LITERATURE Department head Dr. Joselito delos Reyes urged Thomasians to raise their standards in choosing who to vote in the upcoming midterm elections in a voter education forum held Tuesday.
Delos Reyes compared the stringent process of selecting professors to the lax selection of candidates.
“Halimbawa, kami dito sa UST, bago maging propesor, dapat mayroon kaming masters; dapat may maayos kaming moral fiber; dapat may NBI clearance kami na kami ay walang kasong kinakaharap, kung meron man ay dapat tapos na. Ang taas ng standard e, ‘di ba… pero bakit sa pulitiko ang baba ng standard natin?” he said.
Ricky Xavier, leader of a Christian political movement, stressed that voters should choose candidates for their integrity more than their credentials.
“Kailangan may integridad; people of integrity na hindi nila gagamitin ‘yung utak nila para bolahin ‘yung mga tao o ‘yung gagawan ng palusot ‘yung batas […] It’s not their being a lawyer or even a businessman or whatever it is. It is integrity,” he said.
‘Educate our people, get involved’
Delos Reyes also advised students to educate themselves about the country’s politics as election period nears.
“‘Wag lang tayong magsangkot tuwing araw ng eleksyon […] ‘Yung hindi nakikialam ‘yung sinasamantala ng mga kandidatong may maitim na pagkatao kasi madali kayong mapaniwala kasi hindi niyo naman sila nasundan. Sana mag–aral pa. Sana makisangkot pa,” the literature professor said.
Xavier concurred, adding that we “really need to educate more of our people.”
“Many of them vote primarily because popular, nakikita sa TV […] It is not so much because we were not able to choose the right people, but kulang efforts natin. We need help. We need to get people involved,” the lay leader urged the audience.
The forum titled “Dear Undecided Voter, Panahon Para Maging Decided,” was held at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex Auditorium. F CRIS EUGENE T. GIANAN
