THERE are two observations about the elections which at first seem disconnected
but are in fact intertwined. And when you bring these two together, it points
to a paradox that is disturbing for a young democracy such as ours: People
are becoming more capable voters, but fewer people are voting.
How do we work our way out of that? Let us first go through the twin phenomena
informing this paradox.
All that glitters isn't gold
First, celebrities don't seem to fare as well as they used to. Montano, Gomez a
nd Pacquiao are all bankable names but apparently people haven't been as quick
to vote for them. Even Singson, who I consider a celebrity more than anything e
lse, hasn't fared well beyond the Ilocos provinces (the results of which would
be telling once we get them). And while we have yet to see how the votes for Vi
sayas and Mindanao shape Montano's and Gomez's tallies, the trend in Manila is
clear and I called their defeat months ago<
/a>.
Pacquiao, who took quite a beating in my b
log, is now taking a real beating from Darlene Custodio as well. My interes
t in that battle was not a matter of politics; I'm not voting in that district
after all. My interest has been more of an observer, wanting to analyze why peo
ple such as Pacquiao persist and arguing why they shouldn't. I admit, there is some vindication to be had here but that is meaningless un
til the people of the 1st district of South Cotabato find the change they seek.
It just happens that Pacquiao is not one to give it.
People were wise enough not to trust a boxer who had nothing much besides hard work, discipline and an overly confident "Maybe I
can do it" heading into politics. After all, in voting for popular candida
tes such as these, people invest their trust, a currency that hasn't p
roven enough in the past to ensure political change. Look at what happened with
Estrada. In closing this point, the following excerpt from an Inq
uirer report summarizes this aspect of the decline of populism quite well.
Educator Bro. Manny de Leon said the emerging poll results would i ndicate that popularity alone would not spell victory in an election. He said t hat Custodio was no match to Pacquiao in popularity but she compensated for tha t weakness by using her solid machinery. âThe political machinery of the Antoninos is still strong. They had a well-orga nized campaign down to the purok level and they sustained it up to the finish l ine,â De Leon said. âI am inclined to believe that people want nothing but real change. But we have no choice. The people are wise enough to vote for (one) wh o is more competent.â According to De Leon, another drawback of Pacquiaoâs political bid was the perc eption that he was a yes-man of Malacañang. De Leonâs view was supported by Fr . Angel Buenavides, spokesperson of the Diocese of Marbel.Counterintuitive democracy The second observation to be made is the decline in the voters' turnout which i s pegged at 75%, down from 77% in 2004 and 85% in 2001. This also goes for the overseas absentee voters where there is a drastic drop from 65% in 2004 to a di smal 15% now. A caveat has to be made about the OAV however, since voter mobili ty (workers moving from one country to another) is one major reason why a lot d idn't get to vote. Citing some articles now,
In the first issue of "Election Forensics 2007", Professor Bobby Tu azon of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) said the conti nuing decrease in the turnout of voters showed that the people are getting more disillusioned. The cause of disillusionment, according to Tuazon, include reports of missing o r misplaced names, missing precincts, unreadable master list, harassment from s upporters of candidates, police and the military, and violence. "With recent surveys showing 70-percent of Filipinos predicting the occurrence of massive fraud in the mid-term elections, there is a high probability of an i ncreasing number of the electorate staying away from the polls. This pessimism and other factors would explain the possible low turnout in the May 14 polls," Tuazon said. (source: Advocacy group cites disillusionment for low voter turnou t)
Only 78,360 out of the 504,110 overseas Filipinos who registered fo r the May 14 election, or 15.5 percent, actually voted. But Ambassador Generoso Calonge, vice chair of the Overseas Absentee Voting Sec retariat, said the fact that more than half a million overseas Filipinos regist ered for the poll exercise was already a success. âThe election is composed of two things, registration and actual voting. The fa ct that 504,110 availed of the privilege to register is a big accomplishment..t hey may have not chosen to exercise that [voting] right but they signified thei r intention to vote,â Calonge said. âThe mission of government is to provide the opportunity. Like in a highway, ev en if there is no car passing, you provide the opportunity for a better environ ment for driving,â Calonge said. Colange said the low turnout this year may have been due to the high mobility o f overseas Filipinos, particularly workers, who transfer from one employment to another and from one country to another. Absentee voter turnout only 15.5% -- DFAI think it is quite counterintuitive to argue that a decreasing voter turnout i s good for democracy. Even if the results are more manageable, can one really a dvocate that less people vote, or worse, that only capable and intelligent vote rs vote? Do we allow the less determine what is good for the more? This may sou nd absurd but the strange thing is that there is some merit to this argument -- if we were in the 18th and 19th centuries and limited suffrage to certain elit es, colors, faiths and genders. I always say that we are a young and learning democracy, but I couldn't take my self to say that we must devolve our democracy. After