The final presidential debate has ended.
I have chosen the leaders who my age and experience tell me will best serve my country for the next six years.
Mar Roxas for president.
Leni Robredo for vice president.
They will continue and enhance the socio-economic gains that the Aquino government has achieved for the past six years.
They will preserve the respect that the whole world has accorded the Philippines as the rising star of Asia.
They will defend Philippine sovereignty and national interest against expansionist and aggressive China with respect to our lawful maritime entitlements in the West Philippine Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They will maintain peace and order in the country without undermining the Constitution, Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and the Justice System and without promoting murderous vigilantism, black death squads, inhuman tortures, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances.
They will protect the national coffers from raids of graft and corruption by political dynasties whose religion is greed and power.
They will resume urgent legislative work for the speedy adoption of a special Mindanao peace law to restore sanity and progress in that beautiful island.
Good luck to the other candidates.
May they observe decency, non-violence and the law in their campaigns.
Good luck to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
May it effectively manage the election in such a way as to maintain the trust and confidence of the electorate in the system.
Good luck to the mass media.
May they watch the election with vigilance and objectivity.
Good luck to the religious sector.
May its spiritual leaders patiently guide their flocks by educating their consciences on ethics, morality, natural law, and stewardship.
Good luck to the youth and the millennials.
May they exercise their right of suffrage with discernment and wisdom for the sake of the future generations.
Atty. Manuel J. Laserna Jr.
Las Pinas City, Phillippines
