MAUBAN, QUEZON - A while ago at noon in the kitchen, I heard our housemaids giggling, so I was curious. They were chatting on the cellphone with Belen, who was vacationing in Mindanao.
After a month of vacation, Belen is supposed to come back to continue taking care of my 93-year old mom. But she apparently said that she will come back after the elections because the mayoral candidate of her hometown will give her P10,000 for her vote. And the two housemaids were so thrilled that she will share her loot with them once she gets the money.
That’s Election in the Philippines. It’s pathetic.
The average Filipino voters do not understand that they are the victims when they sell their votes. They think the politicians are being generous and do not realize that the vote buying expenses during the campaign will naturally be recouped once the politicians are in power. And the money going into their pockets are coming from taxpayers.
My countrymen, I wish you will wake up and think! It’s so easy to spend P10,000. It will be gone in a flash. But the future of your families – children and our youth – is still coming and will be affected by the anomalies happening in your country.
Instead of the money being spent in building schools, hospitals and improving the infrastructure – streets, water, electricity, technology and other basic needs, corrupt politicians are lining their pockets for their own lavish lifestyles.
Don’t fall for the gimmickry of deceitful politicians. Be aware that when you sell your vote, you just don’t become a victim. You are an accomplice in a corrupt political system.
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