by Jezrel Kirby Dela Cruz and Kate Aubrey Hojilla
source: http://www.bulatlat.com/
Too big responsibility: Too few working hands
119 barangays: 1 local office.
15, 696 – hectare municipality: 10 sq. m. office space.
36, 991 voting population: 3 office staff.
Figures have it. The local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office of Miagao, Iloilo is challenged of having to reach out to as many, if not all, voting population of the municipality. Now that the 2010 Election is fast approaching and the need to educate the voters about the automated election is crucial, Miagao’s local Comelec office is rushing up paper works and alerting plans for wider information dissemination – or it SHOULD be.
But as comfy as it seems, there is still and always time for coffee.
In at least five visits since February 2010, the reporters were asked to wait for a minimum of an hour or, worse, return the next day because Mr. Jessie Borro, the municipal Comelec officer, is out for a coffee break.
The office, however, has always been as busy as it looks. When one enters the office, the atmosphere is always the same. Piles of paper works and hundreds of folders labeled with names of each Barangay in clustered precincts are being managed by the staff that has been and is always on her seat in the second desk. But the first desk, which is supposedly the receiving area, is more often than not empty. Thus, a visitor is always greeted by the same busy and warm “staff from the second desk”. Separating the staff desks from the main desk of the local Comelec officer is a tall, wooden divider. But one doesn’t have to cross or take a peek if Mr. Borro’s there because the “staff from the second desk” is always ready with her answer, “Ai, wala pa si Sir. Nangape pa siguro. I-text ko lang siya. Hulat-hulat lang gamay ah.” (Oh, Sir is not yet in. He may be having coffee. I’ll text him. Just wait for a little while.)
The municipal Comelec office is undeniably efficient in terms of paper works. For one, the clustering of precincts of each Barangay’s registered voters is well-organized. The big folders, clearly labeled, are neatly arranged side by side in tall, library-like shelves. And when Mr. Borro’s present, he readily gives out requested documents. He recognizes fairly well that such documents are public and any individual or group of people could ask for copies of such office files. And that is very commendable. All he needs is a letter of request and he will provide what someone needs for free, sometimes even taking effort to look into the office’s archives and print new, electronic copies. This is what happened with a request from an incumbent party list group on early February, representatives from the party requested for the number of registered voters per precinct, results of the 2007 election, and official list of local candidates for the 2010 election. And when Mr. Jessie Borro was present, he provided all the files needed after a short while and for free. He even printed new copies since the old copies are quite unintelligible to read.
However, there are always the BUTs. And this time, although the municipal Comelec office is efficient in paper works and alert in requests, the constant coffee breaks reflected in another responsibility of the office, which extends not only to the clerical duty of organizing voter’s names and precinct numbers but also to the widest possible information dissemination through the Voter’s Education Forum. And the reporters followed on the details of this setback.
It is mandated by the Comelec that the importance of a Voter’s Education Forum should be seriously considered and the forum should be implemented in the widest possible reach. Consequently, efforts do not only come from the Comelec itself, but also from the academe, such as private and public schools, and non-government institutions, such as private establishments and business sectors. Provided, however, that forums should be in close coordination with the recognized Comelec officials of any city or province.
The demand for a Voter’s Education Forum is especially high now that the Philippines is on its way to its first-ever, fully-automated election. But in the locality of Miagao, the reporters see lack of effort on the part of the local Comelec office, which is supposed to spearhead this activity, and not only co-partner with the academe such as the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and Southern Iloilo Polytechnic College (SIPC).
Detailing the Voter’s Education Forum: Office-style VS Real Scenario
Miagao’s local Comelec office set February 19, 2010 (Friday) for the biggest Voter’s Education Forum in the municipality. The venue was Britanico Hall, known as the Miagao Cultural Center, located just beside the municipal plaza. According to an interview with Mr. Edison Molanida, the municipal tourism officer, the Hall could accommodate 800-1,000 persons only. The success of the activity is highly questionable. The municipality roughly has 37, 000 registered voters, and the bulk of it comes from far-flung barangays. And unlike other nearby municipalities such as Guimbal, there weren’t any visible promotions for the said activity. Also, take into consideration what the Comelec has failed to provide: their promised, as scheduled, showcase of the Precinct Count Optical System (PCOS) machine. As usual as it is and also what always happens in every Voter’s Education Forum which is supposed to show the machine live, PCOS never arrived. The Miagaoanons who attended the forum were left with no choice but to settle with just viewing the machine from a video presentation through a multimedia projector, which was obviously not big enough for an effective learning experience, given the venue’s lighting system and the number of participants. A voters’ education is ineffective if the people do not experience the machine first hand.
