The urgency of unity
Published Jun 1, 2022 12:01 am
THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Dr. Jun Ynares
We have just emerged from an exhausting election campaign that was, perhaps, one of the most emotion-ridden we have seen in recent years.
The emotions were largely played out on social media. No, contrary to the perception of many, the emotions did not divide us. The emotions may have caused the isolation of a significant portion of our voting population. The task is not so much to unify but to reintegrate those who may have felt left out in the aftermath of the election results of this year.
In this year’s elections, voters gave the widest margin to the winners in the presidential and vice-presidential race since 1986.
Tabulations showed incoming President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. getting some 58 percent of the nationwide vote. When he won in 2016, President Duterte got 39 percent of total votes cast and counted.
Prior to him, the late President Noynoy Aquino got 42 percent despite the crowded field of aspirants. Before him, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo garnered a little over 39 percent of the votes, winning by a very slim margin of three percent over her closest rival. Former President Joseph Estrada, despite being one of the most popular and beloved political personalities in the country, obtained 39 percent of the vote, beating his closest rival by about 15 percent.
Former President Fidel Ramos also won by a slim margin: 23.5 percent versus 19.7 of his closest rival.
Conclusion: President-elect Marcos, Jr.’s winning margin and number of votes is a record of sorts. Among all those who were elected to the Presidency, he has gotten the biggest number of votes in absolute numbers. He has also registered one of the biggest margins over the closest rival in the polls: a whopping 31 percent.
It is interesting to note that the biggest gap between winner and second-placer in the presidential race was registered by his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., who, in 1981 presidential elections defeated his rival by a margin of nearly 80 percent.
Before this year’s polls, no presidential aspirant ever got a majority vote. Before the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, all presidents since Emilio Aguinaldo won by a majority vote – with the exception of Carlos P. Garcia who managed to win by 41 percent of the total votes.
It is interesting to note that the record number of votes garnered by the winners in the presidential and vice-presidential race was registered despite one of the passionate and emotional campaigns conducted by the supporters Vice President Leni Robredo.
The possible reasons for her loss have already been overly analyzed by many so-called political analysts and commentators. We will not tread into that dangerous territory.
We will instead underscore what the election of the next president and vice-president entails.
What is urgent now is “unity.”
“Unity” has been the call of the incoming president and vice-president during the campaign.
It appears “unity” was what the majority of our electorate felt the country needed most during these times.
“Unity” is more than just an emotional word intended to rally people behind a person or a cause. It is also an important strategy for governance and national survival.
In practical terms, being “united” means we come together to give our support, to lend our collective voices to the national agenda – whether or not one is a fan of the next President or not.
The national agenda is economic and social recovery. We are a country that has been badly battered by the pandemic. We are attempting to get back on our feet, resume our normal lives and get our enterprises going.
The incoming national leadership will have to put measures and policies in place to hasten that recovery. Some of the measures it will take will be painful and may demand sacrifices on our part. We can voice out our displeasure at such steps when they happen, and we must.
At the end of the day, once these steps are fully explained, we will have to rally behind them.
Whatever political colors we wore during the campaign, we are in the same boat whose colors are the national tri-color – the red, white and blue of the Philippine flag.
It appears asking people to “move on” is taboo today. There have been hurt feelings caused by the inflammatory exchange during the campaign. So, we will not ask people in the various parts of our political spectrum to “move on.” The choice to wallow in our hurts or get beyond them is ours and ours alone.
But “move forward” we must.
We must rally behind the incoming national leadership.
Or at least get behind the effort of the next national leadership to get the country moving in the right direction.
(For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)
Dr. Jun Ynares
We have just emerged from an exhausting election campaign that was, perhaps, one of the most emotion-ridden we have seen in recent years.
The emotions were largely played out on social media. No, contrary to the perception of many, the emotions did not divide us. The emotions may have caused the isolation of a significant portion of our voting population. The task is not so much to unify but to reintegrate those who may have felt left out in the aftermath of the election results of this year.
In this year’s elections, voters gave the widest margin to the winners in the presidential and vice-presidential race since 1986.
Tabulations showed incoming President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. getting some 58 percent of the nationwide vote. When he won in 2016, President Duterte got 39 percent of total votes cast and counted.
Prior to him, the late President Noynoy Aquino got 42 percent despite the crowded field of aspirants. Before him, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo garnered a little over 39 percent of the votes, winning by a very slim margin of three percent over her closest rival. Former President Joseph Estrada, despite being one of the most popular and beloved political personalities in the country, obtained 39 percent of the vote, beating his closest rival by about 15 percent.
Former President Fidel Ramos also won by a slim margin: 23.5 percent versus 19.7 of his closest rival.
Conclusion: President-elect Marcos, Jr.’s winning margin and number of votes is a record of sorts. Among all those who were elected to the Presidency, he has gotten the biggest number of votes in absolute numbers. He has also registered one of the biggest margins over the closest rival in the polls: a whopping 31 percent.
It is interesting to note that the biggest gap between winner and second-placer in the presidential race was registered by his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., who, in 1981 presidential elections defeated his rival by a margin of nearly 80 percent.
Before this year’s polls, no presidential aspirant ever got a majority vote. Before the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, all presidents since Emilio Aguinaldo won by a majority vote – with the exception of Carlos P. Garcia who managed to win by 41 percent of the total votes.
It is interesting to note that the record number of votes garnered by the winners in the presidential and vice-presidential race was registered despite one of the passionate and emotional campaigns conducted by the supporters Vice President Leni Robredo.
The possible reasons for her loss have already been overly analyzed by many so-called political analysts and commentators. We will not tread into that dangerous territory.
We will instead underscore what the election of the next president and vice-president entails.
What is urgent now is “unity.”
“Unity” has been the call of the incoming president and vice-president during the campaign.
It appears “unity” was what the majority of our electorate felt the country needed most during these times.
“Unity” is more than just an emotional word intended to rally people behind a person or a cause. It is also an important strategy for governance and national survival.
In practical terms, being “united” means we come together to give our support, to lend our collective voices to the national agenda – whether or not one is a fan of the next President or not.
The national agenda is economic and social recovery. We are a country that has been badly battered by the pandemic. We are attempting to get back on our feet, resume our normal lives and get our enterprises going.
The incoming national leadership will have to put measures and policies in place to hasten that recovery. Some of the measures it will take will be painful and may demand sacrifices on our part. We can voice out our displeasure at such steps when they happen, and we must.
At the end of the day, once these steps are fully explained, we will have to rally behind them.
Whatever political colors we wore during the campaign, we are in the same boat whose colors are the national tri-color – the red, white and blue of the Philippine flag.
It appears asking people to “move on” is taboo today. There have been hurt feelings caused by the inflammatory exchange during the campaign. So, we will not ask people in the various parts of our political spectrum to “move on.” The choice to wallow in our hurts or get beyond them is ours and ours alone.
But “move forward” we must.
We must rally behind the incoming national leadership.
Or at least get behind the effort of the next national leadership to get the country moving in the right direction.
(For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)