election post-mortem

In October last year, I applied to transfer my voting records from Las Pinas to Makati. The last time I voted was in the 2004 presidential elections, and having missed the next two elections in 2007 I was deactivated. The registration attempt took some seven hours.

Yesterday, I was one of the millions of Filipinos who trooped to their polling precincts to cast a vote in the historic national elections - historic in a sense that this is the first nationwide automated balloting involving the use of PCOS machines and shaded ballots.

I cast my vote on the fourth floor of Maximo Estrella Elementary School. I arrived there around 7:30 in the morning and oh my God the crowd was insane. It took me 30 minutes just to get to the stairs because of the people. This was how the corridor outside our clustered precinct looked like:

Absolutely no order here, sad to say. For my clustered precinct (No. 221, if anyone likes to know) people vote in room 403, but there's an adjacent room that serves as a "waiting room". Well, photo above is the non-queue into the waiting room, where people are served numbers. Then people are allowed to trickle into the voting room in groups of ten according to these numbers.

I stood outside the waiting room, unnumbered and sweaty, for THREE HOURS. It was an all-too narrow corridor obviously intended for smaller people a.k.a. elementary students. The lack of organization was insane, and I had to play it by ear and after a bit all of us in line were already sort of friends who were trying to (very loudly) shame people who were cutting into the line. It's like MRT Taft or North Ave minus the jangling coins in my pocket. Haha.

After a surge of discontent (LOL it really was) there was a commotion and all of a sudden I found myself being pushed into the room by a sea of swelling angry people. GREAT.

And then I had a number. VOILA! I was number 45. They were serving numbers 121-130 the last I heard. I never really got to verify up to what number the first round was, but I have a fair guess it went only up to 150 or 200 since it took only about a couple of hours or so before I actually got to vote.Here's a glimpse of the waiting room:

Having spent most of my life falling in line - for college subjects (Hi UP CRS, I remember you - no love lost haha), for the UP Fair, for license renewal, for NBI clearance, for registration transfer, at the supermarket, at the bank, etc etc., I am actually by now a lot more pleasant to queue with, regardless of whether I'm hungry or full. I remember being younger and impatient, and judging by how yesterday I managed to keep my humor despite the heat and the sweat and the fact that I was ALONE in a room full of people I didn't know, well it does look like I've somehow managed to grow up to be a rather patient woman. Hurray for me. (Thanks Dad, these genes are perhaps yours.)

So in effect I was in line from 7:30 in the morning, and I was able to finish voting at around 12:30. I was running on a mug of Nesvita (still off coffee, I'm afraid) and bits of graham crackers. I did a little dance on the inside when the PCOS machine did not reject my ballot on first try. Congratulations, indeed. (Incidentally, Aquino won in my precinct, and I just found out I was one of more than 500 people who voted there yesterday. FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE. Kaya naman pala.)

Afterwards I went to the office because I wanted to watch ANC and monitor the Internet. Hehe. I ended up spending 12 more hours there, waiting for the Comelec results, the earlier of which they posted at 9 p.m. We waited for the midnight update, sent it to the editors and then went home. (Thanks, Lawrence for staying on as well :))

Last I heard, Comelec tally as of 7:47 a.m has Aquino ahead with 12.3 million votes and Estrada next with 7.8 million. Villar has 4.4 million while Teodoro has roughly 3.3 million.

They are going at lightning speed -- I remember it used to take days to cover as much precincts and they're now saying we'd have a new president by noon. Wow. I remember how in 2007 the ates stayed up late in the office for days waiting for Namfrel's midnight fax. Last night, we stayed late to wait for Comelec's midnight press con on ANC and Twitter updates from everywhere. Funny and amazing how the advancement of technology changes how things work.

I feel hopeful that things are about to be different - not because Aquino is winning, but because of the sheer dedication of the people who wanted to vote, people who actually cared. I was in line with a woman who was so vocal about telling off people who were cutting into line and was complaining out loud about the lack of organization (it really was a managerial mess, I know for a fact Filipinos are good followers and would gladly follow a system, had it been clearly in place at the very start) and at some point, she relayed to us later on, at some point some people from inside the polling place told her she can go ahead and cast her vote right away if that would shut her up. The woman declined the offer, saying she just wanted the line to be followed and that the point wasn't that she wanted to go first. She strikes me as a funny sort, the sort of kapitbahay you'd love to spend afternoons gossiping with about Agua Bendita (haha requisite mention), but right then she had my respect.

