Philippine Affairs

Clinched fist, defiant words, Che Guevara T-shirts, red banners, mega-phones, folk songs from the 1970’s, and protest placards — these are the classic symbols of political activism here in the Philippines. These are the representations of the progressive social movement whose advocates are sometimes stereotypically branded as communists, NPA-sympathizers, anarchists, or socialists. However, advocates of the progressive social movement also include the academe sector, the business or corporate sector, the civic sector, religious groups, politicians, and the youth. The leftist or socialist-leaning groups are only caricatures of the real progressive social movement.

The real street parliamentarians are actually comprised of different sectors of Philippine society. They do not merely want media mileage. They demand authentic reforms. They are the catalysts of change not only in terms of inciting public indignations against government corruption and abuses. They are also the guardians of civic liberty and human rights. Their ranks are maybe small in number when they are marching in the streets but they are only the tip of an iceberg. They are the courageous voice of the silent and disenfranchised majority. Without their vigilance, the nation will be the milking cow of the greedy and the power-hungry.

Political activism is not a mere fad in college campuses. It is not a past time of the radicalized youth. It is not a mere exercise in futility. Political activism should be the obligation of all Filipinos who have real concern for their country. Political activism is not limited in street protests. Political activism is also about vigilance and the desire to participate in creating a better society.

You do not need to wear arm bands or carry placards to become an activist. If you are afraid of being sprayed by high-pressure water cannons or if you are afraid of being mauled by police truncheons, online activism is a viable option. Although it is a weaker and less-involved form of activism, it is a better alternative than simply being silent.

The streets have been the traditional battlefields for political activism but today the web is an emerging new ground for social awareness and political participation. If you want to be counted, you can start by reading and signing-up to the following online advocacies:

Ako ang Simula

Political Arena

No to Con-Ass Badge

Facebook Campaign

NAMFREL Volunteer

Thanks to a hefty budget allocation of 11.3 billion pesos, the Commission on Elections will be deploying, on a nationwide scale, 82,200 PCOS or precinct count optical scanners this coming May 2010 Elections. Smartmatic and Total Information Management Corporation was the lucky winner of the bidding for the contract on providing the machines as well as the technical support. The PCOS machines are still Jurassic compared to the electronic voting and computerized voting systems used in industrialized countries such as the United States but these machines are far more evolved than the manual tallying system, which is very prone to “dagdag-bawas”.

The PCOS machines are basically tally machines that are similar to the machines used for checking answer sheets in board exams. The optical scanners will still be reading papers with hand-written marks. However, in this case, the papers will have precisely shaded areas corresponding to the names of candidates. Confusions from unintellible writings will be eliminated because the voters would not anymore need to write the names of the candidates but will simply shade the corresponding areas in the ballot. The voters simply has to choose among the multiple choices in a similar way that a professional board exam taker would answer an answer sheet.

The voting procedure will surely be simplified and will be made efficient. Human errors, vote padding, and waste votes will be drastically minimized. However, this semi-high-tech innovation will still have its flaws and vulnerabilities. The crooked politicians will always be able to find ways to cheat the system. The voters must still be vigilant. The roles of the election watch dogs such as NAMFREL and PPCRV would still not be rendered obsolete. The innovative poll system will face equally innovative challenges. It will require change in tactics on the part of the cheaters and also on the part of the vote sentinels.