5 minute read
Election Amidst a Pandemic
Election Amidst a Pandemic
By Mabel Villarica-Mamba | 2002 National President, JCI Philippines
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Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution provides “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.”
Our right to vote does not discriminate. It does not require gender, educational attainment, bank account balance or any qualification that may favor one over another except for age, citizenship and residence.
We only have one vote and so do the tycoons and taipans, the doctors and the laborers, the senior citizen and the new voter. The vote does not multiply by the number of peso bills one has in his wallet or the credit limit of his credit card. It does not double because one has a doctorate degree. One cannot vote more than once because he is a Senator of the Republic. This is why it has to be exercised with carefulness and judiciousness. It should not be bought and should not be sold. It is a constitutional right that has a tangible effect on what happens to us for the next 3 years if it is a local election or the next 6 years if it is a national election.
Thus, the campaign to register among first time voters and voter’s education through “Ambag Ko”. And furthermore, the importance and at the same time peculiarity of the 2022 elections.
Who would have thought that what we have seen in those doomsayer movies were indeed possible? That there will be an illness, a disease, a virus that will slow down movement on earth and among its inhabitants; that it will keep people (most of them anyhow) inside their homes and behind masks; that it will force government and its leaders to step up and go beyond their comfort zones.
And it is not concentrated in one country or region. It is everywhere.
Here in the Philippines, there is no Filipino who could say they do not know what COVID is and what happened to their lives in this pandemic. Surely, anyone who can articulate their thoughts will be able to say something about GCQ, MCQ, ECQ and its mutations, ayuda, social distancing, face masks and face shields, online and modular schooling, work from home, vaccine, etc.
It is not expected that COVID will disappear anytime soon. We will have to learn to live with it and survive from it. How about our leaders? Have they learned to lead amidst the pandemic? How about the electorate? Have we decided whom to lead us considering the present and possible future circumstances?
COMELEC made itself clear that the 2022 elections will push through with 63 million registered voters for the 2022 elections, surpassing its target of 59 million.
Taking these into consideration, we should choose leaders who have a vision and can execute that vision to make us cope with the challenges of the pandemic. Leaders who can balance the protection and safety of its people with the imperative to keep the economic wheels churning. Leaders who truly care.
However, we will not be able to get the leaders we want and need if we do not vote. Let us ask ourselves and others: Kabilang ka ba? Are you counted? Were you counted? May gagawin ka ba? Are you going to do something about it?
The national project “Ambag Ko” endeavors to educate future, first time and current voters on the importance of their right of suffrage. If we can educate even a handful, we hope and encourage these handful of individuals to further educate a handful within their network, and so forth and so on. It creates a ripple effect which has long term and lasting effects.
Last August 13 and 23, the “Ambagan ng Bayan” podcast hosted by JCI Marilao Marilag was aired on Facebook Live, and featured 2 guestdiscussants. I was the first guest in my capacity as the 2002 JCI Philippines National President and former National Youth Commission Chairperson and CEO. I spoke on the topic “Ano ang Kahalagahan ng Kabataan sa Eleksiyon.”
Since the youth (between the ages of 15 to 30 as defined in RA 8044 or the Youth in Nation-Building Act) comprise a sizable portion of the Philippine population, it can be deduced that the youth also make up a big chunk of the voting population. In fact, more than half of the 2019 registered voters were millennials and Gen Z as per COMELEC data.
Although there was 75% voter turnout during the 2019 election, the youth do not vote as one. There is no established youth bloc or youth vote. I believe the youth favor visuals and experiences – what they can actually see, touch, hear, feel or even smell. Politicians or candidates should be able to present platforms that have direct impact on them if they wish to court this vote-rich sector.
Meanwhile, COMELEC Executive Director and Spokesman James Jimenez discussed about the topic “Pilipino, Bakit Kailangan Mo Bumoto?” According to him, it is important to vote because it will determine where our country is headed and what direction we wish it will take. When asked about the party list system, he explained that it is theoretically working.
Director Jimenez also talked about the potentials of the youth vote. Nowadays, the youth are vocal and they are exposed to societal realities. The youth make no qualms about publicizing their rants on social media and for most of them, they also act upon it.
Remember the community pantries that sprouted across the country? Can you just imagine if the full potentials of the youth are harnessed and engaged?
What I found most thoughtprovoking in Director Jimenez’s discussion is that the pandemic demonstrated the relationship between voting and governance because the ayuda is coursed through elected officials. Hence, the magnitude of the power of the people to elect officials resonates among the masa.
We have to do our part to make sure the right people get elected by encouraging voters to vote on May 9, 2022. This is our ambag. This is our contribution. This is our obligation to our country, our fellowmen, our children and the future generation. It does not stop with us though. We should take it upon ourselves to convince others, especially the most cynical, the frustrated, those that feel left out, the apathetic and the fence-sitters.
Dapat maging kabilang tayo. We should be counted.
Dapat may gawin tayo. We should do our part.
Dapat bumoto tayo. We should vote.
