ULOG #3: Exercising my right to suffrage

According to the Section 1 of Article V of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place wherein they propose to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.

In line with this, the Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan Elections (or BSKE2018) was held last May 14, 2018. That day was declared as a non-working holiday so that everyone who registered at the COMELEC (Commission on Elections) can vote for their chosen local politicians. These politicians would then be on the seats they have won for three (3) consecutive years, unless otherwise ousted in the office for legal actions.

I will exercise my right no matter what and I will never sell my vote.

On my part, it was not my first time to witness and take part of such activity. But I am still very excited. I could not even sleep well a night before the event. Well, I do not really view it as something that woulf really have a huge impact on communities, but I am still hopeful that there would be activities that would benefit a huge portion of the population.

Giving power to the barangay level is pivotal as it allows certain people to focus on the problems that could not be given attention by the national and regional levels. It also is an exercise on the Local Government Code which has been said to practice federalism. This is according to Sen. Aquilino Pimentel during his talk at Xavier University about federalism and decentralization.

The Advantages and Disadvantages
Honestly speaking, I do not even have any idea who to vote. My family and I just talked about few people that we know and has been trusted by the community in terms of public service. After that few minutes of discussion and checking on their platforms, we then decided who to write on our ballot boxes.

On our part though, we only came with like four to five names. It was hard for us since we reside in Upper Balulang. We should have went to COMELEC prior to the elections and changed our residency. But anyway, we could not go back to that time right?

I got a chance to check a little a bit of the candidates' backgrounds. It has been said though that the local elections should be non-partisan but it seems thay a lot of candidates violated that. In line with that, I tried to limit the people that I would vote to the unpopular with the current administration but has the heart to serve the people.

Prior to the said election, I inquired whether or not there had been a debate that occurred, but unfortunately it did not happen. But instead, the PPRCV conducted a small event wherein the candidates could present their platforms to the public. Unfortunately it was not mainstreamed so only a few (the supporters of the candidates) joined.

The campaign period was just too short in my honest opinion which made it hard for the voters to know more about the candidates. The good thing with that though is that candidates who chose to bribe voters would have shorter time to do such violation. Aside from that, slanderous acts would also be minimized. Alam niyo naman ang politika dito sa Pilipinas, they love to throw shit on each other's fences. This is such a desperate and immature move.

The good thing about the elections was that there were a lot of volunteers from PPRCV who were willing to help individuals answer their queries. So instead of spending a lot of time looking for our names on every classroom, the volunteers just gave us directions as to where our precinct is situated.

The thing that I observed first was that, the voters assigned to every rooms basically live near from each other. Aside from that, we were only asked our names before they have us our ballot. I find it odd though that our identication cards were not asked. There is a high risk that some people might use someone else's identity just to vote.

Anyway, moving on from that issue, we were already inside the precinct and were asked to fill up some papers. I was told then by one of the election clerks that she finds me so beautiful upon giving me my ballots. I could not help but blush. Haha!

They are actually two ballots for those who can vote for SK, and only one for those who are thirty and up. I was actually very careful not to mess up which is which.

Voting only took me three minutes to finish. And the moment I was done, I felt so relieved putting my ballots and having my finger inked with indelible ink.

Jeez! It was almost twelve when we decided to go home. It was just so hot but my mom saw a few of our relatives from my father's side. For a short while, we mingled with them because we seldom meet and the funny thing is that it happens on election day!

Vote buying? No.
I am proud to say it loud. I never experienced being bribed during elections. My family and I had been known to have integrity as both of my parents were educators in the said barangay. My late sister also ran for SK a decade ago or so. We never wanted to bribe and be bribed. Pag binenta ko boto ko, feeling ko wala na akong karapatan para magreklamo sa kung ano mang kabulastugan ang gagawin ng nga nanalong bumili ng mga boto.

Here is a proof that my brother and I voted. By the way tomorrow he will get operated. Hoping for your prayers!

Thank you for reading and have an awesome day friends!

^{@gailbelga or Johanna Gail is a free-spirited freelance artist. She took up Bachelor of Arts in International Studies in one of the Ateneo universities in the Philippines. She is currently a candidate for Masters in Public Administrations. She volunteers in various non-profit/nongovernmental organization which aims for human rights through political education. She draws and writes about the country to provide awareness and promote the Philippines to foreign tourists.}