NOT writing about the alleged P6,000-per-voter “ulan-ulan” in Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro is like ignoring the elephant in the room.
Yes, per voter—allegedly, reportedly, supposedly. If, say, the household has five members, that’s a total of P30,000.
And if you’re one of those who received the P6,000, keep your fingers crossed that the politician won’t request for refunds through commissions.
“Planting rice is never fun,” and that’s so not true in the recent Barangay and Sangguning Kabataan Elections (BSKE) where planting rice was fun, in preparation for the mid-term (2025) and presidential (2028) elections. And there’s the BSKE making a comeback in 2025, giving that year two sets of elections. Ulan-ulan pa more.
A plastic bag filled with cashew nuts has been the only ulan-ulan I’ve received so far. That was many years ago when the thought of the Marcoses occupying Malacanang again was not even a figment in any yellow’s imagination. The cashew nuts were yummy, of course, but I couldn’t remember anymore if they made me vote for the giver. Or if I even knew who the giver was.
But I did imagine how those nuts were repacked. That they were probably in huge sacks, transported all the way from Lumbia to our barangay in downtown CDO, and I would not have been surprised to learn that the barangay candidate now lived in Lumbia, thus, his easier access to cashews.
I’ve not been lucky enough to receive money from any candidate. Not even P20. Whose coin version is now hard to staple into a flyer that has the candidate’s name.
There was this ice cream ad that asked, “Hanggang saan aabot ang P20 mo?” And some of that particular brand’s ice cream flavors do still cost P20 each, but most probably for its smaller-sized version.
If you’re coming from downtown CDO, P20 can be a one-way jeepney or van fare to the uptown area. But it can never be the price of a kilo of rice, as promised by a 2022 presidential candidate. That was a dream-on political campaign strategy that only the most gullible Pinoy believed in.
If a presidential candidate, who eventually won, could break that promise, is it also possible for a barangay candidate to break his promises? Since it’s more difficult for a barangay official to ignore his barangay especially if he still lives there. Unlike the president who can stay in Malacanang, away from the maddening crowd. The higher the position in the political hierarchy, the thicker the defense mechanism required.
The wannabe who has chosen the SK or the barangay as the first step in his political career may eventually level up to a loftier position if he can tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the political party that he wants to join. Why tell them the truth? So that the campaign team can defend him in case of intrigues during the campaign. There won’t be unpleasant surprises. And the team can easily turn that truth into an asset if ever it’s revealed.
The day after the BSKE, I thought people would be shopping, thanks to the alleged P6,000 gift. But parents were roaming around with their kids who were in Halloween costumes for the Trick or Treat at the malls. Apparently, they wanted more. Candy, that is.
