As citizens, nothing beats the feeling of being able to vote for someone who’s worthy of your vote. Voting is a form of political participation—an actual contribution of a citizen concerned for the welfare of the country. If we think about it, votes are pieces of trust we give to someone we barely know—candidates that we know based on what the media shows. Recent political controversies have put Philippine politics in a bad light—with one failure after another, causing disappointment to a great number of Filipinos.
Government of the people, by the people, for the people—for the most part, that is. The officials we give the power to lead our country to its former glory only care about the glory of their own. When power becomes immense, tyranny rules over. The taxes we offer to help our land go to allocation of lands for real estate homes. Instead of getting rid of COVID, the cure we were given was faux white sand easily washed away by the shore. The vaccines we desperately needed ended up in the pockets of the gold-digging higher-ups. Scandal upon scandal built up to hide the oh-so-missing 15B, but is such a high amount so easily forgotten? We willingly let these people sit on their makeshift thrones and play with our strings. We voted for them to gain the power to humiliate us on an international scale. And to the people who did nothing, they were at peace with the potential havoc.
This is why it is important that we need to realize that we—no matter the age, religion or sex—have the power to create change. Of course, to be able to participate in the upcoming elections, one must be a registered voter.
If you are a Filipino citizen of at least 18 years of age, these are the things to be done to be a registered voter:
- One must go to a COMELEC Office to book an appointment.
- Ready your requirements before attending your scheduled date. These include filled-up COMELEC forms and a photocopy of your valid ID.
- Submit your requirements to the COMELEC Office to receive your registration receipt.
- Wait for the approval of your registration. You will be asked to come back with the receipt after some months.
Our responsibility to vote must be exercised carefully. As the elections are fast approaching, this signifies another opportunity for us citizens to change this country’s political standing. It is important. As people who put our fate in our government, we should not just vote because it is a responsibility—it is our battle cry against the failures our government has made. Every vote is a wish for a better nation.
| via Rosen Gabriel Garcia and Jillian Calo, The BEACON
