The masses will once again decide in the upcoming 2022 National Elections on who will be the next elected leaders of our nation. This historical moment can make or break our country. This upcoming election will challenge us as voters on our decision making, critical thinking, and values in choosing a leader for the Philippines.
According to We Need a Leader Website, there are four characteristics that we need to consider in choosing a leader for our country: Brains, Heart, Balls, and Fortitude. According to them, we need a leader that has “brains” because the Presidency in the long run is a tough process. The next president should have a better understanding and capabilities to address problems and have a right solution for the best interest of the nation. Some examples demonstrated by leaders that have brains are those who have realistic and achievable platforms, experts or have wide grasps of knowledge in all aspects of policy making, have a systematic response to all problems and are creative in finding solutions to issues.
The leader should also have “heart.” It means that the next president has empathy and sensitivity to the needs of its constituents to govern effectively and responsibly. By having a heart, the leader will know the simplest form of problems of what a typical Filipino experienced in a day. This will give a leader an appropriate program to address the issues precisely because he or she knew at the beginning what problems might need to be addressed.
The next characteristic is having “balls.” Having “balls” means having strength and courage to face difficult and complicated problems of the country. Regardless of the consequences, the leader that has balls can come up with a solution, even though the majority may feel unease or discomfort, he or she will continue its implementation with strong conviction and righteous interest to the betterment of the nation. One of the examples of this is the problem of insurrection or rebellion, the leader can pacify and bring this to end in a peaceful way without resorting to bloodshed but in a win-win situation to all involve.
Now, the last and similarly important characteristic is Fortitude. This word can be associated with being “strong” in the midst of trials. The leader who has this characteristic can make a quick but consistent decision in present and future challenges of the journey like acting efficiently on calamities, sudden changes on the price of commodities, pandemic, and many more. Leader who has this characteristic can work under pressure and have no second or third thought in their heads in times of decision making, when judgment, appropriate, and quick actions are needed.
In the end, we can use these characteristics to measure the candidates in some election-related scenarios. These may have been a simple and easiest way to dig the candidates deeper on their motives and characteristics in terms of serving our nation. The characteristics may also be visible to one or two candidates but as a voter, we must be critical and demanding in choosing the next leader because our choices can make or break our nation and our fellow citizens’ future.
