Take Noynoy Aquino. He is the most popular presidential candidate at the moment. Most people take this as an excuse to forego any ‘debate’ on the basis of issues and platforms. Why? Because Noynoy embodies the traditional reality that elections are not won on the basis of platforms and issues.

HOWEVER, I am not necessarily anti-Noynoy. what I am against is how voters seem to think that their role in a democracy ends after they’ve decided on who to vote for.

I beg to differ to that traditional thinking.

I believe that our real role as voters BEGINS when we have chosen our candidate. And for those who have chosen Noynoy, the task of DEMANDING results from him begins. The FIRST STEP in ensuring that Noynoy delivers results is to ensure that he presents us with his PLAN – a plan that answers these questions:

How exactly does he plan to govern us?

How does he envision the Philippines in 2016 as compared to the Philippines of 2010?

What are the specific PLANNED outcomes that we might expect to see after the second Aquino administration?

How does he PLAN to deliver said outcomes?

These are questions we have so far failed to ask Noynoy in a PUBLIC FORUM. We need to raise the bar that represents the way we engage our politicians. We need to ask questions that cannot be answered by mere platitudes and motherhood statements.

As with any real democracy, power resides with the people. But then the NATURE of said power also depends on the NATURE of the way people choose to wield said power.