THE water stops flowing at noon. Again.
A mother in Tagbilaran stares at empty containers, calculating impossible math: how to cook, clean, and bathe her children with what little remains. Across town, a fisherman returns with a half-empty net, unable to venture further because fuel costs would devour his meager catch’s value. Meanwhile, in a neighborhood not far away, parents lock their doors earlier each night as whispers of shabu transactions echo through once-peaceful streets.
This is Bohol today – paradise for tourists, purgatory for those who call it home.
While politicians parade through our barangays with practiced smiles and hollow promises, ordinary Boholanos wage a daily battle against three relentless enemies: crushing living costs that turn paychecks into cruel jokes, drug networks that have adapted rather than disappeared, and water taps that deliver more air than water. These aren’t abstract policy challenges – they are the reasons children go to bed hungry, why communities dissolve in suspicion, and why our brightest youth flee to Cebu, Manila, or abroad.
The uncomfortable truth? We keep choosing the wrong leaders, then act surprised when nothing changes.
The Betrayal We Can No Longer Ignore
Step into any public market across Bohol’s municipalities. Rice that costs ₱50 per kilo in Cebu commands ₱60 here. Fish caught in our own waters sells at prices many locals can’t afford. The electricity that powers our homes costs more than in neighboring provinces with fewer natural resources. This economic strangulation isn’t natural or inevitable – it’s the predictable result of leadership that prioritizes photo opportunities over price stabilization policies.
Our water crisis borders on criminal negligence. How has an island blessed with watersheds, rivers, and abundant rainfall engineered its own thirst? Through decades of officials who approved unchecked resort development without corresponding infrastructure investment, who neglected watershed protection while pocketing conservation funds, who chose ribbon-cutting ceremonies for showy but inadequate projects over comprehensive water security. Now we ration water in an island surrounded by it – the ultimate governance failure.
Perhaps most heartbreaking is the continued shadow of drugs across our communities. The dealers have simply grown more sophisticated, the networks more resilient. Visit any public high school and ask teachers about students whose potential dissolves in addiction. Ask police officers – privately, when no supervisors are listening – whether drug trade has actually diminished or merely shifted form. The truth contradicts the press releases, while rehabilitation services remain virtually nonexistent for families desperate to save their loved ones.
The scripture speaks with uncomfortable clarity: “I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked” (Psalm 26:4-5). Yet how many times have we chosen leaders whose personal histories mock these very principles? How often have we elevated those who purchase our votes with ₱500 today, only to steal millions from us tomorrow?
The Leaders Who Could Actually Transform Bohol
Real solutions exist for every crisis facing our province. What’s missing isn’t possibilities but leadership with both the capability and character to implement them.
The candidates worthy of your vote won’t merely promise change – they’ll articulate exactly how they’ll achieve it. They’ll present specific plans for controlling basic commodity prices: enhancing local production through targeted agricultural support, breaking up artificial monopolies that inflate prices, investing in transportation infrastructure to reduce distribution costs. Their platforms on water security won’t just promise “better management” but will detail watershed protection initiatives, infrastructure development timelines, and conservation strategies with measurable targets. Their anti-drug approaches will balance necessary enforcement with rehabilitation programs that recognize addiction as both a crime and a health crisis.
Beyond platforms, examine character mercilessly. When previously entrusted with resources – even modest ones – did this person demonstrate transparency or secrecy? Have they maintained genuine accessibility to ordinary citizens, or do they travel with an entourage that shields them from unscripted encounters? Have they ever taken unpopular but necessary stands, or do they simply follow prevailing winds? Do they own assets that far exceed their legitimate income sources?
The most revealing test: Has the candidate consistently chosen community welfare over personal advantage? Those who have abused power in small matters will inevitably do so in larger ones. Those who’ve treated previous positions as personal fiefdoms rather than public trusts have already shown you who they are – believe them.
The Choice That Defines Us
Vote-buying thrives because it exploits immediate hunger against future welfare. That ₱1,000 envelope addresses today’s empty rice pot while guaranteeing tomorrow’s will remain empty. The cycle is mathematically inescapable: those who spend millions buying power must recover their “investment” – with interest. Each time we surrender our votes for cash, we authorize theft from our community’s future.
The wisdom in Psalm 26 transcends religious boundaries, offering practical governance truth: communities that elevate deceitful and wicked leaders inevitably suffer under their rule. Every peso diverted from public coffers represents medicine not purchased for rural health units, water pipes not laid, teachers not hired. Corruption isn’t abstract – its victims include the elderly who die from treatable conditions, children who develop preventable diseases from contaminated water, and communities living in fear because police protection follows money rather than need.
True discernment requires effort but not expertise. Attend public forums with specific questions: “What exact steps will you take to reduce rice prices in your first 100 days?” “Which watersheds will you protect first, and how?” “What percentage of your anti-drug budget will go to rehabilitation versus enforcement?” Demand details, not slogans. Research past performance – not promises. Discuss candidates with neighbors whose judgment you respect, particularly those who have nothing to gain from the outcome. And yes, pray for wisdom to see beyond charisma to character.
The Crossroads We Cannot Avoid
Bohol stands at a moment that will echo through generations. The leaders we select now will determine whether our children inherit paradise restored or paradise lost. Will they drink clean water or fight over increasingly scarce supplies? Will they build futures here or be forced to seek opportunity elsewhere? Will they walk streets without fear, or behind locked doors?
The change begins not in government offices but in our mirrors. By refusing to consort with the deceitful, by rejecting those who have demonstrated moral compromise, and by demanding both competence and character, we create the possibility of genuine transformation.
The officials who cannot buy your vote are exactly those most worthy of it. Those uncomfortable with specific questions are precisely those who shouldn’t hold power. And those who’ve consistently chosen public good over personal gain – they represent our province’s best hope.
Our Chocolate Hills will still stand tomorrow regardless of who wins. Our pristine beaches will still draw tourists. Our tarsiers will still blink their enormous eyes at visitors. Bohol’s natural beauty remains unmatched, its people resilient beyond measure. What we lack isn’t potential but leadership equal to both our challenges and our possibilities.
That leadership waits for your permission – through the most powerful weapon against corruption you possess: your uncompromised vote.
Choose wisely. Choose as if your children’s future depends upon it.
Because it does.
