We have been in the midst of poverty for a very long time. We have suffered theft, injustice and manipulation since we have mistakenly elected those clever officials, in a sense that they paid millions to dictate the ballots and to harvest billions in return. This coming 2010 election does Juan dela Cruz already has the power to utter? Are we sure that this is finally our last stand for CHANGE?

Whether it is Noynoy who swore not to steal, or Manny who swam in the river of garbage, changes in our system must always comes to the understanding of every Filipino that everyone of us has the potential to choose to excel and to not suffer from poverty anymore.

Seeing the trend we have been silently keeping, it makes me feel devastated to know that in every average Filipino home, if the couple has 4 children, chances are only one of the four will continue in college, what kind of future will the other 3 will have? and to site another popular example, if the mother is a servant the greater the chances that her children will be in the same shoes too.

Now the purpose of this article is to somehow impart important reminders and precaution on how to vote wisely in this coming 2010 automated election.

I strongly believe that this automation is the first key to at least lessen the chances of manipulation involving our votes. We are assured that the system that will be used for this coming election is hacker proof, meaning computer hackers has no chance of invading the system hence sabotaging the election. Just to site few countries that have been using this system are USA, UK, Canada, Australia and a lot of highly industrialized countries.

Second, is up to the human responsibility. Knowing your candidates is the next step. Watch debates or forums and even go out and be part of the meeting de advance of the candidates. Use your ability to think and judge whether they are saying the truth or not.

Take note of what they are saying, don’t be easily swayed by their sweet words and promises, remember that the future of your children and of your country depends on your ability to criticize and scrutinize each platform.

Thirdly, is be cautious of their campaign strategy, especially those who have been polluting the airwaves with their campaign ads every 4 to 5 minutes, it should be an interesting strategy of why spend millions or even billions of money for the ads in exchange what should be the price in return.

I have read an article from a famous author who has been observing politician’s campaign behavior since Marcos’ regimen; he said on one of his article that the Eagerness to win may not be the same as the Eagerness to serve. That might be true, genuine service to others can be done in our simplest act everyday, now the psychology of politicians is a different story.

We have been tackling this corruption issue since the day I was born, this might sound a little bit overuse now, but the liberation and fate of this country depend solely in the ability of every Filipino to think and observe. You don’t need a degree to do that, you just need a receptive ear and a just mind.