Aside from the Voter’s Education Forum as scheduled above, Nilda Callado, Election Assistant III, said that the municipal Comelec office has conducted Voter’s Education Forum in four clustered precincts, namely Brgy. Palaca, Brgy. Kirayan, Brgy. Valencia, and Brgy. Buenavista Norte. But what is four (4) clustered precincts compared to a total of one hundred twenty-two (122)? It is roughly two months until the elections on May 2010 and this leaves the office a very limited time to pursue their efforts, if there are still any.
The question now is to how the many other barangays, unfortunately located far from the municipal center, could have their Voter’s Education Forum. Mr. Borro answered this by citing that the municipal Comelec office has left the responsibility to the barangays’ respective population offices, or to Barangay councils headed by Barangay captains. Ms. Callado said that they have difficulties in reaching far barangays so in order to solve the problem; they assigned the barangay captains of each barangay to conduct their own voters’ education forum. Ms. Callado added that the Barangay Statistics Population Office (BSPO) in every barangay will also help organize these events. Although it is a good idea to reach far barangays and still organize voters’ education forum to reach the less informed people about the new election process, it is not an assurance that all barangay captains and the BSPOs have proper knowledge about the automated elections. The level of implementation is also questionable, the office may be very busy already to still apply strict measures in order to monitor the progress and effectiveness of the forum.
In the previous interviews with Mr. Borro, he mentioned that one of the office’s strategies to inform the Miagaoanons about the new election process is by asking them some time after masses in Miagao Church. This strategy, however, may not be very effective since after every mass, Miagaoanons usually hurry to go about their other daily activities. And the time may not be sufficient because a thorough Voter’s Education Forum usually take up at least two hours.
Delayed Mock Election
In other municipalities in Iloilo, the Mock Elections have been finished early this year. In Miagao, however, there weren’t any schedules yet.
As of press time, Mr. Borro is attending a training seminar for teachers at the Sarabia Manor Hotel, Iloilo City. This seminar started March 10 and will end on March 13, 2010. After the seminar, Mr. Borro is also expected to attend other election-related trainings and seminars. These are the reasons why as of this writing, there is still no definite schedule for mock elections in Miagao. Ms. Callado said their target date for mock elections will be on April. This is already considered late considering that the actual elections will be held on May and the Comelec is expected to be much busier a month before the elections. This could cause failure to organize a mock election in Miagao. And a failure to organize a mock election, where registered voters could practice the new election process first-hand, may hinder a fully effective automated election, and may even cause spoiled ballots, or wasted votes.
Conclusion
119 barangays: 1 local office.
15, 696 – hectare municipality: 10 sq. m. office space.
36, 991 voting population: 3 office staff.
Again, figures have it. And could we blame the municipal Comelec office of Miagao?
Partly, the reporters say.
While the office is undeniably efficient in terms of paper works, it has taken for granted another responsibility. And this responsibility is the one which extends to the people it is supposed to serve. The office should reconsider their being lax when it comes to the pressure of educating as many Miagao voters as possible when it comes to the new election process. Furthermore, the office should also reconsider their being overconfident when it comes to time. It is roughly only two months left before the May 2010 election.
Coffee breaks aren’t bad. They make busy minds relax. But they are also supposed to keep people in track when cups are emptied. And too much of anything spells disaster, and at this point of time when Comelec is on its toes of proving that it is capable of implementing fully automated polls nationwide, its local affiliates and offices should also take part in realizing this goal.
Recommendations
Miagao’s local Comelec office should reconsider its stance. And may these recommendations matter:
A calendar of activities. The office must be strict in deadlines and schedules.
Well-informed office staff. The staff must be properly informed about the office’s plans so that they will have ready answers for the questions of any concerned body.
Well-delegated duties. The responsibility of the staff shouldn’t end in paper works. In the absence of Mr. Borro, the office shouldn’t appear incapacitated; hence, it should still be a venue that can provide necessary answers about elections. Since Mr. Borro is always busy or out, he should leave the staff knowledgeable about office’s plans and give tasks so that the staff themselves could be capable of conducting Voter’s Education Forum in behalf of him.
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