Protecting the right to be heard

It can be said that last year was a landmark year for the world. Undoubtedly, years from now, when school kids are studying turning points in history, 2020 will be among them as the year that COVID-19 made the world grind to a halt. The pandemic has put us in a situation unlike anything we have ever experienced before. And because of this, concessions were made like remote work, extensions on bills, and the creation of online digital solutions.

However, these concessions should not be limited to 2020 only. Just because a year has passed it doesn’t mean that we are “back to normal” or able to do things the way we did before the global pandemic hit. Despite making some progress this past year and a half, due to more virulent strains, we still find our movements hampered and face a wide range of challenges.

This is especially due to the Delta variant that kicked off another ECQ and a slew of circuit breakers, level 4, and granular quarantines to follow. The last several months have been extremely difficult for Filipinos and whenever and wherever possible, concessions should be made or should remain to help them get back on track.

In this particular instance, I am referring to extending voter registration. As we enter election season and major political parties and candidates are already announcing their intentions to run, we face a major issue and a looming deadline. I think this year, perhaps more than ever before, more and more people want to vote. They want to have a hand in determining what the future will hold and how things could potentially change. But the fact that the deadline is fast approaching is making it hard for people to be able to exercise that right.

There have been repeated calls to extend voter registration. These became louder when ECQ happened again and everyone was under restricted movement. Now, as the deadline looms, it has become apparent that it is absolutely necessary to extend if we want a true gauge and measure of what the majority of the people really want.

Throughout the month of September, once quarantine restrictions became slightly more flexible, people began trying to meet the Sept. 30 voter registration deadline. Comelec offices in various districts filled up, and when it quickly became obvious that these were not going to be able to handle the volume of registrants, satellite voter registration venues opened in various malls.

However, despite these satellite hubs, it doesn’t look like it will be possible to get everyone registered. Stories have been flooding social media about how people going to registration sites as early as 1 a.m. just to be able to make it to the cut-off of roughly 200 to 300 people that will be registered that day. Those who come in past 3 a.m. are usually no longer able to make the cut and have to come back the next day.

Such stories aren’t isolated to certain areas. As of this morning, I know of three separate acquaintances who have been in line for over four hours and counting in different registration locations. Two of them aren’t even sure if they are going to make it, but they stay because they are determined to participate in next year’s elections.

The thought of Filipinos having to trek out in the middle of the night and line up for over eight hours just to be able to secure their basic right to vote is ridiculous. Not only does it place unnecessary risks on large crowds gathered for extended periods of time (some offices get close to a thousand interested voters coming in), but it also shows how dismally lacking we are with registration services.

At this point, voter registration extension seems like a no-brainer. This is not the first time this has happened. For the 2016 elections, Comelec extended the registration by one month. They should do the same now or longer, especially since the pandemic has made it very difficult for people to move around. People are only flocking to centers presently because it was only recently that people were allowed to go out again. Special circumstances need to be taken into consideration.

We all have a major stake in the upcoming elections. While participating by voting has always been important, this election is probably the most important one in recent times. Especially for the youth who have been dealing with this health crisis for the past 18 months. They want to have a hand in choosing the leaders that will help shape their future.

The current deadline is Thursday. But at just 200 to 300 people allowed to register per day in various locations, it’s painfully obvious that at the current rate, there are going to be so many unable to register. Hopefully, the deadline is extended and more Filipinos are allowed to let their voices be heard.

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The face shield saga continues. After being told that face shields were only to be required in hospitals, the President rolled back that statement and we were business as usual with face shields for the past several months. Now, finally, he is saying that face shields will only be required in the three “Cs” – closed spaces, crowded areas, and close-contact activities. This is a good step forward as face shields are very obstructive and can be unsafe. At the same time, their effectiveness has never really been scientifically proven. We are among the only countries to implement face shield use.

Now, we need to wait for the government to come up with implementing rules and regulations for this latest mandate to avoid confusion. There is already so much that is difficult and confusing at this time, this shouldn’t be one of them.