BY EDISON MARTE SICAD
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life to give that gift away.” -Picasso
The Preamble of the 1987 Philippine Constitution partly states, “We, the sovereign Filipino people…in order to establish a government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations…and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy…do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”
IN A DEMOCRATIC society, the voters have a responsibility of building the government; and together with the public officials, of creating a society for the common good. Since we have the freedom to elect our leaders, we are also somehow accountable for their actions.
How valuable is a single vote? A person’s vote only has one count, but one in addition to someone else’ vote. One in addition to other people’s vote. But since the value of a vote can only be appreciated when taken together with the votes of others, a voter may justify that one vote may not entirely be a game-changer; and trading it for something more personally important may not really be a big loss to the outcome of an election.
Further, to pass the blame to those who are engaged in vote buying is nothing but a voter’s excuse for selling his or her vote. A guilty “buyer” is of no moment. For it is the seller who has the control, the upper hand. Sovereignty resides in the people — in this case the voters.
But sovereignty requires unity. We must all act for the common good.
I once attended a seminar about the political economy of illegal drugs. The resource speaker discussed why, despite all the government programs and initiatives of the private sectors, the sale of illegal drugs could not be stopped — as if the speaker was trying to convey the harrowing reality that the problem about illegal drugs is not really a problem that the government wanted to solve.
The speaker explained that the money involved in the sale of illegal drugs was not only about the abuse in the use of such a substance. It was also about the political interest involved with it.
There are those who benefit from it. Big time. And some of them are public officials and law enforcers. The problem about Illegal drugs is not only about the drug addicts and drug lords. It is also about the protectors — some are politicians, those that we have elected to office.
In the same manner, political economy has also been embedded in our democratic process. Vote buying — and selling — has been so glaring and rampant that we have somehow normalized it as part of the game. “That’s just how politics is.”
As I have said before in another article, corruption begins with the voters.
I know a person who was once an ardent supporter of former President Duterte, his daughter Sara, and President Marcos, Jr. But now this person is at a loss of maintaining a confident composure when political issues are being discussed. And so, to save face, this person rationalized that majority of the voters were scammed by the First Lady Liza Marcos, who was the one wielding the real power. And so, this friend of mine can still avoid being at fault for voting and fighting for the Unity Team.
I noticed that majority of the Filipinos are not capable of in-depth, professional political discussion. It is almost like a cancel culture, a divisive factor. To constructively criticize a politician, no matter how sincere, is an insult to the politician’s followers.
Despite the prevalent vote buying practices, I am hopeful. For there are conscientious Filipinos out there who will still vote with integrity. In a sense, to a true Filipino, one vote is enough.
To sound overly romantic, a vote is a gift. Our vote is our gift to others. We vote for the good of the nation and not for our personal selfish interest. If we can only appreciate how our vote can directly change the future for the better, then no amount of vote buying can influence our decision.
“…conserve and develop our patrimony and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessing of independence and democracy…” (The 1987 Philippine Constitution)/PN
