051010

I was a registered voter but I wasn’t able to vote during last May’s elections. I signed up together with some of my blockmates for some paralegal work for a congressman in Antipolo and we had to stay there the whole day. As paralegals, we were to answer the questions of the pollwatchers and take note and record any complaints filed by our watchers.

Even before we were dropped off our assigned places, several calls have been coming from the headquarter asking us to check on the precints because reports have been made that PCOS machines were not working. We checked on the reported precints and found out that voting has been temporarily suspended because of the malfunctioning of the PCOS machines. A number of people grew impatient and decided to go home first and vote in the afternoon instead. I really have no idea what a paralegal must do in that kind of situation so I simply waited until the machines were functioning again and then made a report to our headquarter that voting has resumed.

While I was doing my rounds to check on the precints, I observed that the elections seemed to be going smoothly, given this was the first ever automated elections. Contrary to the fear of many, the public teachers seemed to be very knowledgeable of the whole automated process and most of the voters too showed no sign of confusion. Though I cannot say that this is the general or overall situation during the national elections for I can only speak for the people in the barangay where I was assigned, I am still pleased by how the elections turned out to be. I admit that I was a little pessimistic and apprehensive with regard to the outcome of the elections. However, I realized that maybe people have just underestimated each other. Maybe we are actually more receptive and adaptive to change than how we perceive ourselves to be. And maybe too, cliché as it sounds, all we need is a little more faith on ourselves and on each other.