If we look into the different news headlines, social media issues, and sentiments, majority revolves around the election. At dahil nalalapit na ang 2022 elections, kapansin-pansin din na ang mga kasalukuyang kandidato, maging ang mga nagbabalak tumakbo ay nagkaroon na ng kani-kanilang pamamaraan sa pagkuha ng tiwala at suporta ng taumbayan. Subalit, hindi pa rin dapat malingat ang ating balintataw sa katotohanan na sa huli, ang taumbayan pa rin ang may kapangyarihang magluklok ng kandidato sa susunod na administrasyon. If the people themselves are not fully aware of the power of their votes, all the issues the country has been facing may continue, or worse, madagdagan pa. Ngayon, gaano nga ba ka-importante ang ating mga boto?

Political Sustainment

Kailangan natin tandan na ang pagboto ay hindi lamang para magluklok ng kandidato sa puwesto. Our votes also contribute to maintaining our democratic system as a whole. We are not only electing particular politicians but also validating the political system of our country. Ibig sabihin, votes determine victory, and voter turnout establishes a political system’s legitimacy. And with this, the citizens have the power to choose the state’s survival, development, or extinction as members of the state.

A political system can gain its legitimacy through quantitative means through the electoral process. Though this is insufficient to assure near-absolute legitimacy, it is adequate to allow a plan to establish internal cohesion and legitimize its existence as a power center in our society.

Bilang mga mamamayan, we must acknowledge that our political system establishes the majority’s ability to perpetuate it in terms of ideas and validity through voting. Kung ninanais ng isang mamamayan ang pagbabago, kailangan malaman na maisasakatuparan ito sa pamamagitan ng pagboto.

Fundamental Choices

Having the capability to select a specific candidate coincides with your power to give that candidate the authority to listen, serve, and lead for a better vision for the country. Moreover, having this power helps you contribute to the upholding of the country, especially if the majority elected the rightful leaders.

Kaya naman, importante na kilatisin natin ang mga kandidato, lalong lalo na ang kanilang kapasidad at accountability sa kanilang pamumuno.

Suppose we vote for leaders, for example. In that case, we are more likely to leave public affairs to the winners and return to and remain mostly in our private lives, only occasionally reappearing in the public sphere through direct means like public acts of protest or indirect means like social media and everyday conversations about public affairs.

Sa kabilang dako, we must acknowledge the importance of continuous political participation if we are voting for public servants. Public servants must treat the public in the same way servants do while following orders from their masters.

Lastly, voting for servant-leaders indicates that we desire leaders who will work with us rather than through or for us. To be more specific, kasama nila ang boses at sentiment ng mga mamamayan as they strive for a balance between continual input from their constituents and their managerial capacity, as well as a strategic and long-term view.

Future Holder

With the primary importance of voting, it is the fact that we are the key to what the future political system of the country will look like as years pass by. Sa mga kabataan ngayon na nasa tamang edad na bago mag eleksyon, having the will and power to vote underlies the future of the next generations and the successors of these particular candidates. As you hold this power to select a specific candidate, being knowledgeable on how you will utilize it and how significant the impact it has on the future of the country may benefit you as an individual and the country as a whole.

Oras na para maunawaan natin na ang kakayahan nating bumoto ay may malaking kontribusyon sa hinahangad nating pagbabago. As you have your right to have this power, you decide whether to utilize it or not for the change and betterment of the country and society.

By: Jayvee B. Fortuno