around 7:00
for the Barangay & SK Elections 2018
and it felt great to exercise
the right to choose your leaders.
and when you go to your precincts,
you can find people
giving away leaflets
and lists of candidates
you can choose to vote for.
The streets are lined up with vehicles
and so many people are going
that food stalls are everywhere.
The whole scenario
looks like there's a festival happening
but just a special event
when most people exercise
their right to vote.
In my case,
I went to my voting place
early in the morning around 7:00
because I didn't want
to join in the huge crowd
who will be coming
later in the day,
because that would mean
more time for me spent
in the polling place.
It took me just few minutes
to find my precinct,
and as I checked on my voter's ID,
I found out that it had my precinct number there.
That was the first time I knew.
Anyways,
my precinct was in a room
on the 4th floor of a high school building.
I just spent few minutes
casting my votes
because I was the 3rd voter
to come in that time.
Fortunate of me I came early.
But as soon as I got out of the room,
it came all over me
that I never voted wisely,
or sad to say,
I never did any research
on any of the candidates I voted for.
So many of them
I was not even familiar with;
that was the first time
I knew their names.
The only guy I voted for
who was a little familiar to me
was the current Barangay Captain/Chairman.
The rest of the guys
I never knew of
or I was not familiar with even a little.
or irresponsible of me
to vote without even doing research
or at least attend candidates rallies?
Sorry to say this,
but I'm always busy in the city
doing my thing to survive
and giving just few minutes of my time
to know more of the candidates
was never part of my daily routine.
I didn't have time for that.
And even if I had the time,
and did some research
on any or most or all of the candidates,
will I be able to choose the right ones?
Will my research be good enough
or credible enough?
If I search the web
and look for information on the candidate,
will that information be accurate?
That thing I'm not sure about.
Information maybe edited
to make the candidate look good
or valuable to the voters,
I don't know.
So that is really my problem
every time I cast my vote.
I don't really know the candidates -
what's in their hearts and minds,
and if their motive is for everyone
or just plain selfish.
And if I do some research,
the web is all I got
and I don't trust the web much.
Nobody knows for sure
who the best guy is
or who would be best
to run a barangay.
Only God knows for sure.
They can make you trust them
with their promises during campaigns,
but those remain to be seen.
Promises are hard to fulfill
but easily broken in no time
especially when it involves
a very big barangay
just like Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.
A candidate who has years of experience
in public service
does not guarantee good and honest service
and a guy who is first timer in politics
does not mean failure already
because of his inexperience.
Whoever wins,
may he be the right guy
to do the right things for his barangay.
May he be full of knowledge
of the needs of the barangay.
May his heart and mind be
for the good of his barangay
and not just for himself and his family.
May he avoid corruption and bribery,
and everything else illegal.
May he be against drugs, etc.
And may he become
a role model for everyone.