An Appeal from a Non-Voter

I confess that I have yet to exercise my right to vote. I have not registered as a voter since I qualified a long time ago. I am not really bothered though, as I know there are a lot of Filipinos who grow old and never voted. We have our own reasons.*

People say those who do not vote have no right to criticize the government. This is like saying those who do not pay taxes will not be allowed to use roads and bridges. It does not follow and this should not be the case. We vote or pay taxes not for our personal benefit, but for the common good. So it does not matter who votes or pays taxes because we all share the fruits, bitter or sweet, of this societal obligation.

I dare say that those who will vote, therefore, have a great responsibility to choose the right person to lead our government. Those who will not must accept the consequence of their non-participation. Nonetheless, those who will not vote can still play a critical role by being advocates of fair, honest, and credible elections or by supporting worthy candidates.

Obviously, the credibility of the coming elections will depend largely on the performance of the PCOS machines. We have been hearing numerous reports about malfunctions in the testing of these machines. If that is an indication of what’s to happen, we can expect the Election Day to be chaotic.

While I am in favor of a computerized election, I still doubt our capacity to implement it in haste and with so much at stake. But since it is already happening, we ought to give our support, be patient, and be vigilant of attempts to sabotage the result of the elections. Let us hope and pray that everyone will cooperate and do their part faithfully, especially the COMELEC.

In choosing the candidates to vote for, I beg everyone to decide with reason, not with passion.

Do not vote for candidates who pretend to be poor, exploit the poor, or give the poor false hopes – these candidates will make us all poor.

Do not vote for candidates who extol themselves for things they are supposed to do or claim personal credit for things their office performed using taxpayers’ money – these candidates are bosses, not leaders.

Do not vote for candidates who once betrayed or rebelled against the government they served – these candidates do not know the value of loyalty and do not trust the rule of law.

Do not vote for candidates who merely bank on a clean reputation – having one does not equate to having competence.

Do not vote for candidates who seek out endorsements – these candidates will have to pay back what they owe sooner or later.

Do not vote for candidates who have been in public service for a long time and yet have never made any significant contribution to helping improve people's lives – these candidates may be the reason why the nation never really progresses.

Do not vote for candidates who are surrounded by unscrupulous people – we may be voting for the people who surround these candidates.  

Do not vote for candidates who change their mind as quickly as they change the company they keep – these candidates are not trustworthy.

Do not vote for candidates who appeal to the emotion – or we might find our lives having lots of twists and turns.

Remember that when one votes, one is voting not only for himself or herself, but also for everyone else, including those who will not vote, those who cannot vote, and even those not yet born at the time you vote.

So please, vote for us... wisely.

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* I want to register in my hometown in Northern Samar and not in Manila where I actually live. But someday I might just register in Manila. Note: Finally, I registered as a voter in the City of Manila

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