And so the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections or BSKE have been conducted. In Pampanga, the Philippine National Police called it as “generally peaceful”, except for some very minor squabbles of some supporters in some areas. In addition, there are some confusions observed in some polling places with respect to precincts and names of voters.
With the small number of electorates in respective barangays, the voting which ended at 3:00 pm on election day, has resulted in the early canvassing and early proclamation of winners. Although it was not an automated election, the counting of votes was fast, thus immediately knowing the winners, and the losers too.
Some of the latter claim that they have not lost the elections but were merely cheated. This is the usual claim of those who did not make it. There are those however, who concede and accept defeat. We just hope that they would support the victor’s program of government once the latter starts to assume his price of having the privilege to lead.
There are these usual woes during elections. Some voters do still have the hard times looking for their names and the precincts they shall be voting. As an observation, there are people who do not really know that their being registered voters have been disenfranchised or have been stricken from the roll of voters.
During elections, we expect long queues and the inconvenient polling places which are held in rooms of public schools or in chapels in the absence of the former. These rooms have no air-conditioning units but do have electric fans. For the young and middle-aged, such an environment is tolerable for them, but not for the senior citizens and those with disabilities who have to endure heat and crowded voting places.
As per the Commission on Elections, the turn-out for the said elections can be estimated to have reached seventy five percent of the total number of registered electorates. Such is a good number and we expect that barangay elections are more intimate considering that barangay folks are often acquainted with their candidates.
Elections are always full of surprises. There are those whom we expect to win but lose. On the contrary, there are those who will raise eyebrows because of their victories in the polls.
The people have chosen and have spoken of their bets. What the elections have divided, should be united this time. Political wounds should now heal. Winners should work as they have promised. Losers meanwhile should accept their fates and support instead the programs, projects and activities of their barangay leaders. Besides, they have the intention of serving people as they claimed during the campaign.
One notable observation in the recent BSKE is that candidates have their own handlers. Many of them are also politicos who are making sure their bets win. Their bets meanwhile shall be utilized come local elections by 2025 for the payback time for support. That’s politics.
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