On Political Candidates  :  A Position Paper

I believe that it is beneficial that officials running for national electoral offices have a college education.

I shall define the terms that I used in this statement; Mayors, Governors, Baranggay officials are not included in this “National Electoral Officers.”  Members of the House of Representatives  and Senators are.

I am not saying that a college education is tantamount to good governance. There are so many politicians who “fail” even though they have an extensive college degree, with all the Masters and the Doctorates they obtain. It is not to claim that a college degree is the most substantial pre-requisite to help the country. It also depends on the person’s character and his altruistic desire to help the country. However, many times the best intentions are weakened by the lack of knowledge of what the official is actually getting himself/herself into, no matter how skillful and well-intentioned the person is. Also, I have to point out that a college education is not an assurance that our elected officials will not corrupt our poor people’s money.

But we have to consider that a good college education in fields such as Public Administration, Political Science and Economics and other politics-related courses will provide a candidate with a better, more coherent platform at the very least. Four years of a well-disciplined education will train a soon-to-be public official for public office. He/she will not squabble around his first months trying to figure out what to do with the position he/she has obtained. The bottomline is: He/she would actually have an idea of what to do in  that position.

A politically- related degree provides an academic background for somebody wanting to work in the government. There are common principles and  practices that are taught in these degrees; therefore an education in this area will give an official competitive strength and will allow the official to better understand what he/she is getting himself/herself into.

A formal education is increasingly important. It is almost crucial to a government’s success. A college degree promises advanced knowledge and skills in the interrelated responsibilities of managing and leading a government position. It provides a critical context within which organizations and individuals act to develop well-grounded public policies and management practices.

This is especially true for  the House of Representatives.  A substantial college education is necessary where an elected has to make a law or bill to help our country. Somebody who has a high school degree might have a vision for the country. However, we have to realize that a college degree is a good beginning in understanding the background of that vision, how he/she is going to push forward with the vision that he/she has for our country. A degree also ensures that a candidate has the basic competence in the field of public governance.

By May, the Philippines would have had to elect several new (or old, in cases of re-electionists) people to govern us. It’s the same thing every year. However much we think we’ve changed, we still pretty much vote for the same people: we vote for the most popular. We vote for the people we assume would deliver us from the many things our political system often brings us. And lately, we vote for the more popular television or movie star running for office. But what do they offer when they do not know anything about the positions that they are trying to obtain? (A lot of them do not) Case in point,

The popular movie star turned politician-without a platform is really a sad thing. Many have expressed fear and dislike at the way the entertainment industry has taken over the political scene. Showbiz figures whose main qualification for public office is their popularity, defeating their “more intellectually-engaging, better educated, more capable opponents at the elections.” This should be no surprise, given that we have no real party system, a party system with one ideology, platform, and a program for action and a vision.  Filipino politics is not based on parties or intelligence or good platforms, but on personalities. Hence, the popularity of showbiz personalities.

Yes, we have been entertained. In our country, politics is viewed as the logical next step for movie and TV stars. With the lack of change in the political scene, expect more showbiz types to run for office. We can not say that after the former President Joseph Estrada experience, the voters will stop supporting movie stars.

I have nothing against movie stars running for office, mind you. But I believe that politics is not like the entertainment industry where the most important thing is to entertain. No, political warfare is not about being which person or which “project” will sell or will be voted “Best” (best actor, best actress, best picture); It is about which “project” will actually stand in the long run, which project will reap more benefits for our nation’s citizens.

But the question everyone is asking to candidates without political background and knowledge is “what will they do when they win?” Every candidate speaks of helping, of serving the common good, but what would be the priority of these people who have been dragged into politics without notice just because they are popular? What  do they do about their positions?

Surely, they could have someone who will help them, but isn’t it easier to push someone around when they do not have any idea about what they are doing in their positions in the first place? They could hire someone to think for them, which is in a way the same as saying that these “ghost thinkers” that they hire are really the ones running their offices.

Basically, what I am driving at is that a college education will ensure that someone will have the ability to run his/her office, with his/her own mind, with his/her own noble vision. Four years or so of training will not leave an official clueless on what to do or where to begin in his/her office. An education will also guarantee the citizens that someone knows what he/she is doing.

Diana Alexandra is a Second Year Student of Saint Pedro Poveda College. This was her position paper presented for her English 4 class, in partial fulfillment of the course.