The Guidon: "Why we need to vote for Noy"

I came across this article as titled above on the online version of The Guidon, official student body organ of the Ateneo de Manila University. What is your take?

Raymond S. Ang
rang@theguidon.com

Reader, I’m going to ask you for a favor.

Okay, correction. I’m begging you for a favor.

On May 10, when you go to your nearest voting precint and place your vote for the Philippine presidency, I need you to vote for Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Cojuangco Aquino, III.
I’m going to be honest. I have never been a big supporter of the Noynoy campaign. It troubles me that two months before the elections, his birthright is still his only defining trait. It bothers me that after years in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, he never really accomplished anything. On top of having a near inscrutable (read: essentially non-existent) platform, his stand on some key issues are questionable. And on top of all that, he isn’t even the most charismatic living member of his nuclear family (that distinction goes to his larger-than-life sister Kris, of course).

I’m not asking you to vote for Noynoy because I think he’s the best, most qualified candidate. He really isn’t, not by a long shot. In my opinion, it’s Gilbert Teodoro, with maybe Dick Gordon in second place. I have a lot of friends with a lot of opinions and while we never seem to agree on who the best candidate is, I think we all agree that objectively speaking, it’s just not Noynoy Aquino.

But the thing is, I’m voting for him anyway. Why am I asking you to vote for Noynoy? I’m asking you to vote for him because of the alternative.

At this point, it’s safe to say that Gordon, Teodoro, the always ineffable Erap Estrada, campaign spitfire Jamby Madrigal, and any other presidentiable are all essentially saling pusa candidates. 2010 has long revealed itself to be a two-man race, a race that some say pits “Good” versus “Evil,” a race between Manny Villar and Noynoy Aquino.

Wherever your non-Villar loyalties lie, you need to vote for Noynoy because a vote for Gordon, Teodoro, Madrigal, and even Estrada (if you’re inclined to do so), is a vote for Villar. If you find yourself seriously considering voting for Teodoro, if you find yourself succumbing to Madrigal’s tenacity, just remember: You are voting for Manny Villar. You are voting for the man whose big philosophical question is whether or not we’ve taken a bath in a sea of trash. You are voting for a man who repeatedly refused to show up at the Senate and face the C5 allegations. You want transparency? You want honestly? Don’t vote for Villar.

For all his weaknesses, for all his perceived incompetencies, a Noynoy victory at least affords this country some dignity. It at least gives us a man with good intentions, someone who actually seems to want this country to thrive. If his being the son of Ninoy and Cory gives us anything, it’s the assurance that he was brought up well, with morals intact.

On my penultimate column for The GUIDON, allow me some self-indulgence. May 4 is my twenty-second birthday. By May 4, I will have undergone Cha-Cha rallies, the Estrada Impeachment trials, EDSA II, EDSA III, “Hello, Garci,” GMA, GMA, and more GMA. Not once have I ever thought of leaving this country despite all this. I always rationalized them as phases our country has to go through and someday, a good leader will lead us out of the grave we’ve dug ourselves into.

If Villar wins, that just might be the final straw, the end of all hope. A Villar win says we never learn. A Villar win says we are hopeless.

So on May 10, we need to vote for our country. We need to vote for Noynoy Aquino.