POLITICS WITHOUT STRINGS ATTACHED

Chiz Escudero just resigned from the National People's Coalition, and made a strong indictment of political parties in the Philippines. He said that "All the candidates should be accountable to the people and not any political party. It is the people who should decide who should vie for the posts and not any leader of any party." This is a hint that he will run as an independent. This is the same idea that the Peoples' Primaries has been promoting: the people alone shall nominate and vote for the candidates. They do not have to be dictated upon by any political party leader nor by the party itself, but rather by the interests of the Filipino people.

I view with great jubilation in the changes occurring in the political panorama of the country. It means that even a leader like Chiz knows how shabby a treatment a candidate or an applicant for candidacy could receive from the present set-up. Potential candidates will be at their beck and call, waiting for surprise decisions and not knowing the general and specific directions of their future.

This has been long in coming. We need to mature as a political group. We don't have to follow the traditional politics of the past whereby political party leaders would give the final imprimatur on any candidacy. Instead what should be welcomed is anyone who desires and is qualified to serve the people. Given the right qualifications, political party leaders should seek out such people and help them without any strings attached.

Let us bring about more leaders of the kind of Chiz especially that a growing youth vote is massing up -- registering at the last minute -- and knowing that their vote will COUNT.