#AnimatED: The 2016 election challenge

It’s that time of the year when politicians finally take the plunge and file their certificates of candidacy for elective posts – from president down to municipal councilor. After all the hemming and the hawing, the backroom deals and intense courtship, the trial balloons and teaser ads, the people who want to lead us will now have to sign off on a document declaring their intent to run in the May 2016 elections.

Many Filipinos could not be faulted for treating this with a dose of cynicism. 

We have 3 vice presidential bets – Bongbong Marcos, Alan Cayetano, Sonny Trillanes – who couldn’t care less if they had a standard-bearer or a senatorial slate to be campaigning with. Basta, they want to be vice president.

We have a presidential wannabe – once the toast of the town – who’s publicly courted several running mates who have all shunned him. We have an ousted president who spent the past months wheeling and dealing, identifying who could accommodate favors for his jailed son in exchange for his endorsement. We have senatorial bets who prefer to be a common candidate of all parties because, to them, the more, the merrier. Why, we even had someone who almost became a senatorial candidate if not for the hot, gyrating girls he brought to a public event! 

In the provinces, we will again witness the swapping of posts between retiring husbands and pinch-hitting wives, between one political clan to another, between the old and the old, between the feudal lord and the do-gooder businessman.

This week’s hoopla and noise will no doubt make us think that it will be politics as usual in May 2016.

But it won’t be for 3 key reasons.

By 2016, it is estimated that about 65% of Filipino voters would be 40 years or younger. This would make today’s millennials the biggest bloc of voters in the upcoming presidential race. A lot of idealism and youthful energy is fuelling the campaigns right now. And, for the most part, this idealism will extend all the way to election day.

Technology at the voter’s finger tips is the second game changer for this election. In the last 6 years, Filipinos online have shamed erring public officials, put them on their toes, and organized protests to force them to change policies. While the choice in 2016 is personal, its impact is social. We have no doubt that Filipinos will use technology to choose the leader they deserve in 2016. Thus our PHVote challenge – to bring together a million volunteers who will help their community compel candidates to talk about issues, vote with enough information, and protect their votes.

Beyond demographics and social media is a 3rd game changer in this presidential race: the context. Since the ouster of the dictator in 1986, Filipinos have booted out corrupt leaders. They are expected to vote against the corrupt in 2016. But leadership demands more than honesty. It’s a lesson Filipino voters have learned through the years as intractable problems pile up and solutions to them continue to elude the nation.

We hope to begin the election season in true search of the leader we need and deserve. The country navigates a fast-changing world that requires integrity – but also a lot of wisdom, quick-thinking, and courage. – Rappler.com