ls it a sin not to vote for

g Otso yDir.iretso?
\.!Lr/\r. No,
? M.r, it's
o, tL.J not
it1 I!\/L
: R:' 'Pushing its otso Diretso senato- fear of God in him' and supports means pCM simply wants to stop
I'[ : rial candidates, plus reelectionist federalism, on the pCM conten- his agenda.
'*) Sen. Grace Poe and leftist Nery tion ,that the present state of the
$ I colmenares, rhe LP.campaign country is not ieadt ror da.Jir. Atussleof two presidents
c X warns that if the administration's and charter change.,,
Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HnP) slate Bishop Pabillo"said '30 candi- So, if one opposes the president,s
o Sets nine out of l2 Senate seats up dates were eliminated on these initiatiu"r, uot" Ot o Diretso, poe
=
f for grabs, P-resident Rodrigo Duterte two knock-out issues." How that
and Colmenares. lf one suppons
EE can enact fieedom'eroding legisla- cut-off was done isn't explained, them, vote Hnp The election then
tiol and a new Chaner.
-E *, but one surmises that anyone boils down to a contest between
po =
.I -
Duterte could also remove Sen. silent about Duterte's God- and
Leila de Lima, abrogate the Mu- Church-cussing, and supportive
two visions for the philippines,
Duterte,s and Aquino,s.
j tual DefenseTleaty with the United offederalism was out. HnP supporti harsh measures
States, and forge onerous security The final round ofselection was
.! against crime, drugs,. terrorism,
and economic accords with China. based on four criteria: 'Character
rd -, i3i- Oh, and- Speaker Cloria Arroyo, and honor; competence and abili-
and insurgency; swift action on
IilaL 4{ retiring from Congress after three ties; faithfulness to public service;
corrupt oficiais, including presi-
tYt dential appointees; massive infra-
6)3 .- terms as Pampanga lawmaker, could and faithfulness to God, the Con-
seoetary. laws."
structure funded by sweeping tax
- - be named Execurive stitution and the reforms; friendship witn cttin"
B:
-5
q
€E
Then in 2022, the LP scenario Even a seasoqed joumalist
speculates, she can become prime this wdrer, with a decade of Cabinet-
like and less cozy ties with America;
and federalism.
minister if the govemment turns levelgovemance experience on top of The Lp wants to stop bloody
federal-parliamentary with presi- nearly40 years ofmedia work, would police and,military operations,
dential daughter Sara Duterte as be hard-pressed to make a list using while confronting ihina with US
president- Thus, asserts one those weighty criteria.
oppo- backing, And it w-ants to continue
sition online message, 'we might fust compiling and going the preient form ofgovernment. In
as well say goodbye to the Repub- through the research on eich of short, a return to m;ch ofAquino-
lic we hold dear, as we know it.' the 32 shortli$ted candidates, era governance.

How did pGM choose :?:ui'lf;:',"T::i1'l;Htr*:i,n);.0;;:::.'"J":ffTiffJH:

its slate? challenging. US and iis allies, drug and crime
Hence, it is essential in evaluat- syndicates, communist rebels and
With leading prelates backing the ing the PCM's discernment and terrorists hit by Mindanao martial
l0..candidates favored'by the so- selection tp know its members }aw, and segments of the inter-
called People's Choice Movement and their qualifications and data national coirmuniry adhering ro
(PcM), rnany catholics maywon- sources in vetting and choosing western liberal ideais.
der ifit is sinful to pick or support candidates. can pcM or our two But what do FiliDinos want?
other senatoriables. prelates name them, and explain fudgin! frorn ru."yi, ,ort ,..,
It's not..The church Magiste- how exactly they assessed chirac- glai tJ see crime'drop by 25-
.
rium, particularly its social doc- ter, competence, public sewice, i0 p"rcent, after tripling under
trine, upholds subsidiarity, which and fidelity to God and laws? Aquino; i.3 million diug uiers and
respects-every citizen's prerogative one maynote that despite their pushers surrender; and ioverty de-
to vote freely. professional achi6vements, Lp iline by more th"n a quun., sir,..
All are enjoined not to sell hopefuls Romy Macalintal and 2015, to 16 percent nlw.
votes, but choose candidates who chel Diokno were never public china still causes concern, if
advance the common 8ood, with
servants. Then ask why they beat not outrage, but distrust has fallen
adlice from knowledgeable people longtime legislators Pia Cayetano significan-tly. And Charter change,
with solid information, sound and Koko pim€ntel. faiored by only one-third of poll
judgment, and upright intentions. why is colmenares, who backs r€spondents, iould win broider
But bishops and their lay advis- the atheist communist insurgency support depending on provisions
ers like the PCM are not the only aiming to overthrow the duly con-
"the luore piwer and funds
proposed.
source- of good voting counsel. stituted governmEnt, deemed to be ior regions would be wel-
Indeed, they too may be misin- faithful to God and the constiru- comed, alJng wirh measures ro
formed or biased, especially if they tion, more than, say, church-going end dynasty ird moneypolitics.
get their views and information former top cop Bato dela Rosa, so, if Hn'p beats Lp, miybe,
iust
from one partisan camp, or sup- with his decades of law enforce- maybe, it's because people iike
port a partisan agenda. work?
Judging from PCM's purported
' ment peace and order, les, pou.rty, rnor.
one may never know the an- infrastructure and lous, ana tne
criteria forchoosing candidates and swers or the PCM discerners. But chance to vote on i new Charter
the 10 they selected, there could be one can surmise that the Duterte- giving more cash and clour to the

P qe -Aa' :;iJ:iltxxlil"0:oi:'0"*'n'"
backing HnP slate were dropped regions.
in the first PCM winnowing. That That's not a sin either. So, listen
Its first screening excluded and the call to stop nine turerte ro all contending parties andcandi-
anyone "who does not have the allies from entering the Senate dates, and choose wisely on May 13.