What the Fadafadafaq?!

Rhona Canoy .

SO… Election season is upon us once again. Surprisingly, this is the one people pay the least attention to and yet it is the one whose results have the most impact upon our daily lives. Especially in the urban areas, we often forget that the first political domain which we encounter is that of the barangay political system. In the rural hinterlands, it is matters more because they are so far removed from the city government that the barangay system is all that they have.

Within our neighborhoods, the barangay has supervision over us. The street cleanliness, curfew regulations for minors (if we have them), personal squabbles, evacuation centers in times of calamity, animal vaccinations, local health centers, permits, clearances. And that’s only to name a few. Yet (and I am as guilty as many of you) this is a fact that is frequently overlooked or set aside. But I’m not here to talk about the barangay’s duties and responsibilities. Actually, what I’m mulling over these days is how barangay politics and elections are reflective of our mindset.

Many people seek positions in the barangay structure and — like the situation we find ourselves in with regard to our cities, provides and at the national level — we find the same people or the same last names constantly reappearing on the very local horizon. I would assume that the expectation is that barangay residents have a better knowledge of our candidates and officials because they are residents of our small community. Therefore it should follow that we have a grasp of who are those people who we would like to serve us. But it doesn’t really. What the fadafadafaq. The same families or the same personalities just get on the political merry-goound to circumvent the three-term limitation and keep showing up election after election.

On a side note, when the barangay structure was created in the mid-70’s, it was under the assumption that this was to be a non-partisan endeavor. This would allow well-meaning individuals the opportunity to offer themselves up to public service without benefit of party affiliation or support. Nowadays, I notice that candidates run on slates—Team this or Team that—preferably connected to some popular politician or highanking city official. This must be to circumvent the non-partisan limitation. What the fadafadafaq. I suppose this is to give the impression that electing these people will assure special treatment or preference from those who support them.

I was bemused to take part in discussions centering on how much it would cost to buy votes. From a financial standpoint, it is cheaper to buy one’s seat on the barangay hierarchy since the going rate seems to be from twenty to fifty pesos. What the fadafadafaq. On a grander scale, we do have our own opinions and views regarding the issue of vote buying. And yet we overlook the role it plays in our barangay elections. The same views and sarcastic remarks make their appearance. “The guy with the deepest pockets is going to win.” “We are waiting for the best offer.” “We don’t know who we are supporting yet because the money hasn’t made an appearance.”

So, guess what? No matter what we do and how hard we work, it is going to take almost an act of God to clean up what we have accepted and internalized as electoral cheating. And yet, the surprising thing is that we seldom hear at the barangay level of electoral protests after the winners have been declared. Don’t get me wrong. We do hear about how dirty this or that candidate stooped to just to get elected. We hear about how much money was poured into the campaign. I was actually dumbfounded to hear that some barangays have seen candidates for the seat of captain spend as much as a million pesos to ensure victory. What the fadafadafaq. So it makes me think that I should be more knowledgeable about the goings on inside the barangay administration that a candidate might think that spending a million is worth it because the investment can be made back.

To say the least, I have yet to meet a barangay official (except those who I’ve known for a very long time) who is not so arrogant and puffed up with power and position once they have been elected. Happily, I have lived long enough to be afforded anonymity so I can make the above statement with absolute certainty. It makes me cringe when I hear them introduce themselves as public servants. What the fadafadafaq. I swear to God, if any servant ever treated their masters in the same manner that these people treat their constituents, they would be fired posthaste.

And the issue of the Sangguniang Kabataan? At this point, all we are doing is exposing our potential future leaders to an atmosphere of corruption. Let’s just say we’re starting them young. And we wonder why our bent system is so difficult to straighten out? Sadly, we all want change. Why do you think so many people bought into the Duterte presidency? Because every single election we all hope that things may be better. Of course, this is not to say that we actually do our part in making the change happen. I suppose we all have to stop pinning all our hopes on our elected officials to do all the work. Don’t we have a big role to play as well?

And while we’re on the subject, the SK Reform Law (I can’t recall the exact RA but I know it’s there, enacted and all, but I’m too lazy to Google it) also includes a provision that supports the anti-dynasty premise. If I recall correctly, no candidate or elected SK representative should to be related to any barangay official to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity. And yet, we find quite a number of SK representatives who are children of or closely related to incumbents or reelectionists. What the fadafadafaq? If we allow this or pay no attention to the law at the barangay level, why do we protest against political dynasties so much at all?

Going back to the issue of vote-buying. It is my contention that candidates who get elected after spending tons of moolah to influence the vote have bought themselves the privilege to be corrupt. People who sell their votes have not yet grasped the concept that immediate financial benefit in exchange for their very important right to participate in government also negates any right to complain if our officials behave egregiously. And so we continue to suffer. Duterte or not, the change we all so desperately seek is too far off on the horizon for us to even see its shadow. Unless we decide that all these shenanigans have to stop. And put a stop to it ourselves.

All I can say is that these barangay elections matter. It is just as important as electing our president or our mayor or city council. It is the act of participating in a public election that matters. The importance of our vote is not determined by thse offices at stake. It either matters or it doesn’t. So go get inked on May 14.