Thursday, May 20, 2004
the late election entry

ahh, i've been reading a former classmate's on-line journal just now when i realized i haven't been writing on mine for quite some time. well, it was partly because my prepaid internet account finally run out on me, and partly because, again, the heroes chronicles IV were so damn addictive. anyway, what really ticked me off to finally update my blog is the fact that almost everyone i know who keeps on-line journals have entries about the recently concluded national elections. i feel like such a loser not having anything to say about it. hmm, not that i don't care, actually, i do, it's just that there's so much to say that i fear i might get in trouble. so, to satisfy my itching fingers to condemn those responsible for the kind of elections we had, and to curse those people who seemed to have voted for the "inappropriate" winning candidates, i decided to fire away and just use the age-old technique used by journalists, i.e., to use blind items, hehe...

first things first. i wasn't merely a voter last election day. i was also a member of the Board of Election Inspectors in one of the precints in San Pablo. yes, it was a difficult job and yes, i said i wouldn't become a BEI poll clerk again after that horrible 2001 election day experience, but the lure of the compensation got me this time (which by the way hasn't been given to me as of this moment, tsk tsk). i mean, who wouldn't be? with my student budget and all, i really need the extra cash for my extra activites, don't i? hay, so, with a new celfone already on my mind, i marched on that early morning of may 10 to the city hall to gather our election day paraphernalia, and lo, what greeted us inside the building is the sophocating and humid smell of human sweat produced by nearly a thousand (my own estimate) people (teachers and BEI members alike) all squeezed tightly together. i almost puked, i swear. further, what really pissed me off during that day (and the day before that when we all gathered on the same spot for the same purpose) is the glaring incompetence of the people in charge. there was an utter lack of system! those people were simply contented to sit in their comfortable chairs with the electric fans directed to them, not minding how unruly the crowd has become. i mean, there wasn't any line at all. and there wasn't any effort on the part of those people in charge to keep a line. my gosh, it's the very basic practical thinking that anyone should have. as a result, people who came in early have no guarantee of leaving the place alive, er, i mean, early. i've heard teachers being there for three hours and still not receive their stuff. what? in a situation where hundreds of people are expected to crowd in on you, shouldn't you at least prepare for them? wouldn't posting a simple "LINE STARTS HERE" sign be enough to manage the influx of the crowd? after all, the crowd are teachers, and they'd surely know about falling in line, wouldn't they? but no, those crazy people in charge just allowed the teachers to act like it's a fucking jungle in there, excuse the language. partly, the teachers are to be blamed for the mess in that building, but then again, during those times when the pack are lunging on the meal, you can't expect the cubs to fall in line, can you? oh how i wish for the ateneo regcom to come and set up lines to see some semblance of order and competence in there, whew. (later on, i learned that those people in charge were actually employees of the city hall, tsk tsk, just when you'd think we have better people serving us, you get disappointed, tsk tsk.)

but that is just the beginning... upon arriving at our posts that fateful monday morning, what confronted us, the BEI, was the lack of knowledge on how to start. i've read the manual, of course (my training doesn't permit me not to do so), but there were still so many things i was unsure of. and to make things worse, my chairman was as clueless as i. good thing my mother (the supervisor) was always cheking up on us, and thankfully, we had no bloopers.

after the voting, there was one incident that really made me very nervous: we were missing one ballot. we were supposed to have 99, but our initial counting revealed only 98. that was a big deal, we could have been accused of so many offenses (or so i think) and we wouldn't know what hit us. the three of us (the BEI) gave each other nervous and conspiring looks so that the watchers in our precint won't get alarmed of what was really happenning. boy, was i freaked or what. the cold sweat already begun trickling on my back. the salary i would be receiving would definitely be not enough compensation for what could have come next, tsk tsk. but the grace of heaven was upon us on that date. after four meticulous counting of the ballots, we finally discovered that one ballot has been mistakenly folded with another. and then came the sigh of relief. whew. goodbye cold sweat.

needless to say, we finished counting and sealing documents at the wee hours of the morning, and after 24 hours of no sleep, we finally got home and slept (of course, returning the ballot boxes and delivering the election returns to the city hall would have been a disaster as well had we not finished earlier than most, hay, thank goodness for having only 99 votes to count, hehe).

as to the results of election, well, i can't say i'm not dissapointed, but i'm not surprised either. for starters, from the very start, i knew that roco wouldn't win. he wasn't popular enough and the prostate cancer incident definitely added to his loss. i myself started thinking of not voting for him the instant i heard of the news. initially, i interpreted it as his concession of defeat. but when he returned, oh well, i still voted for him. i knew he wouldn't win, but i honestly can't vote for any of the other choices left, if choices they be. as to the current battle between arroyo and fpj, definitely, i'd go for the one with the experience and intelligence. but if mrs. arroyo indeed cheated in the elections, as fpj's camp claims, then there is no way that she will receiove my support ever again. i don't think deceiving the Filipino people is a means that would justify the end. it would only convey the message of a rotten political structure which is the very antitheses of gma's "healing" platform. if that happens, then what's the point of believing in any of them at all? the senatorial slate on the other hand is another story. to me, it's a combination of glee and disappointment. glee because mar roxas and pia cayetano seem to be winning at all counts, dissapointment because bong revilla, lito lapid, jinggoy estrada are making it to the top 12, eating up the slots i reserved for frank chavez and dick gordon (or is gordon winning?). hay, for a branch of government that used to have the best and brightest legal minds in the philippines, it sure has come a long long way--backwards! when did popularity became the only standard for such a high office requiring intellectual prowess? how did people like ++++ and +++++++ ever secured a seat in what i used to think as an intelligent and very exclusive club? oh well, sure hope i'd see the day when competence with intelligence and not charisma alone would get people elected in the senate, if ever that is still possible, hay. (notice that i don't care about the vice presidency, i think it's a useless office that needs to be abolished, hehe).

argh, i better stop this now, or i'd get a major headache. elections do get into people's nerves. no wonder there are bombs in the south, tsk tsk.

jeland at 2:06 AM