The Philippine Experience

Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Inventive Politician & Updates

Well, the cheats have devised a new way of shrouding their vote-buying operations. Local candidates now have a new cover, the MEMBERSHIP CARD. I found out about this scheme after my helper returned from her short vacation. I thought that the insurance card was the ultimate but this new scheme bags the plum. This is exclusively used in the local races, and therefore has limited funds.

Here's how it works. Operators "recruit" voters. These voters are then given membership cards. These cards are the recruits' passport to collecting their "allowance". The allowance is the bribe of course. Its bulletproof at the moment and I'm sure only the geniuses in the COMELEC will call this scheme as another campaign expense. Just like the way the COMELEC absolved De Venecia for his insurance cards.

My helper said that people in their area are getting these cards from competing local candidates. The more membership cards they sign up for, the more money they get. The smallest offer in their area is P500. Let's say that you have three candidates, this translates to getting a membership card from each of these and getting a total of P1500. This however does not mean that they will vote for the candidate.

People are indeed getting smarter. They are bleeding these unscrupulous candidates dry. Should anyone complain or get caught, they simply show their membership card showing that they are volunteers. This shields the candidate from disqualification. The money given is "justifiably" a campaign expense.

One perfect example is the case of Raul Gonzalez, jr. ABS-CBN showed a video footage of "alleged" vote buying in their district. The young Gonzalez merely said its their volunteers' allowance. Clean isn't it.

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A day after the COMELEC announced the disqualification of KBL senatorial candidate, Joselito "JuJu" Cayetano, the COMELEC legal department now says its not final and executory. They said that Joselito has five days from the receipt of the resolution to appeal his case. So, any plain Cayetano vote will still be considered a stray vote. To make sure you are voting for Alan Cayetano, write his full name on the ballot. Just to be on the safe side, write the full names of the candidates you will be voting for. Write an "X" on the spaces you will not be filling out.

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GMA 7 was able to take videos of Mickey Arroyo and his "supporters" Using barangay vehicles, supporters and coordinators were transported to a hall for the meeting. An irate Mickey berated the tv crew for filming and asking him why they are using government vehicles in an obviously partisan event.

A hidden camera was also able to record a coordinator reminding those present that an early Christmas awaits those who can deliver a zero vote for Alan Cayetano.

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Go out and vote. Unscrupulous candidates and their cheating operators would love for us not to use our ballots. They can easily use the unused ballots to fill it with their clients' names. If you are still cynical about the elections, the best way to prevent cheating is to just exercise a vote of protest. Use the ballot to express your apprehension. Again, "USE THAT BALLOT" and prevent the cheats to use you as their tools for cheating.

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Tomorrow is the big day, its E-Day. Remember to vote early. Bring a pen, a valid identification card and "your" list of candidates. Come back in the evening if you can and watch the counting and if possible, even the canvassing. Use your cameras, camcorders and anything that you can use to record the results or any kind of cheating. A flashlight will come in handy if there should be any power outage.

schumey
|5:30:00 PM|#