Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Editorial: Bumps and bruises
AS OF this writing the conduct of the elections had more than its share of bumps and occasional bruises but nothing that the Commission on Elections (Comelec), its deputized personnel, the military and police and the civil society groups couldn't put a lid on and so Day 1 has turned out relatively normal.
The bumps and bruises include a grenade lobbed at one Zamboanga del Norte precinct and the usual complaints of missing names by the voters. And there is the unusual presence of poll watchers being present inside the polling precincts wearing the party T-shirts and hats despite the prohibition against them. Good thing there was media to monitor all of these developments otherwise those conniving politicos would get away with their cheating ways.
Which is more than one can say about the elections overall at least on the first day of the national elections which foreign observers sense would do little to change the country's ongoing political instability and election violence which claimed the lives of 113 people as of latest count. Foreigners usually have a more objective view since they don't have any stakes in the elections unless some of them have been influenced by one party or another.
At any rate the expected slow pace of the elections would give us a reminder anew of the great need to fully modernize the election process. This could be done through computerization but as the saying goes "kapag may gusot, may lusot (when there's an opening, there's a way out) and not a few Filipino voters and politicians take it to heart when it comes to cheating in the elections.
With all the reports about election cheating and fraud the average Filipino voter feels helpless and cynical about whether or not his or her vote matters anymore in this day and age. Casting one's vote is akin to tossing a message in a bottle in a sea, never knowing whether it would reach its intended recipient in time.
Then there are the pessimists who boycotted the elections saying casting one's vote in an election where cheating is highly probable is like flushing your most precious possession down the toilet, with the refuse being recycled by the politicos and laid at your doorstep. These are expectations and how realistic they can be is up to all of us voters.
There is still some hope but it doesn't stop even when the counting is over and the arms of the candidates are raised in victory. The work is never done as the elections come three years away. But yesterday's a good place to start voting for whom you think are the right candidates for the job. Let's just remind them of that next time.
