With the approach of the 2010 elections many Filipinos are preparing for their list of candidates to vote. Many are already doing their homework on the background, experiences, and program of government of the candidates. As for those who already done their research months before, the next step is to look at the basic issues that they would want to be tackled and how their favorites will tackle them (or how they hope they will tackle them). As expected, the two main issues of poverty and corruption will remain the issue most urgent. Poverty will be a concern largely of the poor, obviously; while corruption will be the concern of those better off or at least not wealthy enough to benefit from anomalous deals. As for those who aren't poor and have largely accepted corruption is a systemic and not a personality based problem, other issues come to mind.
First important issue would be the Reproductive Health Care Bill. Although 70% of the population support it, it seems most politicians don't understand statistics. The numbers that they do understand is the one that written across a candidate's name when votes are being counted. So, they still fear some backlash from the Catholic Church if they do support the RH bill (although there are others who hold the same view as the Catholic Church with the same devotion). This election will be a testcase of the "Catholic vote", the vote that has never existed since 1986. Well, 1986 was the election that Cory would almost never lose. I mean, even if the Church endorsed Marcos, Cory would still win. In the event that the Catholic vote is disproved, and it will be, the flood gates would be open for the public debate of other pertinent issues such as LGBT rights.
The second important issue is economic reform. No not the "reform" free market fundamentalists like to claim. I'm talking about regulation of unfettered capitalism. With the two main candidates having Leftists (well at least one of them claims the other is counterrevolutionary) as key allies, expect that many of the current administration's economic policies, including those dating back to Ramos, to be discussed. One important issue would be regulation of the banking industry and possible government intervention in micro-credit for MSMEs. Another is the obvious reassesment of the Oil Deregulation law and asset reform. there might even be a potential review of current plans to sell off GOCCs (I would sure like to see some GOCCs kept under public ownership and run efficiently, after all privatization or private enterprise doesn't always mean efficiency. Look at MRT.)
