The Horizon Volume 15 Issue No. 1

The Horizon
The Official Secondary Publication of St.
Mary's College of Catbalogan, Inc.
Division of Catbalogan, Samar - Volume XV Issue No. 1
EDITORIAL
04
THE ELECTION
That Turned into a Joke
By Jae Yoon Tan
Cartoon by Jhonas Kit Rosales
"Even a villain can be categorized as a
hero if the villain fools everybody."
A variety of candidates are running for Senate seats in the Philippines' upcoming 2025 midterm elections.
They include vendors, people with criminal records, and celebrities, all of them contribute their distinct
backgrounds and viewpoints to the political environment. Different people from all over the country tried to enter
the world of politics, although most of those people are different celebrities, online personalities that tried to run
for government positions under the influence of simply making money and content.
There are many influencers and public figures
that ran for official government ranks, such as
Diwata or Deo Balbuena running under Vendors
Party List. This action is intolerable, public figures
that does not even know what they are doing are
trying to take over the different positions in the
government in the form of mere content. They just
want to rake in views and money, they are doing
that in order to spread their name and influence
over the Philippines. There are lots of criticism
towards their matter and they are correct for doing
so, people who just does not know one thing about
politics and political matters should just stand down
instead of trying to run for a position, people like
those are bound to ruin the government.
The lack of qualifications that such people
possess are their competence or knowledge
required to govern the country. Actors and
actresses such as Angelu de Leon and Alfred
V
Vargas, hom are only well-versed in acting, should
not be running due to their lack of knowledge
towards politics. Their limited understanding of
policies and governance will be the factor that will
not let them become a good leader, if they were to
be elected, they will be unprepared for most of the
things due to the complex nature of public services.
There is also the risk of policy mismanagement,
they may oversimplify issues since celebrities often
campaign with broad slogans that appeal to the
emotions of many but lack realistic plans.
Inadequate knowledge of complex issues is another
example of the incompetence of the non-trained.
One of the main reasons content creators
and celebrities are running for government is
because they prioritize popularity over merit this is
the concern of most people because the election
became a popularity contest rather than being meritbased
elections which determines the democratic
values of a leader. Once the popular people take
over the elections, the competent candidates will get
marginalized due to their lack of popularity and
influence towards the media, they will struggle to
compete with celebrities’ charisma and they do not
get recognized, which in return will eliminate all
competent leaders whom can lead people better
than individuals who only care about their popularity.
fame being the main factor of the election will have a
big and negative impact on the government because
once again, they are not competent enough and lack
the skillsets to do so.
Lastly, Celebrities and content creators are in a
massive risk of turning into political puppets, the
masses fear this is the most possible outcome if said
celebrities or content creators receive a position within
the government.
Their lack of political experience will make them
vulnerable to manipulation by more seasoned political
figures, it is just like when a professional plays against a
newbie. Next is the dependency on political backers,
since they do not know a thing about politics they will
hire a powerful backer in order to secure a position, in
return they are in huge risk of being pressured into
following the orders and demands of their benefactors,
turning them into a puppet. Lastly is that they have the
risk of being seen as tools by other politicians, once
they see that the celebrity is weak in politics they will
grab the opportunity to use them to make themselves
more powerful.
Some people will see them differently, they will
argue that the celebrities or content creators will have
the charisma to lead the masses, their communications
skills makes them more approachable and relatable
due to their charisma. People will also say that some of
the voters desires change within the political world, due
to their frustration with many corrupt politicians they will
instead vote for celebrities hoping that they will disrupt
the political status quo. Lastly, many voters believe that
celebrities can bring a fresh perspective towards
governing people, a new worldview instead of the fiery
political battles that most politicians show.
In conclusion, celebrities and content creators
should not be running for government positions mainly
due to their lack of experience and knowledge, even if
people claim that they can bring a new worldview
towards the political world they do not understand how
dangerous it is in the first place. It is a place where
everyone fights each other for power that each politician
seeks. Celebrities and content creators just do not
belong there, they should prioritize in honing their own
skillset more than trying something as complex as
politics.
THE HORIZON
EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief
Jhonas Kit Rosales
Associate Editor
Breanna Rayne Lim
Managing Editor
Real Heart Taboy
News Editor
Rhianna Keith Quebec
Senior Photojournalists
Tanvir Kaur
Shane Angel Tarrayo
Social Media Manager
Jude Ponce Ferrer
Feature Editor
Leigh Jillian Louise Segovia
Copy Editor
Recmar Avestruz
Sports Editor
May Ann Rueda
Opinion Editor
Jelo Mae Gomez
Staff Writers
Jae Yoon Tan
Mark Justine Matic
Cruz, J. A.
School Paper Adviser
Mrs. Reina Apple M. Macabenta
Consultant
S. Ma. Adelaida C. Huiso, RVM