NewsRecord Weekly Publication

Soldier’s Pen   

By BGen. Alexander Cabales (Ret.)

The day after

The smoke of battle has cleared and the dust of combat has settled.  The vanquished are now licking their wounds while the victors are assessing how much their victory has caused them probably in terms of damaged relations and expenses.  They have fought that long hard drawn battle in this democratic exercise we call elections.  This is the morning after and we can now put that thing behind us because it is the time to mend our fences, heal the wounds and prepare for our long march to progress.

San Carlos City is luckier than many parts of the country which were marred by massive vote buying and violence.  Except for instances of mudslinging involving one or two candidates, it was almost devoid of blows that were below the belt. There were no instances of serious election related violence either.  We stuck with political issues and never with personal circumstances except on matters of qualifications. Our local candidates remained as professional as ever and they deserved our congratulations.

The results of the local elections were not surprising because many expected its most possible outcome.  However, during the election fever, a few still ventured into expressing their own choices and betting for a “duck” even if they knew from the very beginning that their candidates of choice had no chance of victory.  This is the real essence of a democracy in progress in our beloved City of San Carlos where everyone is free to choose without fear of possible repercussions.   

The message is now loud and clear.  Giving the administration ticket a fresh mandate meant that the Carlosians are happy with the present dispensation and that they feel that there is no need for “change”.  “Change” in this context is literally used to mean “changing” the present crop of local leaders and legislators.  Let me point out however, that change has several meanings and implications which I used and have amply illustrated in previous articles.  

The losing candidates (the local opposition) despite their routing defeat deserved our appreciation for helping demonstrate the dynamics of a true democracy.  For how can we say that there is a democracy when we stifle opposition?  The opposition group is to be commended in fact for daring to venture into an arena armed only with the strong conviction (moral courage?) that it can slay the Goliath of an opponent.  

Summarizing, the several election related articles published earlier, we can come up with a few valuable lessons if one should ever run for public office.  In order to prepare for “battle” they must first analyze the “battlefield”, its characters, conditions, peculiarities and potentials, among others.  In this case, they need a thorough study of San Carlos City in order to identify the issues the better for them to devise their battle plans and courses of action and equip them with the “armaments” to wage a credible campaign.

If anyone runs on a platform of change, he should be able to convince the electorate that there exist some issues that need to be addressed, that the incumbent officials are either incompetent or insincere in solving these problems and that he is the better alternative than the one presently performing the position that he is aspiring.

San Carlos City is not a Shangri-La where everything is expected to be perfect.  It is therefore, not difficult to find issues that we cannot harp about.  Hence, our incumbent officials only need to be constantly sensitive in order to become aware of these inadequacies.  Situations such as these make change continuously relevant. 

Yet, change may be done from within the system rather change the whole system itself.  Adjustments may be needed; minor changes can be instituted or necessary improvements may be made just to make the system work more efficiently. 

We don’t change a car that is running fairly well just because its headlights are busted.  We can simply change or improve a part of it!  Buying another car may be more risky because it may turn out that you bought something that is worse than what you already have.