Global Pinoy for Better Philippines

..my husband ran for the position of Sangguniang Bayan member of Virac, Catanduanes for the second time, the first one was in 2004 elections. On his first try, he finished 14th of the 30++ hopefuls. We were short by about 2,000 votes to the 8th and last place. That was a good showing considering that he ran as an independent and practically operated from donations of close friends. We got the votes of the principled voters so it was alright with me.

..on his second try, however, he was already under the NPC Party of Congressman Santiago so everybody was hoping he would get the 5th to 6th place based on surveys. He was popular among principled voters and he got volunteers. Again I stood by my principle of wise voting: No vote buying. Leave it to the party to decide but not for ourselves. Afterall, the party had campaign money and we didn’t have much.

..during the campaign period people flocked at our house everyday asking for donations to schools, chapels, barangay halls, money to buy medicines, solicitations for basketball uniforms, fares back home, and even for expenses to change surnames. I would interview them before giving out few cash I can afford and they would usually curse the incumbent kagawads whom they said had done nothing to improve their communities and lives. I told them that what I was giving out was not for my husband’s political ambition but as help to the needy. My heart bled for their endless “tales” and I thought I was doing them a great great favor.

..aside from the solicitations, many groups came asking for “Ginebra San Miguel” and “Matador”. They would organize “Pulong-pulong” where candidates were invited. Of course my husband would always bring bottles of liquor. Afterall, these were what most of them expected. As days went by, I wished that the campaign period would have been over.. My pocket has nothing to bleed anymore.

..then came the much awaited elections. His friends and followers were jubilant because he topped the counting at the Poblacion. Everyone was already congratulating him some were already celebrating. But my husband finished 10th of the 30 hopefuls. He was 183 votes away from the 8th place by Namfrel count. I did not monitor the Comelec tally anymore. The figure could have been more.

..my husband did not make it and here are my realizations:

1) candidates won on combined money and popularity. Not one can go alone. Many candidates gave out as much as Php50.00 per voter but finished 12th and lower. We banked on popularity alone and still, we lost, albeit not as far as the first try. All of the incumbents gave out as much as Php100 per voter and only one did not make it. He finished 11th. My husband was more popular than he was..hahaha!

2) more voters are maturing. Using my husband’s showing as benchmark, his 4,700 votes  in 2004 is now 7,946. That was from 17% to 23% of the registered voters. Not bad!

3) but still, many voters especially in the barangays, waited for the manna before casting their votes.. those who did not receive from their bets, voted for the opponent.. three “moneyed” candidates lost despite spending millions because they thought they were already popular by spending millions for the early “projects” of groups and clans..they did not consider giving out “much” so their early catch got away..hehe.

4) actually, it couldn’t be considered vote buying anymore..it was vote selling and harassment already because voters openly threaten not to vote for the candidates who wouldn’t give in to their demands..

5) and lastly, it wasn’t the Comelec but the teachers and the members of the Board of Election Inspectors that was to blame for the human errors, deliberate or not. Proof: In one polling place place alone, we found out three erroneous returns. In one polling precinct, my husband got 5 votes  recorded at the Election Returns. We couldn’t believe it so we verified. We found out from the tally sheet that it was supposedly 35. In our own precinct, he got 8. When we verified, the tally sheet showed 76. Still in another precinct, he recorded 12. When we verified we found out he got 92. There could have been more in other polling places but what can we do? Only lawyers were entertained to question the Election Returns!

..i cannot blame Comelec for not verifying the errors because they have no idea whatsoever. They based the result from the totals as written by the BEIs. But our experiences showed some of the totals did not tally with the actual number of votes. Deliberate or not, errors are errors!

..next elections, I would only agree to field the candidacy of my husband if voting will already be automated.. and yes! I will advocate for electoral reforms..!!!