Candidates come up with the cleverest ads, come campaign time. Infomercials sprout and crowd TV airtime. Campaign jingles just stick to your head so easily.

Campaign catch phrases suddenly become applicable to every life situation.

Candidates will say anything to win your vote. Yet what matters is if they really mean it.

According to the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), there are five things to look for in a president. He should be: A navigator—able to steer country toward a just and humane society, and intelligent enough to be decisive when faced with complex issues.

A mobilizer - able to build alliances to achieve consensus

A servant leader - who must put the public interest first and work hard to achieve the government’s goal An inspirational leader—able to inspire unity among the people by being a moral leader.

A guardian of national wealth - able to allocate and use the country’s resources properly.

A candidate’s suitability for office is not gauged by how moving their ads can be or how catchy their jingles are.

If we want the right person for the job, we need to make the right choice. Voting is a major step. It is not done on a mere whim or by gut feel. What’s important is to evaluate what the country primarily needs, and what sectors need the most attention. After this, we can size up our candidates—who among them has the right priorities. Intentions are very important, but skills and abilities seal and complete the package.

Get to know more about your candidates. Before rooting for someone or shading the oval in a ballot, make it a point to know who is most suitable for the job. Acquire information on the candidates’ track records, educational and political backgrounds, achievements, priorities, and even about issues they’ve been involved in. It is important that your sources are neutral and unbiased.

Remember, you are the employer! If you’re hiring household help, you’d make sure they are reliable, have a clean record and can deliver the work you expect. You’d want them to serve you— not the other way around. Basically, political candidates are applicants. We have to set high standards before we hire them.

Take time to browse through these websites to learn more about an applicant for a high government position.

1. Political Arena (http://ph.Politicalarena.com/) What’s about: Politicalarena.com is the first socio-political networking site in the country. It is a complete political resource, providing a venue for both candidates and voters of the 2010 Election to interact with one another.

Members can upload photos and videos, and join fora to discuss issues concerning the upcoming elections.

Features: In Politicalarena.com, you are given access to the candidates’ profiles. Each profile features a candidate’s:-Political party -Background information (which includes a short biography, family life, educational and political background) -Answers and viewpoints on issues posted by members. Issues can be about civil rights, labor and employment, justice, national defense, economy and commerce, foreign relations, education, politics, healthcare, youth, environmental issues, and tourism. -Announcements and news -Blogs, photos and videos -List of supporters who are members of the site, and their testimonials about the featured candidate.

Once you register on this site, you can post a question about one of the issues listed above, and a candidate answers from his viewpoint. You can also join a forum about the issues. The site also has features about the upcoming elections, such as the steps for registration and a calendar of events.

Something interesting: It’s like Facebook or Multiply for anything political and about the 2010 elections..

2. Youth Vote Philippines (http://www.youthvotephilippines.com) What’s about: Youthvotephilippines. com is an online resource for everything you need to know about next election’s candidates. It provides information to voters (more specifically the youth) to help them gain an informed decision on Election Day.

Features: In Youthvotephilippines.com, you can take a look at the candidates’ profiles, which include: -Personal information and political affiliations -Educational background -Career in public service -Achievements -Links to other related websites which you can contact and where you can know more about the candidates -Opinions, releases and articles that manifest their positions on issues that pertain to each of the 8 Millennium Goals as set by the United Nations Development Program. (These goals are: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop goal partnership for development.) Something interesting: The articles are culled from different resources on the Web based on keywords. All keywords are the same for every candidate on the same issue.

For more background information on the candidates you can also visit http:// www.dlsu.edu.ph/offices/cosca/2010/index.html, De La Salle University’s database of info about presidential candidates.

Cara Funk

New City has asked permission to use this article as part of our Voters’ Education campaign from the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA) published originally in their booklet Your Vote, Your Country and You: A Primer and Workbook for The Coming Election for the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

Would you like to get an in–depth look at each candidate’s bio, accomplishments and platforms? www.politicalarena.com (above) should be one of your first stops.

A page from the Youth Vote Philippines website reviews the UN Millennium Development Goals and how the presidentiables plan to accomplish them.