all, the problem with Philippine democracy is not with the people who value it but with the institutions that manage it. The recent elections have made this clear: Many people really wanted t o vote but not many of them could. A lot of people couldn't find their names or their precincts. And as stated in the CenPEG study, people weren't too optimis tic about how their votes would be handled. People are not pessimistic because they are simply being pessimistic; the system simply did not give them enough r eason to believe that their votes mattered. The right to vote So people are becoming more capable voters, but fewer people are voting. Now, more than ever, the right of suffrage must be guaranteed. By guaranteeing that right, it isn't enough to "provide the highway" as Ambassador Calonge woul d say. That highway must have signs to guide drivers to their destinations, an d should allow fueling exits and emergency shoulders. It is one thing to put up a highway, it is another to put up a highway that works. Just take the old Nor th Luzon Expressway before and after its rehabilitation; people don't mind payi ng the higher toll fees since it works pretty well. Taking off from this metaphor now, reforming the Comelec is a foregone conclusi on. But as to why we can't take confident strides into automating our elections is beyond me. The cynics have come to the most reasonable conclusion -- that p erhaps this will jeopardize many candidates' monopoly on cheating. This is a po litical psychology we must simply transcend and we begin that by injecting new blood into the political system. I hope the youth catch my challenge here. But beyond reforming the Comelec, another solution can be gleamed from one of t he most effective management dogmas: play to your strengths and manage your weaknesses. And the greatest strength of Philippine democracy would be ou r people. Deep down, we believe in democracy. The ethos of our politic al culture can be summarized in two words: People Power. The way forward I propose is something that will take time and effort. What our general public needs is a political education that will enlighten them on vari ous democratic process and principles. After all, half the reason why people gi ve in to vote buying or cheating is because they cannot perceive the wrong they do when the do so. (The other half is that they need to put food on their tabl e, so I'll let the economy -- and its support groups -- do its work.) I volunteer every election for the PPCRV and I really wish that more work be do ne in teaching the voters how and why they should vote since that is t he first thing that comes to mind with the phrase "responsible voting" (RV). There really is so much we can do to make our elections work. Let us not allow our institutions to be the excuse why our democracy fails. In the end, it's all about the people. Many are willing to vote, but not many can't. I don't know a bout you, but that's half the problem solved. The real paradox here is how badl y we want our democracy to work but not many are willing to pitch in. That's where you come in.
Hope springs eternal and this election has just given it a boost.
i don't agree with the part of the article's view that pertains to less voter
's turn-out.i don't think that is the views and issues you guy's needs to focus
on regarding this recent election.i think the main story here is that ,The Fil
ipino People/Voter are showing a great maturity in the way they decide of whom
they want to elect and believe that the candidate is capable of good governance
,that could help them to improve their lives and govern this country in a right
honest way.The Filipinos are not the kind of voters like in the past that elec
ts the most popular of them all.They have matured,more intelligent in chosing s
omeone that is capable and honest in serving their cause, and I applaude my fe
llow Filipinos for that. Sincerely, Proud Filipino of Chicago.
The partial and unofficial results of the election are a proof that some of us
are now more discerning. It is a thing to celebrate.
We have to remember that we have to take responsibility for the choices that we
made. In the days, months and years to come, we will reap the fruits of our c
hoices.
Whatever failures or successes our country will be in to, it is all because of
the choices that we made during the election.
To our kababayans, the results of the election are not an end in itself. It is
the beginning of a new responsibility for voters, to watch closely how our ele
cted officials deliver services for the benefit of our nation. Let's continu
e to hold a personal sample ballot and take note of those who are performing we
ll.
God bless the Philippines!
The partial and unofficial results of the election are a proof that some of us
are now more discerning. It is a thing to celebrate.
We have to remember that we have to take responsibility for the choices that we
made. In the days, months and years to come, we will reap the fruits of our c
hoices.
Whatever failures or successes our country will be in to, it is all because of
the choices that we made during the election.
To our kababayans, the results of the election are not an end in itself. It is
the beginning of a new responsibility for us, to watch closely how our elected
officials deliver services for the benefit of our nation. Let's continue to
hold a personal sample ballot and take note of those who are performing well.
God bless the Philippines!
I did not cast my vote, the 2nd time. The last was when Erap run for President.
And I will continue to refuse casting my vote unless the politicians stop ma
king a mockery of our political system and the voting populace.
I believe that a lot should be done in the "responsible voting" populace as yo
u mentioned, and so are with our politicians running for office.
