For most Filipinos, job creation and livelihood generation should be prioritized by candidates for national and local posts in the May 2025 midterm elections.
That’s according to the latest Pulse Asia survey conducted in the first to second weeks of September, or before the filing of certificates of candidacy by political aspirants.
Over half or 57 percent of 2,400 respondents selected job creation as the most important issue that candidates should include in their platforms. Investment-led economic growth was selected by 44 percent of respondents, followed by fighting corruption at 41 percent.
Other issues cited by survey respondents as desirable goals were quality health care, quality education, peace and order, wider internet access, availability of renewable energy sources and reliable mass transportation.
But nearly everyone, or a total of 91 percent of respondents, said corrupt government officials must be held accountable before our justice system.
The survey asked respondents what they think the benefits of controlling corruption are. More than half said it would increase trust in government, followed by those who said it would improve ordinary lives.
Respondents also wanted, apart from an all-out campaign against corruption, good governance, effective delivery of public services, and efficient utilization of government funds.
On the other hand, asked how corruption affects them, more than half of respondents said it resulted in loss of trust in public officials. Other negative impacts cited by survey respondents included worsening poverty, inefficient social services delivery, abuses by government officials, prevalence of bribery, significant loss of public funds, and non-competitive economy.
What the latest survey results reflect is keen awareness by ordinary Filipinos of current issues and what should be included in the platforms of those who seek positions of power at both the national and local levels.
This should be a wake-up call as well for those wishing to get elected in the May 2025 midterm elections that they must possess not just the minimum requirements for public office enumerated in our Constitution but have a concrete platform of governance, whether they are running for senator, district or party-list representative, or various local positions.
Our voters should go beyond the popularity and name recall of candidates and demand commitment by those seeking public office to good governance and its key attributes, which are transparency and accountability, and for them to take a clear stand against corruption.