Meanwhile, the woman behind me also got offered a number by a senior citizen who did not need the number after all. She also declined the offer, saying it was unfair to the rest of the folks who were still in line waiting for their number as well. See, we're so used to people being assholes that we forget we are still in the midst of people who just want to do the right thing. I was this close to just bolting the line for fear of passing out because of the heat but being with such determined people tided me over five grueling hours of wait.

And that makes me hopeful. Never mind that a convicted plunderer and ousted former president is at number two, by virtue of some 7 million people who think he is fit enough to be put back in office. What matters is if Comelec estimates are right, 3 out of every 4 registered voters cast their votes yesterday. And that is something, isn't it?

inquirer presidential features

On Friday, the Inquirer started running front-page profiles/features on the presidential candidates. Link dump for your reference (alphabetically arranged):

• Noynoy Aquino - What’s important is I see problem and solve it (May 7, 2010)
• JC de los Reyes - What we cannot do, God will do for us, there’s spiritual inspiration in us (May 8, 2010)
• Richard Gordon - Step up to the plate, swing that bat (April 30, 2010)
• Joseph Estrada - I want to finish my plans for the poor (May 4, 2010)
• Jamby Madrigal - In serving people, work becomes joy (May 3, 2010)
• Nicanor Perlas - New governance goes beyond gov't (May 5, 2010)
• Gilbert Teodoro - RP deserves to be among world's vibrant economies (May 2, 2010)
• Bro. Eddie Villanueva - Revolution for righteousness leadership (May 1, 2010)
• Manuel Villar - It's not impossible to end poverty (May 6, 2010)

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EDIT: LOL we should've made a bet on who'd go last. We totally called that JC de los Reyes would be the finale. Haha.

and now, for your midweek news roundup

Iglesia ni Cristo has officially endorsed Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas for President and Vice President. Remember: In 1998, they said Erap-Gloria; in 2004, they said Gloria-Noli. (Reminder to self: For the heck of it just go through May 1992 related reports later.)

I can just imagine being a Villar supporter right now. It must feel like it's already the 4th Quarter with only five more minutes to go and your team's always been so close but the other team's always pulling away at some point, and just now, just now someone from the other team got a steal, hit a three-pointer with it and made the free throw after that because there was a frustrated foul from beyond the rainbow arc, completing a fantastic four-point play and now the crowd is going wild and your corner of the stadium is quiet, save for murmurs of last minute prayers.

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On another development entirely: voting machines have failed tests because their compact flash cards contained wrong instructions. SERIOUSLY? SIX DAYS TO GO AND YOU'RE TELLING US THIS? And now they're recalling ALL 76,000 OF THEM -- apparently, in some areas, votes for Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar came out counted in favor of administration candidate Gilbert Teodoro, as reported to Comelec by Nacionalista Party.

This sucks thoroughly because if there's a surefire way to sabotage Teodoro's campaign entirely, this would be it. I mean, the guy's not even participating in mudslinging and yet this "eleventh-hour glitch" has already damaged his would-be mandate's credibility, if ever he is elected president by what they tout as the "silent thinking majority" -- and I've been seeing a lot of good friends rooting for Teodoro, mind. And it's a crowd that includes my dad.

So yeah, that said: FIVE DAYS TO GO. May election nga ba o wala?

miracles

I was on a jeepney back home to my parents this morning when I remembered that presidential candidate JC de los Reyes was in the office the other day to talk about, among other things, how their campaign was going so far. He struck me as a rather pleasant man; he looked so young when I saw him up close, when he came over to me and shook my hand.

He does seem like a genuinely nice person, and though we don't exactly see eye-to-eye regarding the Reproductive Health bill, I do agree with him about miracles.

If there was one thing that struck me the most about that small conference, it was how he viewed everything as a miracle. You know me, I am a fan of miracles (never mind that I'm not even a devout Catholic), and I admit having sat there somewhat humbled when the 40-year-old councilor described their entire campaign as a miracle: "That we have gone this far is a miracle. That these people around me (gesturing to his senatorial slate and vice president, all older than he is) submitted to the youngest presidential candidate is a miracle. The media picking us up - that's a miracle. That you made time for us today, that's a miracle."

That may have been paraphrased a bit as I am typing it from memory. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was also the angle of the Inquirer story about it in today's issue (JC: We've gone this far, that's a miracle, via Inquirer.net).

I've said I'm not devout, but it doesn't mean I'm not spiritual. I have great respect for people who recognize that they're always in the midst of Something Greater, that most things that happen are not of our own making.

People say he's got his head in the clouds. Maybe they're right. I also think that the clouds are a far nicer place than this hell hole, and I don't really want to blame idealists like him for dreaming that one day they'll make this country a better place. He and I are similar that way - sometimes I stay up at night thinking about how it would be great if one day, one day I too would be in a position to right wrongs and help people, and just, you know, be someone who matters. Someone people listen to. And I think De los Reyes and his lot are brave to enter this murky world of politics.

