I woke up today at 7:00 AM... and by 8:25 I was on my way to the polling precinct to cast my vote...this is the first time I did not join PPC-RV as a volunteer since 1986... but I went to the PPC-RV station to give my support to my fellow volunteers... nothing have change... still the same problem as the previous elections...Name not on the list of voters while dead persons are still listed... names either misspelled or mixed up... room assignments given by Comelec is not the actual room assignment you will find... the different election offence that candidates and their supporters commit...
You'll still find the usual attitude of some voters who are still proud to shout "Hindi na ako boboto kasi ginagago na lang tayo ng Comelec!" ...or... "Wala pangalan ko eh di hindi na lang ako boboto"... as if the right to vote is an easy thing to give up... trying to help these kind of people for some is just a waste of time... but for PPC-RV volunteers helping them is an opportunity to make a difference... and to be able to persuade a "nawalang gana na" voter is a reason to celebrate... and a thank you or a tap on the shoulder is enough encouragement to continue serving for free... but mind you people... there are more "P#@*ng I@# nyo!" that we receive than TYs... a sad reality we face as volunteers...
I have long ago advocated to put more attention to Voter's Education than in Poll Watching... because I believe that most of the cheating is not done anymore on the precinct level but at the Municipal or City level... and the problem of vote buying can be addressed not on the precinct but on the grass root level weeks or even months before the election...
If more people are going to be trained to give Voter's Education and more funds to be allocated to this kind of a program I think we can do more in cleaning the election process we have... it is by educating the voters that we arrive in a wise vote and an empowered voter...
4 hours to go before the voting precinct closes... and before the evening news ends tonight we will know who have won... and then the preparation for the 2010 Election begins... and you can help in the efforts of cleaning our election process... enough of the apathy... stand up and be counted... make a difference... be a volunteer... be a Filipino... be a Hero...
