De Castro, Arnold V.

POLSCI101 Fundamentals of Political Science

AB Legal Management December 10, 2014

Why do people seek public office?

“You don’t seek public office unless you have a specific vision. You are driven by
ideas and a vision.” This is a quotation from Julie Nixon Eisenhower, the daughter of
Richard M. Nixon who was the 37th President of the United States. Absolutely, this is the
reality. Any person who seeks public office has within their mind a vision or a major
reason. This vision is inherent once a person aspires to seek public office. First, allow
me to cite some definition of public office. Article XI, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution states that public office is a public trust. Other political analysts define
public office as the right, authority and duty created and conferred by law by which, for a
given period either fixed by law or enduring at the pleasure of the appointing power, an
individual is invested with some portion of the sovereign functions of the government to
be exercised by him for the benefit of the public.

In connection with the foregoing definition, the primary reason of the people why
they seek public office may be incurred. This primary reason pertains to the aim of a
person to serve the people. The person with a purpose of serving the people
understands that public office is not a position of honor, prestige and power but a
position of rendering service to the public. The purpose of rendering services to the
public through public office is associated with the endeavor to promote the welfare of
the people. Another reason why people seek public office is the fact that they are
aspiring to be leaders. People, in the first place, consider public officers as the leaders
having an imperative role in the humanization of laws as well as the equalization of the
social and economic forces. Because of this perception, majority of the people believe
that public office is the effective arena or even a way to exercise their leadership skills.
People may also have a desire to have a degree of influence in enabling changes that
they consider necessary in the government. This is another reason why people seek
public office. There is a probability that a person who is very much concerned with the
development of the country will aspire for the improvement in areas that call for
changes. Through this aspiration, a person may perceive that he has the skill and the
great concern to promote such changes and public office is a right way. This reason is
connected to another reason why people seek public office. Some of them have the
passion and idealism of believing that public office through public service was a calling.
Another purpose is to devote time in bringing the best that he or she can be through
participating in maintaining public trust and rendering great opportunities for the benefit
of his fellowmen. Actually, these are all positive reasons why people seek public office.
Others might think that these reasons are very ideal and very far from what is
happening recently in the society. Others might doubt that these reasons are not really
the aims of these people in seeking public office based on what is happening right now.
On my view, I believe that the primary reason of a person in seeking public office is
really to serve the people. Why? This is for the fact that it is understood by everyone
that public office is merely for public service. It is also known to everyone that conflict of
interest is avoided within public office. Unfortunately, the mentioned positive reasons in
seeking public office are being set aside by the people who have considered public
office as a source of power to impose their personal interest. It is in fact that money and
power directly affects the perception of every person in seeking public office. As a
general rule, public office is for public service. But because of the influence of power
and money in a negative way, conflict of interest arises between the aspiration of a
person to serve the people and his or her personal interest in life. To conclude, majority
of the people, in the first place, seek public office with good intentions that will be
beneficial to the public. But because of greed and hunger for huge sum of money and
extreme power, some of these people transform into wicked crocodiles leaving their
good intentions behind.