By Mortz C. Ortigoza
A kin mulls to be elected for a lawmaking seat of a first class town in the next year’s election. I told him to prepare two to three million pesos for day to day expenses and for the purchase of votes from the voters in the eve of election if he wants to win the derby.
Photo credit: Groww |
Was my advice dissolute or immoral since
the Right of Suffrage is revered by people in a democratic society like the
Philippines?
The solemnity of an election is only a platitude espoused by experts on the annotations of political science books,the Constitution, and jurisprudences.
In reality, one needs a lots of money be
it in a presidential, senatorial, congressional and local elections despite
they run against the limitation on the campaign expenses mandated by the
Omnibus Election Code in the rambunctious country's Philippines.
One needs a lot of doughs for a regular
television advertisement on the national elections that run up to a billion of
pesos for a one year to six months’ preparation but one needs to buy the vote –from
P50 to P,1000 – directly to each of the mostly ignorant masa to win an
electoral seat that gives a pittance based on the monthly remuneration for a
three years’ term of a politico.
Elective positions are preoccupations
entered by the people who have monies to burn. I smirked seeing those
candidates, for example in the top village post, mortgaging a property for a
million of pesos or selling their house and lot so they can buy votes just to
win a post that gives a P15,000 monthly pay for a two or three years’ term.
These candidates mired themselves with
debts just to massage their ego as the most respected leader in their barangay
when they get elected. Imagine, there is an adjective of “Honorable” appended
before their rank and name. I found this practice and goal insane!
Almost everybody pays obeisance to the “Kapitan”
and “Kagawad” in the barrio.
Ito iyong mga kulang sa accomplishment sa
buhay at diyan na nagsusugal sa pagiging pulitiko kahit na malubog sila sa
utang dahil kailangan nila ng prestige or respeto.
***
One example of this inanity was a former
mayor and his father who borrowed tens of millions of pesos just to win the
2019 mayorship election. Debtors were freaking out because even during the
mayor’s failed reelection in the 2022 poll they couldn't pay their debts they used to
buy votes in the 2019 contest. When their governor friend lost the last
election, their burgeoning construction business with the provincial government
disappeared in thin air that aggravated their fluidity to pay their debts to
angry creditors.
Worse, even their cars have been sold if
not pulled out by the car dealers because of their failure to pay the monthly
amortization.
Both father and son swore that they would
no longer dip their fingers on the acrimonious, expensive, and dirty world of politics.
They become insolvent if not a pauper.
How about you dear readers, do you know
folks like those above?
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