The electorate must look at the track record, integrity and platform before choosing candidates to support in the May mid-term elections, Quezon City vice mayor Joy Belmonte said on Wednesday.
Belmonte said the people must be reflective in electing their leaders and consider looking into the candidate's personality, and background to assess if they are capable of implementing positive change for their constituents.
“Three things to look into a candidate first, track record. It is important because that will show if a candidate is capable of fulfilling his promises and the deeds he has included in his platforms. Study that, you can easily access it on the internet,” Belmonte said in an interview.
“Second is the personality, you should see if a candidate is a person with integrity, and can fulfill his duty. He should also be accessible and fair to his constituents,” she added.
“Lastly, the platform. The people should see if a candidate's platforms are realistic. And just to help you, here in Quezon City for instance, our city's budget is PHP21.5 billion. Fifty-five percent of that must go to salaries according to our laws. And the amount left from the initial PHP21.5 billion, you do the math (mathematics) to see if the promises can be fulfilled through the remaining budget,” Belmonte said.
She said as a leader, she aims to change the culture of governance so that people can put their trust and confidence in the government, especially in Quezon City.
“It’s difficult to make promises because when the time comes when the people are already expecting the things you promised them, you couldn’t deliver. You can only contribute in the distrust of the people in the government) rather than helping people trust their government more,” Belmonte said. (Perfecto Raymundo, Jr./PNA)
