The preference of 99% of Philippine politicians is to cheat their way into public office with the help of private sector supporters as well as a motley of interest groups that have influence, firepower and money. As a classic example, to win as a town mayor with no ability to read nor write, as an illiterate it will be difficult to win over the voting population in one's town. Thus one has to resort to irregular acts to win in the election.
Another case is to sustain one's firm grip on criminal businesses and thus one must attain to political power to keep the stranglehold on the people in one's locale. The crime boss will use all illegal means to get elected to a political post in his locale and be able to make his criminal enterprise survive and thrive.
These cases are common in the Philippines, as much as one can see the same in countries like those in Asia, Latin America, Africa, even advanced societies like the US, Europe and others.
On the other hand, there is little much of a difference in regard to appointive positions in the Philippine bureaucracy from director level up - posts that mostly are paid for in handsome numbers of reasons.
If the conditions for putting in place a truly effective and modern election management system is impossible, elections in the Philippines will continue to be characterized by manipulation, cheating, fraud, voter disenfranchisement, employment of guns, goons and gold. The Philippines will continue to be led by politicians with no discernible right to occupy positions of import, very little qualifications to make them competent to maintain those positions.
If ever there is hope in changing the landscape of Philippine elections, it will be due to the revamp of the corrupt culture that restricts change from taking place.
The Philippines' electoral reforms will not certainly take place in the election agency and among the workers for political campaigns. It will need to be imposed by the people, by interest groups, by the vital stakeholders of Philippine society upon the public sector, the politicians and future candidates to elective posts.
If modernization happens in the Philippines, it is possible to install a president such as the former Asian lawyer who came from extremely poor circumstances and made it to the Presidency in his home country hands down.
Such as there is now an anti-pork barrel fund campaign in the Philippines, an intense and more powerful campaign should emerge to eradicate the practice of allowing the entry of non-qualified persons into the race for political positions. The same campaign will be able to generate the momentum for election management systems modernization.
Among some of the measures to make this possible are:
- imposing a battery of qualifying national examinations or evaluation procedures for potential political candidates
- strictly controlled physical examinations for detection of substance abuse and to determine the candidate's physical condition
- comprehensive background investigation
- conduct of test for mental and psychological competence to occupy the political position
- full declaration of financial resources to be used for the political campaign
- government subsidy for political campaign of all candidates
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