"Boto ni Kosa" in I-Witness

CEBU, Philippines - One day in every three years, Filipinos converge for one goal. On that day, Filipinos from all walks of life, rich or poor, prisoners, fishermen, farmers and OFWs are all equal.  On this day, they share the same power: to elect the new leaders of our country.

 This month of April, join I-Witness as it sheds light to the various faces of voters in the country. Because on Election Day, more than the candidates, the voters will decide the future of the country. 

The election special series begins with Jay Taruc's story on voters from prison. He delves into the world behind bars to discover how the inmates make their choice picks for the next leaders of the country. 

The right to vote is part of the freedom everyone has as citizens and as human beings. But this right is one of the things a man is stripped off when going to prison.

But three years ago, a feat is accomplished.

COMELEC Resolution Number 9371 allowed detainees, who are not yet convicted of any crime and are still presumed to be innocent, to finally vote for the first time in 2010 thus, retaining their right of suffrage.

Along with the People With Disabilities and Indigenous Peoples, the inmate voter sector, are the most disenfranchised of all group of voters in the Philippines.

The Manila City Jail has the most number of registered voters among jails nationwide.

For inmates tatay Rogelio, 81 years old, and Dennis, 28 years old, wheelchair-bound the right to vote is the only freedom left for them.

Tatay Rogelio was jailed because of theft. One of his children fares no differently. He is now serving a sentence in Bilibid Prison. The other siblings are already deceased thus he has no one to take care of his needs.

Dennis has just graduated from college and dreamed of becoming a policeman when he was allegedly assaulted by street gangs. He shot one of them defending himself. But tragedy struck heavily when a barangay captain shot him and left him paralyzed from waist down.

Ironically, he is the one who is left behind bars. The chairman is still at large. A politician caused him his suffering, but another politician is making it right.

Voting means hope for tatay Rogelio and Dennis. And for the coming elections, they hope for change, if not for them, for their family.

Get to know their stories tonight in I-Witness, after Saksi on GMA-7. (FREEMAN)