Meanwhile i will remain being mainstreamed in society, working with and for th
is cause...
i believe, filipinos who have the right mind are the ones who are coward to let
our election process work. as i have observed, many educated and learned Fili
pinos are the ones who did not register and did not vote because they do not tr
ust our election process...but when will we start fixing our country if we will
not cooperate or do something right now? i'm sorry to say that the reason we a
re failing to put right leaders is because we let the 'masa' outnumber the voti
ng population. I know, it's not their fault to vote for thw wrong people, but w
hat can they do? the wrong people were the ones who gave them money and food du
ring the campaign....
for the professionals, if you really do not want to vote, at least help in the
voter's education campaigns...so we can have a reliable election results in the
future.
talaga namang may dayaan. dito nga sa amin sa Navotas may mga NADAYANG candidat
es. NaDAYA sila dahil yung mga binayaran nila, HINDI naman sila ang IBINOTO. Sa
na sa mga susunod na eleksyon mas DUMAMI pang ganitong URI ng pandaraya. Mabuha
y ang ganitong URI ng mga BOTANTE!!!
yeah...am i really glad about this development!
I'm now in my 40s...and ever since I was old enough to vote, I voted every elec
tion time. And the "funny"?, "weird" thing is, I (and my family for that matt
er), has never received money or was never offered money by a candidate. What
gives? I would have accepted the money but still vote for my candidate...to gi
ve these candidates a lesson...that giving out money does not guarantee their w
inning
The reason pacman lose in the election, Not because he is not pupolar, Its beca
use the filipino people knows that the only reason he run its because Gloria Ar
royo, Ask him to run. Because she think Pacman is a sure winner, And if he did
he's one of the candidate to protect her from her stolen power. There is god in
heaven after all. Thank god!!!
The most disgusting thing about the election in the Philippines is that our bal
lots will never escape the usual electoral cheatings. Poor voters! They don't d
eserve this crime!
Partial and Unofficial Results coming from NAMFREL is no longer quick.
I dont understand how a wrong entry will lead to reduction of votes. NAMFREL sa
id that the reason for discrepancy between the batches they released was that
they placed the vote meant for LANAO colunn to MAGUINDANAO column. (If you are
using EXCEL and you had a formula that will sum a range of columns , say for e
xample A to Z ... there is no way that values meant for column placed on column
B will decrease the total.... Unless the values placed were negative ....)
Justin:
Ha, Ha, Ha,....You make me laugh when you said that nang daya pero talonan nama
n. Its means that the people who sell their votes are smart. OO nga naman, The
politician buying your vote why not. Take the money and vote whoever you want t
o vote. Iyan ang nangyari, Kaya even though this polician has been buying votes
, Still loss! This should teach them a lesson, Not to buy votes. Tama yon ginaw
a nitong mga voter's who sold their vote. Ika nga pangbili ng bigas! Aba, Grasy
a yan away mo pa. Only stupid person will not except the money. I told all my f
amily if anybody give you money take it. But vote to the candidates you want to
vote. Ano Kami tanga!!! waaaaa, Nobody buy my votes! linti sila. He, he, he, h
e,....
Beng:
The reason some of pinoy didn't vote because they knows that their votes will b
e stolen. Just like whats going on now. But I agree with you, They should vote
do their duty as a citizen.....Kahit na nakawin ni Gloria Arroyo, Ang boto nila
kong marami ang boto mahihirap sila mag daya. They can only stole some of the
votes. Not all of it. Haaay, Naku! what can we do this is the way of life in th
e philippines, Garapalan talaga matira ang matibay. Ay dios mio!
75%-80% voter turnout!!!What election are we talking about?and those who didnt
vote are irresponsible,ingrate because they have taken for granted the sacrific
es made by many filipinos who fought for freedom in the Philippines.
Manny Pacquiao and Fernando Poe Jr have things in common (and differences). The
y were both celebrities with ambitions to serve the people. They both were supe
r popular and for others super if not mega heroes. Economically speaking, they
were both well-to-do.
The apparent differences were one, Pacquiao didnt get so much praise and positi
ve break from the Philippine media, while FPJ did gain a lot. Two, Pacquiao was
branded to be with PGMA while FPJ was a kumpare of Erap. Three, Pacquiao is ra
ther more popular abroad where most of his fights were held, while FPJâs fights
were all filmed in the Philippine countryside. And four, Pacquiao is a barrio
mouse (Bisdak), as manifested by his accent, and FPJ was a city mouse.
What reality reveals is that they both lost in their respective candidacies bec
ause the generation of voting people at the time are all sane if not more matur
e and intellegent than the generation when Erap won the presidency.
cause primary alone back
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