We all want good qualities for the next set of public servants, but when we are presented with one, we still choose those with a history of corruption and human rights abuses. I'm slowly losing hope in the Filipino voters. We all want a good government, but we continuously choose thieves.
It's useless to put criteria when we are easily swayed by fake news, emotion appealing promises, and empty platforms.
That's really the reason why I'd like to see the Filipino Hiver reflect on how the choice is made by the individual, by the voter, by a person who affects and at the same time is affected by the election. Mayroon kasing disconnect with how we as a voting population looks at something and makes political decisions. Maybe because our democracy is so young that our "political" brain had not yet matured.
The reason why fact-checking and being aware of how we choose is so important.
Don't, we have only just gotten away from being a colony if we look at the bigger picture of history. And only a generation removed from a dictatorship. What can we expect? Parang baby na nag-aaral pa lang tumayo at maglakad.
I saw an Ambeth Ocampo interview last month about his upcoming book based on the Marcos diaries. It was really interesting how the diaries came to his possession and the many anecdotes he shared about Marcos, Sr. Going back to your point, he was already sowing the seeds of "fake news" even during the start of his presidency in the seventies, so we have been conditioned already, and I don't expect it to be any different soon. But there is something all of us can do. And, that is to fact-check your sources as much as possible.