MANILA, Feb. 6 — Lakas-Kampi-CMD (Christian, Muslim, Democrats) presidential candidate for the May elections Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. is no doubt the youths’ consistent top choice to become the nation’s next chief executive.
In the latest campus mock presidential election conducted at the Holy Angels University in Angeles City in Pampanga, the Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer easily topped the voting among 3,688 students who took part in the mock polls organized by the university student council.
Teodoro netted 1,432 ballots (38.829 percent), outscoring Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP), who received 958 votes (25.976 percent); followed by Senator Manny Villar with 954 (25. 868 percent) and former President Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada with 39 (1.057 percent).
Student Council officials said Teodoro was the runaway winner in the mock polls because majority of the students believe he has a clear-cut program of government and has pledged to focus his presidency on healing the festering political divisions in the country.
"This is a voting trend among the youth who see in Gibo the personification of what they wish for this country to become," said Lakas-Kampi-CMD president and Sarangani Governor Migz Dominguez.
"To the youth, Gibo is tops in intelligence, leadership excellence and the quality and vision of his program of government for our people," he added.
The mock election was held a few days after Teodoro’s campus visit at Holy Angels University, where thousands of students gave him a thunderous ovation after he squarely answered issues from his program to develop the rural areas to whether his sense of "utang na loob" to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would make him politically subservient to her.
"Once you get elected to the presidency, no one can impose on you," said Teodoro. "I will not be running for president if I were only to be a puppet, it is not worth my family’s reputation to do so."
The former Defense secretary said that the concept of "utang na loob" — so ingrained in Filipinos’ social values — demands one to give back good for the good given by the other.
"Anything exceeding that is enslavement, and I am not a slave to anyone," he stressed.
Students proved receptive to Teodoro’s call for them to choose wisely in the May 10 elections by voting based not on a candidate’s popularity but on his leadership and competence to manage and direct the affairs of the country.
"Being popular does not mean that someone is automatically fit to lead a nation," said Teodoro.
Voters, he said, must also consider whether he or she has the "intellectual skill or experience needed for the job," noting that leadership "is not a position but a job."
Teodoro also clarified that the youths’ responsibility does not end with voting for the right leader but continues to include ensuring that their chosen leader would deliver on the reforms promised during the campaign period.
"This action is called political activism. It means that you must also see to it that your leader is able to handle his or her part of the bargain and ensure the working of the democratic process," he said.
Buoyed by the surge of support from students, whose involvement in the presidential campaign is likely to reach historic highs, Dominguez observed a "groundswell of support for Teodoro" that could peak in time for the May presidential elections.
"Make no mistake about it — poll after mock poll in campuses, Teodoro is the runaway winner in a meaningful and significant way," he said.
"Students are asserting and defining good politics and excellent executive leadership, and they see in Teodoro the personification of both," he added.
For several weeks, Teodoro has gone on a campus tour on a wing of hope and change — that it is possible to accelerate economic development leading to national prosperity through a combination of leadership, intelligence, experience and a vision of where to take this country within this decade.
"This presidential campaign is not about fault-finding and finger-pointing or mudslinging," Dominguez said. "It is about raising the bar of leadership and setting the goals based on the Filipinos’ aspirations."
Teodoro, who has been preaching all these, is creating the greatest impact in the minds of the students and the thinking voters who see politics as competent leadership more than popularity, he added. (PNA)
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