are the legislative, executive and the judiciary. In exchange of their votes and other support, these religious groups can also put their members in high positions in the government because of their power and connections. As a result, the principle of the separation of the church and the state will be undermined because religious leaders can influence the affairs of the government behind the scenes.

To improve the Philippine electoral process, legislators should pass laws prohibiting religious leaders from endorsing or opposing the election of candidates during election or from engaging in activities that are politically partisan. Religious groups which insist to engage in partisan political activities should be stripped of their tax-exempt status.

Can Facebook Help Candidates Win in the May 2013 Philippine Mid-term Election?

With less than a month for the May 13, 2013 Philippine mid-term election, local and national candidates are now in the homestretch of their campaign to win an elective office.

In this election, candidates spend huge amount of effort and money to carry out their activities that include shaking of hands, speaking before a crowd in a public stage and the pasting of posters in places where it is allowed to be done.                                   

The advent of the internet and the availability of social networking service site like Facebook and Twitter have made it possible for new comers and least known candidates to enhance their electoral campaign by the use of said internet sites. Candidates must however adhere to the terms and policies in using site such as Facebook since any violation can result to the banning of their account.                                                                                                                                                                      

A candidate who has an account in Facebook can make his political programs known to his friends and he can also create his own group or join other groups to maximize the number of persons he could interact with. An interesting post or topic can generate many “likes” or comments from friends and other users.

In the local level, the political landscape is usually dominated by incumbent politicians. The unscrupulous ones are wont to keep their position as long as they can because with it comes power and more money. They are derisively called traditional politicians or “trapo” whose greed is hidden in the name of public service.                                                                                                                                                                           

In a society where most of the voters belong to the “D” and “E” classes or the poor and less educated, the results of the election are always swayed in favor of the incumbent and moneyed politicians. Some astute local executives subtly establish a system of political patronage where the poor looks up to them as “benefactor” but all the while exploiting them for their political advantage.  These politicians even go to the extent of buying votes to win an election. As a result, politicians are elected not because of their integrity or competence, but because of their cunning to win election by all means. This flawed political process gives rise to social maladies like the proliferation of political dynasties and corruption because politicians have to recoup what they spent in the election.

The internet with its social networking sites such as Facebook is a tool that can help minimize the excesses of some politicians during a particular period such as election. Users can share to his friends in Facebook a report from other media such as newspapers, and they can also post blogs, photos and videos related to an event. What is good about it is that the access of Facebook is for free.                                                                                                          

Through Facebook people can seek information regarding the qualification and track records of a candidate. A positive or negative report on him can generate favorable or unfavorable perceptions or reactions. Some of the hot topics during this period are on political dynasty and corruption. Some candidates consider the latter issue as a sort of “mudslinging”. However, in a country where corruption is believed to be pervasive, it is a very valid election issue. Candidates should be a fair game to the attack so that they can refute it or clear their name before the public with regards to negative reports or allegations.

Some candidates however downplay the importance of Facebook in influencing the decision of the voters. They say that most of the Facebook users come from the middle income and upper classes of the voting population. And those belonging to classes “D” and “E” who comprised the majority of the voters do not have access of the Internet and therefore have no Facebook account so that the use of the site will only have a minimal effect on the result of the May 13 election especially at the local level. The claim maybe correct since incumbent local candidates who are flooded with negative post and bad comments at Facebook seem to be still widely and warmly received by the people especially the poor.

Facebook alone will not make a candidate win because of the many other factors that are involved in winning an election. But Facebook will certainly be of help to a candidate at the national level because of its wide coverage. At the local level Facebook will also be of help but to

a lesser extent. Local candidates therefore should exert more time and effort to reach out to the poor to win their hearts and minds in this coming May 13, 2013 mid-term election.

The Internet and the Social Media in the 2013 Philippine Election

The advent of the internet has improved the way people get and exchange information. It is also a tool for the dissemination of ideas. Nowadays, more and more people use the internet than other media of communication such as TV, radio and newspapers. As a result, traditional newspapers, magazines and books have lesser number of readers than it used to be because more people prefer to read and research information online.

Internet users can create or establish their own website or blogs where they can share ideas on various issues to others. Because internet communication has a global reach, politicians in the Philippines attempted to curtail freedom of expression from it with a bill called Anti-Cybercrime Law which imposed heavier penalty for libel committed online. However, local journalists, bloggers, civic groups, and the internet users themselves vehemently expressed their opposition to the bill online and on the streets. The resounding protest made the legislators to reconsider the passage of the bill which is now put on hold at the Supreme Court. The public uproar on the Anti-Cybercrime Law is a manifestation of the internet and social media’s relevance in influencing public opinion and government policies.

The RH Law and the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Corona were issues that were intensively discussed in Facebook, Twitter and other social media. The RH Law was opposed by the Catholic Church although majority of its faithful was in favor of it. Renato Corona was convicted by majority of the senators who composed the impeachment court. The RH bill was voted for its approval by legislators who are mostly Catholics. The lawmakers publicly declared that they made their decision based on the merit of the evidences and other relevant matters that were presented by the contending parties on the issues, and that they were not in any way swayed by public opinion in coming up with their conclusion. Nevertheless, the internet and the social media are apparently one of the tools of the legislators and government policy makers to read the pulse of the public. One of the pending issues that the public is clamoring for approval by the president is the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI). It is expected that FOI is a next hot topic in the internet and the social media after the election in May 2013.

When it was founded on February 4, 2004, Facebook and Twitter were sparingly used in the discussion of political and other issues that are of public interest. But since then it has become a popular forum to discuss on issues that affect people’s lives, society and communities.

In the Philippines there are about 33 million Facebook users and 11,713,520 of them belong to the 18-24 year-old category, the age groups which compose the majority of the Filipino voters. Because of their easy access of information, internet users are presumed to be well informed on different issues and on that premise they are also presumed to vote for the right candidates comes election time on May 13, 2013. It is the third election to be held in the Philippine since Facebook was founded in 2004.                                                                                                         

The campaign period of national candidates has started. Relevant issues like corruption, political dynasty, qualification of candidates and their track records and the holding of free and honest election are already discussed online on Facebook and other media. Facebook can be also used as a platform of some candidates to make them and their programs known to the public. Indeed, the Facebook and the internet are some of the forums where voters can select the most deserving candidate to hold elective public office.