Electoral revolution

That was a laudable call made by the Akbayan party-list during the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the people power revolt on Feb. 25. The group that topped the party-list race in 2025 called for an “EDSA-inspired electoral revolution” in 2028 to free the nation from the grip of political dynasties.

“We need to stop the revolving door of authoritarianism and elite plunder,” Akbayan president Rafaela David said at the EDSA rally. “If 1986 was about reclaiming our democracy, 2028 must be about reclaiming our future.”

In a democracy, elections are the ultimate expressions of people power. But elections work best when anchored on an informed vote. And there are simply too many voters in this country who can’t think beyond their most basic needs – for food, decent shelter, health care and a regular job or sustainable livelihood.

Politicians have addressed those needs not by empowering the people through significant investments in human resource development or creating an environment conducive to attracting investments that generate decent jobs.

Instead members of the political elite have cultivated life-long dependence on patronage built on state-funded dole-outs for all sorts of needs. Funding for the de-politicized conditional cash transfer was slashed and unconditional cash handouts were instead allocated billions, under programs for which politicians can claim personal credit.

An electoral revolution requires addressing the crisis in Philippine education, the magnitude of which politicians focused on self-enrichment have ignored or have been unable to comprehend.

The disastrous state of Philippine education compounded by widespread, entrenched corruption have turned the country into Asia’s basket case, a regional laggard in nearly all indicators of national progress and human development.

Reversing the slide in the quality of Philippine education will take years. The best that can be done, within this short period before the campaign for 2028 begins in earnest, is to expose the systemic rot, propose viable solutions, and present people who can be picked by voters to implement those solutions.

As of the last official count in July 2024, the population stood at over 112.7 million. Surely there must be Filipinos among those millions who can address the problems, and the seeds of an electoral revolution can be planted.