Guidelines on Voting Wisely: PART II

by Rizsa Rose S. Baer (IV AB PoS)
Head, Issue and Policy Analysis Cluster
Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA)

1. Vote right.
Vote for the person who is right for the position, not just because they're a relative or an acquaintance. Elections may be, in part, a popularity contest, but let it not stop there. Personally, I am more weary of the flashy candidates than the quiet ones. Silent water runs deep (although we have to remember that politicians can NOT be forever silent).

2. Information is key.
Gather and study the candidates' credentials well. Be aware of the bias of the source and know how to balance the two sides. Listen to jingles and campaign ads but KNOW that it is possibly only half true. Don't take any info at face value. Corroborating evidence usually never fails.

3. Be sensitive.
Action speaks louder than words. There are always documents or statistics or studies that candidates can use to back their claims to greatness but be aware and conscious. When in power did they do something? If they did, what did they do? How did their constituents benefit? Flashy projects may be just that, flashy. What was the trade-off that happened? The most beautiful park for a lot of starving and uneducated children?
Or another simple telling factor: if they can't follow the simple rules that the Comelec has about posters and whatnots, will you risk putting them in a position where they can ensure no law touches them?

4. Discuss.
Discuss who you'll vote for with your family or your friends. Ask the opinion of the people you share the same interests and views or principles with and share your ideas with them as well. Chances are, you not only get to have an intelligent conversation with your peers but you will also gain their respect for having such well-informed opinions (you might even have a complete senatorial slate without breaking a sweat, to boot). Just don't forget that, in the end, it is YOU who will still make the final decision.

5. Don't be a cynic.
A healthy dose of cynicism is always good, but if you always look at the glass half-empty, it will be. Nobody's perfect but a good question to ask is, who will most likely try to be?

6. Pursue accountability.
The problem with citizens is that they don't hold their incumbents accountable. This apathy allows the rotten politicians to get re-elected and therefore adds more fuel to the corruption and inefficiency in the government. We have to remember that the election is the FIRST step, not the last. Keep track of the candidates that you voted. Before writing down a name, be sure that in the end you will not be ashamed to show everyone who you entrusted your future to.

7. Be an active stakeholder.
Politics affects everyone. Regardless of your main interest, whether it is in arts or science or business, you are a Filipino and whatever happens to the Philippines WILL reflect on you. I don't want to sound crude but most of the candidates are, frankly, old. They will not be the ones who will suffer the consequences of their actions, we are. The youth will be the ones who will bear the full brunt of the outcome of this election. So guard your vote. Vote wisely and report any anomalies or fraud that you see.

Guidelines on Voting Wisely: PART I

by Department of Political Science Chair Alma Maria O. Salvador (as told to Hannah S. Varilla)

The following guidelines are divided into two, normative and operational. Normative guidelines are those that have to do with one’s understanding of governance in the nation. Operational guidelines deal with the actual procedure of voting.

Normative guidelines
(1-2 pertains to senatorial and congress votes, 3 to party list votes)
1. The voter must be informed of the importance of why they need to vote. This can be done through their personal undertaking of educating themselves about the why’s and how’s of voting, and why they SHOULD vote. It is their responsibility to gain knowledge of the importance of suffrage and at the most, have a “sense of their right to vote.” This makes for a better voter.

2. It isn’t enough to know who you are voting, what their platforms are, and getting acquainted with them merely through news or election specials in websites and internet forums. It is better to gauge their capabilities through seeing them in action. This can be done through watching the ANC debate as it gives an idea of how the candidates carry themselves and defend their supposed platforms as they are interrogated by the community.

There are three levels of exposure to the candidates. One would be the news. Another would be the interactive debates or interviews, through channel specials or talk shows. Last would be through joining a campaign in particular, or giving the time to be exposed to their campaign activities. An example would be the barangay assemblies headed by party lists and weekly reports on the elections in Marikina.

3. The best way to go about picking the right party lists is to be observant. Once again, it isn’t enough to form conclusive opinions through data merely from their platforms and motherhood statements. It is presumed that one should gauge with a good sense of political character or on how similar the party list’s actuations are to what they say. It is good to pick up clues from their interviews with the media and assess their platform for oneself. Whether they are disenfranchised or interests groups, we have to distinguish for ourselves their real interests.

Operative guidelines
4. For senatorial elections, one has to come [to the precinct] with at least 12 names. One cannot leave blanks because others might place their own votes on the blanks. The vote is subject to tampering – those who are influential in the precincts are usually the ones whose bias and rules are followed.

As for party lists:

5. For choosing party lists, one needs to ask oneself, “how long have they been there?” Have they been able to make drastic changes for the interests they advocated properly? A little handy research and background information will do.

Party lists comprise of at least 6% or around 300 votes. It would be better to maximize the seats provided for party list representatives if we allowed for the usage of these allotted 50 seats for all the party lists. Instead of giving a mere 6% total support for only dominant party lists, it would be good to make use of the other 2% vote for those with strong advocacies. A variety of votes wouldn’t hurt the effective utilization of party list initiatives.