Press Release
May 21, 2009

Gordon echoes cardinal's call for discernment in electing candidates in 2010

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales called on voters to consider three criteria - values, principles and conscience in electing a candidate to government office.

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) echoed the call as he underscored the importance of the results of the May 2010 presidential elections to the country's development as a nation.

"Tama ito. It is important to consider the values, principles and conscience of candidates that we will elect in 2010," he said.

"At the same time, we also have to consider the track record, performance and experience of candidates because this is also a set of qualities that a leader must have in order to lead the country effectively," he added.

Rosales urged voters to carefully discern the stand of candidates on the three criteria as the 2010 elections fast approaches and prospective candidates begin to surface.

Gordon, author of Republic Act (RA) 9369 or the amended Automated Elections System Law, stressed anew that successfully holding a nationwide automated elections next year will get the country out of the political rut it has fallen into.

"We should ensure that election automation happens because it will be a turning point in our democracy. Let us not allow this chance to modernize our democracy to pass us by," he said.

RA 9369, which calls for a nationwide implementation of election automation, will eradicate wholesale cheating that has marred past elections in the country and robbed the people of clean, honest and credible elections.

Gordon, father of election modernization in the Philippines, also underscored the need for presidential debates to give candidates vying for national elective office an avenue to present their platform of governance and their stand national issues; at the same time enable the Filipino electorate to evaluate their qualifications.

He earlier filed Senate Bill 2079, which seeks to mandate major television and radio networks to sponsor at least three national debates among presidential candidates and at least one national debate among vice presidential candidates.

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