WE LAST voted in Boljoon. This year, we transferred to Cebu City.
The wife and I applied for transfer together. We indicated the same residential address. The other day, when I checked online with the Comelec’s Precinct Finder, I discovered that we were assigned to different precincts. Standard operating procedure, I told myself, in cases where there may be too many voters in one precinct.
But yesterday when we voted, only her name was found in the official list of voters in Sambag 1, which is where we live. I told the girl at the PDP-Laban assistance desk to look again, which she did, but the result was the same. I gave her my precinct number. She said it was not one of those listed for Sambag 1 and suggested that I checked with Sambag 2. To make the long story short, I found out that I was indeed a registered voter of Sambag 2.
Did that make me a flying voter? No, only a re-routed one.
I am not complaining because at least I was able to cast my ballot and my vote was counted. I fared better than former Vice President Jojo Binay whose ballot was rejected by the vote counting machine eight times. Eight times! Maybe the machine wanted to ensure that he stayed neutral, as he promised, in the mayoralty fight between his two children in Makati.
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I have not had much luck in my choice of senatorial candidates. Among the few notable exceptions were the late Senate President Edgardo Angara and incumbent Sen. Riza Hontiveros although it took the latter three tries to finally make it.
I do not regret having voted for candidates who lost, though. In fact, I am proud of my choices. They were the best in the field. Think Haydee Yorac, Solita Monsod and Alex Lacson. It was just unfortunate that the majority did not share my opinion.
I will most probably experience the same results again in yesterday’s election. The eight plus one candidates whose assigned circles I shaded are, barring a miracle, bound to lose if you believe the pre-election surveys. But win or lose, it does not matter. Mine was a statement vote. I vote only for the best.
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Can we please move our elections back to November? If I remember correctly, the reason why we stopped holding our elections in November was because it fell during the typhoon season. May, on the other hand, was safe from Nature’s temper.
But is it really? Those who thought that way did not anticipate El Niño and the oppressive heat that it brings along. Yesterday was another hot day and I pitied those who had to stand in line for hours, waiting to cast their votes. I was fortunate because senior citizens were given priority but even then I had to withstand the hot and humid air inside one of the Abellana school buildings for almost half an hour.
We can always transfer the elections to the following week if a typhoon threatens the original schedule. On the other hand, how can you choose or even predict a non-hot day in May?
Let’s amend the Constitution and return to the practice of a November election.