Serving the people

By Joshua Corcuera

Serving the people and helping the masses are certainly noble causes. Although wealth and prominence are things we constantly seek, they are merely temporary. At the end of the day, our contributions to society and lifting the marginalized could last even beyond our passing from this world.

With a long, polarizing campaign finally over, it became clear who won and who lost. It became crystal-clear who will serve in government and those who will have to go home. While losing elections must feel bad, genuine public servants should not feel bad for serving the people comes in various forms, and not only within the realm of politics.

Some public officials who are no longer in government used to be lawyers before entering the messy world of politics. With this, they can return to practicing law, particularly by providing pro bono services to less fortunate clients. Before becoming the representative of her district in Camarines Sur, outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo was part of the Public Attorney’s Office and used to be a coordinator of the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN), an advocacy-based law firm that promotes litigation support, policy work, legal literacy programs, and paralegal formation among others. While Robredo has received close to 15 million votes—more than a quarter of the voting population—in the recently concluded presidential race, the enormous number of votes was still insufficient to defeat presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Her term will expire on June 30, and she will return to becoming an ordinary citizen, though it cannot be denied that her political strength is worth observing in the years to come.

Aside from lawyers, there are also those who run for public office who spent years in the medical profession. Vice presidential candidate Willie Ong lost in his bid and is likely to continue sharing medical-related content on his social media networks. It is also worth noting that social media plays a huge role in such advocacies with views capable of reaching millions as well as tens of thousands of reactions. Aside from lawyers and doctors, there are wealthy candidates who similarly lost such as presidential candidate Manny Pacquiao who placed a distant third behind Marcos Jr. and Robredo. The boxing icon was reported to have billions of pesos of net worth which he can use in donating to charities, spending in activities that help the poor such as building houses, providing education, and the like.

Altogether, politics is but one of several means on how to serve the people. Sure, helping the people by crafting impactful bills, implementing just and humane laws are great things, but there are several other ways to help others. For instance, one’s profession such as being a lawyer or a doctor would prove useful if one would offer services related to such for free, especially to the marginalized sector of society. More importantly, some candidates who lost their bid are wealthy, upper-class citizens; they can donate some of their wealth to noble causes, to feeding programs, to constructing houses, schools, clinics, small bridges in rural areas, and the like. Defeat in politics should not be the end of service, because if one’s intention is genuine, then there will be a way.