In just a few months, the Philippines will once again go through its usual circus of supposedly democratic elections. In all the hemming and hawing, in the brickbats throwing, in the self-righteous posturing of candidates of every stripe and their supporters, one aspect has hardly been considered – what is the moral issue that should guide the Filipino voter?

While most people think that the forthcoming election is merely a political exercise, it is very important to face the fact that the serious challenges in the 2010 elections are not only political, but also clearly and profoundly moral. The Church, no less, has encouraged the Filipino voter to exercise his Christian responsibility to be involved in politics through his conscientious choice of candidates. The power of his vote must be used to demand accountability, transparency, and coherence from the candidates. Our democracy should be firmly founded on a consistent moral framework that will strengthen our society and protect its weakest and most vulnerable members. Thus, an election, although it is a political exercise, also presents a moral choice for the voter as it becomes an opportunity to communicate, through the ballot, the values that one seeks to uphold.

What does the Filipino, as embraced in the Philippine Constitution, stand for? We have a Constitution that definitively states in its Declaration of Principles and State Policies, “the prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people,” and that “the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of human life, liberty, and property and promotion of general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.” (Sections 4 & 5, emphasis mine). Going down further, allow me to quote Sections 11 and 12, which provide for the recognition of the basic tenets of life and freedom (Sections 13 and 14, which define the rights of the youth and women, for purposes of brevity are not quoted here):

• Sec. 11 The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights

• Sec. 12 The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right of duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.

The Principles and Policies as enumerated under the Constitution encompass and recognize the values and aspirations of the Filipino people, and yet too few of us (many legislators and aspiring 2010 candidates included) realize the dignity that our State has given us. We have a Constitution that clearly recognizes that the human person is the end and purpose of every social organization. Implied in this principle is that the State must serve the human person (and not vice-versa), who is made in the image and likeness of God, and that the human person possesses such rights of which he must not be deprived.

The moral underpinning of our Constitution is very clearly articulated.

This coming May, family and life issues will be decided. As our Constitution so emphasizes, the primary moral issue is the value of life: The beginning of which is at conception, and the cradle of life which is marriage. Other issues, such as graft and corruption, the environment, poverty reduction, foreign debt, etc., are issues that gain coherence only when elected and appointed officials respect and protect human life because the human person is at once and always at the center of development.

Do the candidates at this election promise not to kill? Do they respect and guarantee the safety of human life from the moment of conception to natural death? When a candidate declares that he/she is committed to protecting the natural environment, does that include the protection of the endangered human environment in the womb, and guarding the marriage between a man and a woman, which is the only kind of fertile environment where human life will grow? Will an aspiring lawmaker understand that “gender” is not a natural divide between man and woman, and has been imposed on modern thinking by relativist theory? Will a candidate promising reforms in education stand for preventing the poison of sex education in the classroom to children as young as 10 years of age, thus depriving the parents the right to teach their children about responsible sex and that there is a difference between procreation and reproduction (the latter which is only for plants and animals and not rational persons and the former which is unitive and collaborative with God’s plan for humankind) – this on pain of jail or onerous sanction?

We are now in an age of moral relativism. This malady, which afflicts modern man, is no less sickening our people, and endangering the moral fabric of our nation. Consider some of the expressions that are bandied about today: “What’s true for you, may not be true for me.” “All morals are relative, there are no absolute standards for morals and ethics.” “Ethical judgments are a matter of personal opinion.” These, and similar statements which creep into conversations are accepted as if they were truths about which no one could possibly disagree. And if we carefully listen to much of the rhetoric as May 2010 comes closer, one is hard put to distinguish what moral choices are there, as it would seem that what one side considers immoral, the other side considers moral.

Morality, it must be stressed, is not a “hysterical” doctrine of the Catholic Church alone. This is the basic issue that defines our coming electoral exercise. At the May 2010 elections, all responsible thinking voters must uphold our true values (which all Christians and even non-Christians believe in), foremost of which is the value of life and of the family. We need to tell the candidates that we value human dignity, family and life, and the leaders that we want to take us to a better future are those who will protect and safeguard what we value.

merci.suleik@gmail.com