The Right to Suffrage

You know that people want change when you see them endure 2-3 hour lines just to vote. That is my story today and the story of millions of other Filipinos.

Long Lines due to Clustered Precincts

I was voter #489 in my precinct and that accomplishment took 3 hours under the scorching heat and I only got to sit down 15 minutes before I casted my vote. The only thing automated in this election is the counting. The long lines was caused by the clustering of 333K precincts to 76K precincts, thereby increasing the number of voters per precinct by 400-500%.

Confusion in Clustering of Precincts


And as expected the clustering of precincts caused a lot of confusion. There were a couple of people who went to the polling center, lined up for hours only to find out that there precinct was re-located to another polling center. There was also a number of people who were surprised that they were unlisted so they were not able to vote.

No Privacy

Even with the ballot secrecy folders there was no such thing as keeping your vote secret since those lining up and those seated beside you can see who you are voting for. We all saw this on national TV when media took shots of former President Erap while he was feeding his ballot to the PCOS machine. When are we going to move away from ballot secrecy folders?

There has been a lot of talk about disenfranchisement of voters because of these problems. These problems could have been easily avoided with proper definition of the process flow and use of technology (that works). Plus I hope next time the groups involved in hosting the elections should be more open to the help being offered by citizens. After all we all want this to work.

It is heartening though to see how my fellow voters endured the heat and the long line just to vote. So was it worth it? All the confusion, the inis, the hilo, the craziness was worth it because I am proud to say that I exercised my right to vote. Next time though I hope they can make the "bilog na hugis itlog" a bit bigger since I had a hard time shading it.

Someone took a video of me when I was waiting for the confirmation message of the PCOS machine. Congratulations to all those who voted!



P.S. For those who want to follow election results, here's the link to the Comelec Election Results site.

Filipinovela: The Never Ending Political Drama

So, we are in the midst of another drama where we find ourselves glued to the news, listening to the radio, or following Manolo's twits (I prefer following Manolo's twits, it's less stressful and distracting than watching TV). We've been through this countless of times already, but no one really sees the end of it. Why? Because no one really gets imprisoned from these things. The trials just go on and on until the public forgets about it... until the next drama special.

I care very much for our country and would rather do what I can than really speak out (or blog about it). I am a political scientist, but I never practiced it because I learned early on that if you want change to happen then just shut up and do something that you can actually do. Back in college I was the angry Filipino, some would say aktibista, I immersed myself, attended a couple of rallies, wrote really good political papers (that's what my professors said), and a lot thought I was going to end up being a politician. But I disappointed all my political science and legal management professors by turning myself into a corporate slave.

Why? Because I got tired of being angry and reality was biting on my heels even before graduation. I had Miguel and my primary responsibility then was to earn as much as I could. I did that and got myself a masters degree to better our lives. When my Mom and I went into the export business I got to handle about 10 blue-collar workers who were literally living hand-to-mouth. We tried the best we could to given them stable jobs, housing and whatever help we could, but at some point we had to give up because the market for the product we were producing dwindled.

It was then that I appreciated that I could actually make a difference to many more businesses and (lives in the long run) by focusing on work that would help a business sector that directly deals with the grassroots Filipino worker - the exporters. So that's the job that I consciously looked for when I finished my MBA, and lo and behold, I got a job to be a product manager for an online exporters directory. Whatever I did worked and I was moved to handle a much bigger directory (for all types of businesses now) and that's when I really actively did service for entrepreneurs and exporters by giving workshops on how to market one's business (both offline and online). I always enjoyed my work because it's what I want to do and I've been so lucky because everything's been a natural progression of things.

Eventually I moved on and I think I could safely say that I am very much happy with what I am doing because I think I am making a difference in my own little way, especially for kids. I can go on and on with the things that one can do because I hope that's what I am doing. I have long ago stopped writing criticisms or what-not. One thing I learned from writing for our parish newsletter (and Riza Singson and Kuya Jomar) is inspirational writing. What's the point anyway in lambasting people/companies/events/whatever? Whenever I want to prove a point, I just do it and don't wait around much for others when I am bent on doing something. Funny, but one question that Boy Abunda asked yesterday on The Buzz was, "If you were at door of heaven and St. Peter asked you, `Why do you deserve to be in heaven?' What would your answer be?" (Sorry, I just really have this funny way to tying up the most mundane of things, LOL).

Which brings me to answer Janette's question, "What are the important issues that should be tackled during the 2010 Philippine election?" Maybe I should just make my undegrad thesis downloadable huh? Well that one tackled specifically the youth sector (Sangguniang Kabataan) hehehe, but I don't want to bore you with two volumes of our masterpiece (awarded best thesis! hmph! both my thesismates are in the private sector too).

Lemme enumerate what I think are very important issues (and just please interview my Dad `bout it hehe):

1. Education - let's bring the core back and make everything else context.

2. Food Security - why do you think prices are going up? That's because there aren't that many supply anymore (I'm sure my friends over at IRRI would agree).

3. The Environment - when I was a student I attended an environmental summit hosted by then DENR Secretary and former Senator Heherson Alvarez and the issues back then were quite a mess, what more today.

4. The Economy - what's the ratio between exports and imports now? I haven't really checked lately and I always thought that we should work on exporting more because that would create more jobs for Filipinos. We're really experiencing more brain-drain more than ever.

5. Love, I mean, moral recovery. Love your neighbor is the golden rule after all and everything else follows. When are we going to stop being selfish? You can earn millions, but at the end of your life you cannot bring this with you.

My parents always make me vote and I do choose carefully who I vote for, even to the last barangay kagawad. I also always bring Miguel with me whenever I vote because I want to show him that exercising that right is important. If you don't vote, then hello stop complaining and do something within your neighborhood to help. If each one of us did stuff in our own little way, then there's still hope after all.

I am a very positive thinker kabayan and you should too. What do you think you can do to end this drama so that our country will finally have a happily ever after?

Mabuhay!