The great thing about democracy is a representative government that allows its citizens to elect their leaders in free and fair elections .

It ’ s amazing that , in the US , it takes only a few hours after the polls close to announce a new President . In the US , you can vote many ways : postal , internet , voting booths . You can vote ahead of Election Day . It ’ s not a holiday apparently , but it has been made convenient to cast your vote .

But surprisingly , about 45 % of American voters didn ’ t vote . This is in contrast to our Philippine elections that experience at least an 80 % voter turnout , excitedly going to the polls at daybreak , lining up but not minding the heat and the queue , because they were exercising their right as citizens . That ’ s a big difference .

And this is probably why the outcome of the US

elections is what it is . In one sense , it ’ s not so much that the republicans won the elections as the democrats lost it ; their constituencies simply didn ’ t go out and vote . Theirs could be a classic case of overconfidence ; a constituency that felt there was no way Trump would win .

And that ’ s the challenge about democracy : citizens must exercise their right to vote , otherwise we get unintended results .

But were the results so shocking really ?

A dear friend who is Filipino American explained why middle-class America , many Filipinos included , voted for Trump . She said that Trump had come to symbolize the American working class that felt neglected by the Obama years . It ’ s a desperation vote she admits because small businesses like hers suffered greatly with the entry of illegal immigrants that set

up the same business and charge a fraction of her fees because they don ’ t pay taxes or bother to get licenses and registrations .

She had the opinion , rightly or wrongly , that left-liberal policies like OBAMAcare provided the poor extensive medical coverage but none for the working class and worse , her insurance premiums rose because of the subsidy .

It was a silent majority vote , that much is clear . It was as if working white America across the US just felt it was now time to reclaim the White House .

And the issue was not so much culture - civil rights , gender equality , gay marriage , even transgender toilets - as it was the economy and how liberal policies has led to a loss of jobs in the US in favor of manufacturing plants in Vietnam or call centers in India and the Philippines . It ’ s the feeling that while the liberal policies

did make America rich , only the large corporations and their executives benefitted at the expense of the white working class .

What has led voters to Trump was that his

opposition , composed of what they call the “ professional coastal elite ” just didn ’ t get it . Ironic that some elections ago , the slogan “ It ’ s the economy , stupid ” was the one that brought President Bill Clinton to the White House in 1992 . And in 2016 , the issue of the economy once again trumped the issues of race , gender and civil rights .

Like most of middle class America , my Fil-Am friend has no pretenses of becoming rich in the US . All she wants is a stable job , a thriving business , three square regular meals a day , a decent home and enough money to pay for her kid ’ s

college tuition . Pursuing

the

“ American Dream ”; that ’ s what the US elections were truly all about . And the fear that the dream is getting unreachable each day . While it remains a question if a Trump presidency can make America great again , at least the voters are comforted with a idea that here ’ s someone who knows what the real problem is .

( Mr . Atencio has twenty three years of experience in the Housing Sector , with the last fifteen years as Chairman , President and CEO of various mass housing and subdivision development companies .

As President and CEO of 8990 Housing Development Corporation ( 8990HDC ), Mr Atencio led the company to exponential growth from P180 millon in gross reveneus in 2003 to P8 Billion in 2014 , delivering more than 34,000 homes in the past 12 years with a goal to deliver at least 10,000 homes annually moving forward . 8990HDC listed in the Philippine Stock Echange in 2013 , making it the fi rst and only mass housing company to become public in the last 20 years . Also , was recognized as the 2nd Best Mid-Cap Stock by Finance Asia for 2015 , and received the 2015 Top Ten Developer Award from BCI-Asia . )