Am I voting for De los Reyes fifteen days from now? I can't say I will, in the same manner that I can't say that I am voting for any particular presidential candidate at this point in time. I am carefully studying my choices, and I think frankly all of us should. That said, I just hope that when the dust clears, De los Reyes and his lot would continue viewing the world as one made of everyday miracles.

and now there are nine

Okay, the thing is, when Comelec reinstated Nicanor Perlas as eligible to run for president, it took this other guy named Vetallano Acosta with him. Now, I knew Perlas - he's a decent guy, you know, environmentalist and all, quite learned man, but I haven't even HEARD OF Acosta, much less knew that KBL was fielding a presidential candidate. It was obvious right from the start that the goal was to kick erstwhile front-runner Noynoy Aquino out of the top of the alphabetical list of presidential candidates. And so Aquino and his Liberal Party filed a disqualification suit, which the Comelec did uphold... AFTER THE BALLOTS HAVE BEEN PRINTED.

"Since the resolution came after the Comelec has started printing the ballots for the May elections, Acosta's name would still be on the ballot but the votes cast for him would not be counted, said Ferrer." -Comelec dashes Acosta's presidential dream, via Inquirer.net

Jesus Christ, crass move is crass. I mean - COME ON. The guy didn't even put KBL on his COC when he filed it; certainly, there must have been something suspicious there, hmm?

Here's the rest of what Comelec had to say:

Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said Acosta was disqualified “for lack of machinery to hold a nationwide campaign” and for not being a duly accepted nominee of the Marcos-led party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), whose vice presidential bet is former TV host Jay Sonza.

“Acosta is disqualified (for the presidential race) on the basis that he cannot conduct a nationwide campaign because as it turns out, he is not from KBL as he earlier claimed,” Ferrer said.

“Jay Sonza, his supposed running-mate does not know him or campaign for him because they have never met. He is also absent during political debates because he said he does not want to have enemies and he would leave the campaigning to God,” Ferrer told INQUIRER.net.

... I CAN'T EVEN. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS. *shakes head* Not from KBL as he earlier claimed? Jay Sonza didn't know him? Why didn't anyone say anything sooner?

*BAFFLED*

I mean, come on. Mano man lang ma-finalize yung listahan ng tatakbo for President at Vice. Kahit yun lang. Jusme, less than 20 names. LESS THAN 20 NAMES YOU GUYS.

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Meanwhile, while we were looking elsewhere: There's a search for a Gilbert Teodoro look-alike. Not gonna lie, that has to be a quite good-looking male pageant. (Jusme, the administration standard-bearer is holding a PAGEANT to boost his campaign. So much for, uh, having the government's machinery behind him. Woe.)

summary of this day

or, alternatively, a last ditch attempt at responsible citizenship

today, 3 days before voter registration deadline. by virtue of missing the 2007 midterm elections and the 2007 barangay elections, i was deactivated as a voter, therefore i need to reactivate myself if i want to vote in may.

so.

6 a.m.: alarm goes off. i get up, fix coffee, take a bath, get dressed, head out.

6:45 a.m.: arrival at makati police headquarters (ayala extension, beside makati fire station) for police clearance. i need this because i don't have an ID that has my new makati address on it (i've been living in makati since july 2007 - 2 years, 3 months. At least 6 months of residence before May 2010 makes anyone eligible to vote in an area, fyi.) i pick up a form, fill it out, submit it to the manong on duty. i am ninth in the queue. this makes me very happy.

9 a.m.: time served/processed.

9:20 a.m.: time processing ends.

9:40 a.m.: time police clearance received.

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the makati comelec office is on the second floor of the makati fire station, fyi. however, when i got there, i was told that they were no longer releasing forms and that i should head to glorietta 4.

so i did.

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10 a.m.: time of arrival, glorietta 4.

2 p.m.: time of registration end. (including an hour-long lunch break, that i spent in my seat, reading.)

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madali lang magparehistro. mabilis lang siya dahil organized kahit napakaraming tao. kudos to the policemen who were actually very helpful. :) kasalanan ko na i waited this long to make up my mind about where to vote, pero di ba, konting tiyaga lang, voila! walang singitan, walang sigawan.

pwede!

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this afternoon in glorietta while i was waiting in line in Step 2 (when you already have your form), this girl from UP who has already finished her registration process was walking around helping people fill up their forms. she says she's paying it forward. it's a shame i didn't get your name, but girl, mabuhay ka! :)