A smart voter’s checklist

In less than a year it will be time to elect a new government, including the president, Congress, half the Senate, and every mayor, city councilman, and barangay captain in the country. And once again, we’re at a critical point. The people you elect will run the country for the next 6 years, for better or for worse.  

To be honest, the Philippines doesn’t have a great track record in this area. For every position, there are a lot of candidates to choose from, and it’s not easy to tell the good ones from the bad. Running for elected office is a business for some of these people, a business designed to benefit themselves and their families, at your expense. 

Deciding who to vote for can be a real challenge, and many voters allow themselves to be guided by the wrong things like popularity, name recall, or simple gut feeling. If you were electing a high school prom king or judging a beauty contest, that might be enough, but you’re not. You are essentially hiring people to manage your country’s affairs. 

Gut feeling is definitely not the best way to do that. 

What voters need is a way to screen candidates, compare them with each other, and rank them to figure out who really is the best person for the job.

What voters need is a checklist. 

It’s up to each voter to decide for himself what makes a good leader, but I’d like to offer a few suggestions. You’re welcome to add or delete anything you like, or even to create a whole new checklist. What’s important is that you use something more than just “I like this guy”, or worse, “I like his father” to make your decision. 

As you evaluate a candidate, I suggest that you hold him or her to the highest “pass/fail” standard. There is no such thing as “a little bit honest” or “a little bit transparent.”

A candidate either is or isn’t. If he refuses to release one SALN (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth), he isn’t.

As you consider a candidate, mark each item with a ☑ if you’re satisfied with his/her performance for that item, or with an ☒ if you’re not satisfied. The number of check marks will be that candidate’s score. Once you’ve completed the checklist for several candidates, it should be easy to rank them to figure out who really is the best person for the job. 

If you really feel the need to factor in personality or gut feeling, do it after you’ve completed a checklist for all the candidates you’re considering. 

Think of this as a starting point, while we still have time. Over the next few months use this checklist, or one of your own, to see how potential candidates measure up.

Remember, these people are applying for a job, and you are the boss. They’re asking you to trust them with your country, and more importantly, with your tax money. 

And let’s keep the conversation going. Talk about these issues, and about the candidates, with friends and family. Let’s move past personality, popularity, and name recall, and start electing people based on honesty, character, and qualifications. – Rappler.com

Michael Brown is a retired member of the US Air Force, and has lived over 16 years in the Philippines. He writes on English, traffic management, and law enforcement issues. Follow him on Twitter at @M_i_c_h_a_e_l