Let democracy work
Tomorrow is judgment day for those who are seeking to represent the governed. On this day, the voice of the Filipino people will be heard as they choose the candidates who will lead them for the next couple of years through the exercise of their right of suffrage.
The Supreme Court has eloquently said in one case that the right of suffrage lies at the heart of our constitutional democracy. The right of every Filipino to choose the leaders who will lead the country and participate, to the fullest extent possible, in every national and local election is so zealously guarded by the fundamental law. Preserving the sanctity of the right of suffrage ensures that the State derives its power from the consent of the governed. The paramount importance of this right is also a function of the State policy of people empowerment articulated in the constitutional declaration that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them, bolstered by the recognition of the vital role of the youth in nation-building and directive to the State to encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs(Kabataan Party-List vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 189868, December 15, 2009).
The expression of the true will of the people defines the success or failure of an election. This is the time when the people give their consent to the elected ones to exercise the power and authority that comes with every elective public office. A person’s election to public office is not an unbridled license for an elected official to do what he pleases. He must exercise his mandate for the benefit of the governed.
More often than not, there are perennial problems in the electoral process that continue to wield undue influence on the people’s will. One of these is the massive vote-buying during elections. Although the giving of money (inangayan) before or during elections has become a practice tolerated by many, still this comes within the purview of vote-buying or vote-selling. Tolerance does not make an inherently illegal or immoral act right.
Every voter knows that vote-buying or vote-selling has been criminalized under our election laws since time immemorial. It is quite surprising why the strategy is still being resorted to during elections. Although the law has been there for quite a long time, people tend to be complacent about it as if it is not a criminal offense. For as long as there is a critical mass of voters who are willing to be influenced by accepting money for their votes, vote-buying will always remain an option for a candidate who is desperate of winning. It will continue to distort our democratic process.
As we make our decision tomorrow, it is our prayer that our elections will be generally peaceful and that the powers of government will be entrusted only to the rightful and deserving candidates.