5 things wrong with the elections

MANILA, Philippines - Election season has ended, and just like a post-Pacquiao match, the public has turned to experts, sociologists, political scientists, hecklers, and pseudo-analysts to make sense of it all.

None of us in social media are too shy to flip tables either, let a word or two out, and while we’re at it, pepper them with cusses and cursives. Because beyond the vote, democracy (or “democracy”) allows us to let off some steam through a hundred and one different avenues — touché! That’s while the Cybercrime Law is still serving its TRO and while the President has yet to impeach all those who oppose him… and while we’re comfortably middle class (or upper class) and our current dispositions allow us to voice our opinions.

So, allow me to use this space to air out some of my own grievances.

1. Nancy Binay’s election is a reminder to all of us in social media that the real battle is fought in the streets, in the marketplace, in the countryside, in the rural areas, and in the urban poor.

I am no fan of Nancy Binay. For me, she’s no different from candidates banking on their last names to get into office. But whatever cyber rally waged online obviously had minimal effect for Nancy Binay’s campaign. That’s because elections don’t happen online. Heck, only 1/3 of Filipinos have access to the Internet.

And so what if she’s dark-skinned? It might have even won her the position.

2. I don’t see the point why people are asking for “experience” before going into public office.

Strictly speaking, running for office requires only a certain age and the ability to read and write. That’s democracy for you.

And if we’re looking for representation, then I wouldn’t mind seeing a colleague here in Supreme who’s never worked in government to run for office. I wouldn’t mind a janitor running for office. Just like any other citizen, they’ll learn the ropes with their idealism and identity still intact.

Besides, I think they can represent me better than a congressman/senator who is overly experienced, holding on to power longer than he should. (Again, I must mention that I am no fan of Nancy Binay.)

3. COMELEC Chairman Brillantes shrugging off an “inconsequential number” of voters in Compostella Valley and Baguio.

While I do get the point — I mean, it’s expensive to hold special elections and their number just won’t make any difference in the outcome — it’s still their $*^%& right to vote. It’s sad that people and their rights have turned into a mere numbers game. But come to think of it, that’s the way most things work anyway.

Nonetheless, why should it continue working that way, especially when it was the COMELEC’s fault the ballots were misdelivered in the first place?

And wasn’t this accidental disqualification another way of saying, “One vote doesn’t matter.” Then what was the point of voting if we, ourselves, are only making one “inconsequential” vote?

4. I really don’t get it when people hate on activists for fighting for free education but come election time, the same people start hating on the masses for being uneducated.

Ano ba talaga, Kuya?

The middle class, comfortably housed in the status quo, can comment all they want but they’re not the ones who get people elected.

Perhaps, this is the “revenge” of the masses — a clear show of power — how we are ultimately at their mercy. And because we have chosen not to fight beside them when their houses were being demolished; when their jobs were being taken; when their right to education was void; then they have also chosen not to fight beside us, too.

They had their own preferences and we had ours. We have absolutely no right to pin any blame on them. Can we say we made better choices? Of course not, for their reasons for voting are just as valid as ours.

5. The election is not a game of winners and losers. Deep down, we all knew who would win and who wouldn’t. It was just that seeing some people step up and put up a fight gave us enough hope to die another day.

You can say, therefore, that elections are just distractions put up by the State to make us believe we conscientiously chose our own leaders. But in reality, social forces that have long been running put them there. The elections are only mirrors and mere formalities.

I banked on Teddy Casiño the most. I knew from the start that it was a long shot. But it was worth hoping for.

Whether you agree or not, I believe it’s candidates like Teddy who truly offer alternatives that are uncompromising and, suffice it to say, new. And it’s that kind of people — the type who see winning the election only second to serving the people — who keep us hanging on to the big and intangible ideas behind democracy, government, and casting a vote.

* * *

Tweet the author @sarhentosilly.