"If there is an essential activity that should get us out of our homes during this period, this most certainly counts."
When we say elections, who come to mind are the candidates who vie for the people’s vote. Election periods in the Philippines are nothing short of a circus, a parade of parties and personalities. There are fiery speeches, adoring crowds, and provocative statements designed to catch the public’s attention and convince them that this or that candidate is the best choice as public servant.
Elections are also the time when we hear from the sore losers who cannot accept their failure. While we have moved on from the manual mode of elections that enabled massive cheating and made us wait for weeks for results, there are still those who insist that the machines are rigged and their votes are not counted properly.
But there is a more basic aspect to democracy– more fundamental than ensuring that the best (“best,” of course, is relative) candidate wins, or that there is a system to ensure that votes are counted as they should be. That aspect is getting people to feel that it is worth their while, and that it is their solemn duty, to participate in the elections in the first place. People should feel confident that their voice matters in shaping the destiny of our country.
**
The kids and I trooped to the Commission on Elections building on Misamis Street in Quezon City this week to get ourselves registered. I had moved precincts and changed my name, while this was their first time to vote. We had set the date a month before, logging into the Comelec’s i-rehistro page. We accomplished the forms online and printed them. We showed up promptly ten minutes before our chosen slot.
We did not know what to expect, really. We worried there would be a lot of people (increasing our chances of exposure to the virus) or that the lines would be impossibly long (eating up on our time). And indeed, when we got to the building, there was a queue outside the gate of the compound. My heart sank at this sight.
It’s always a good thing to find somebody to ask what is going on. When we informed the guard that we had an 11AM appointment, we were told we could go straight into the building. Each district was assigned a floor, and we got to our designated floor in no time. The four of us had the elevator to ourselves, but I wondered if there was any way eager registrants could be prevented from disregarding protocol and crowding into the elevator. I imagine it would be difficult during peak hours.
Once we were on our assigned floor, everything went smoothly. There were not many people from our district on that day. Remember to print on long bond paper, to bring a photocopy of whatever valid ID you are presenting, as well as your own pen. Sign on the places the election officer checks. After you submit your papers, you just have to wait for your turn in front of the camera and the biometrics capturing machine. It’s at least one seat apart on the chairs while you wait. Rub your hands with alcohol every few minutes. Finally press your thumbs against a stamp pad and onto the paper, and have a wet tissue ready to remove the violet stain. When the officer hands you a small, rectangular piece of paper, you are done. Best to take the stairs going down.
The entire process took us about half an hour.
I took the kids to a nice lunch at some non-crowded restaurant afterward. I figured it was worth celebrating that they had taken adulting to a new level.
**
Just this week, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon announced that registration would now also be conducted on Saturdays, so that students and workers busy during the week could get themselves on the voting roster.
The commission wants to get some 4 million new voters to sign up for next year’s polls; the present number – about 1.3 million – remains too far behind that target.
Getting people to go out and register is a feat especially during a pandemic. But if there is an essential activity that should encourage people to break the monotony of staying at home, this most certainly counts. The youth comprise the bulk of the population and collectively have the power to drive changes in our system. They are in the best position to discard politicians who espouse inflexible views or outdated methods, or who have made public service a family enterprise.
Next year’s elections is crucial to our life as a nation. The stakes are just so high for Filipinos. Meanwhile, young people have been described, unfairly so, as being too wrapped up in their own affairs, of being apathetic to the plight of others, and of being concerned only on present gratifications. This is the perfect opportunity to show this is not so.
Please go out and register.
adellechua@gmail.com
