(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)
Hi there! It’s another long weekend, but no thanks to PGMA’s holiday economics this time. It’s that day which marks the start of the kind of life that we will have in the next six years. And I think the coming Monday is one of those holidays when I don’t intend to oversleep. I’ve got to be at the polling area to vote, what with clustered precints and all. And not mention what surprises the machines for the automated polls will churn out next.
And today’s title? No offense meant to our Chinese friends. It’s that Pinoy thing about referring to things made in China as pirated and therefore lemons. You know like the familiar I-don’t-like-my-cellphone-china-made-coz-it’s-lemon kind of thing. Anyway, what about it? Call it an effort to make something light out of a serious situation, you know like worrying about the forthcoming election going haywire after watching some poll officials and Smartmatic officials on TV (surely they look good on TV though, that’s the only thing good about them) explaining the glitches on the PCOS machines and the compact flash cards. A friend was quick to say “kay pirated man ada an mga machines kay made in China. They should have had the stuff made somewhere else”. Of course the officials thoroughly explained what the whole thing (or problem) was all about, that things will be okey in time for the elections, blah, blah, blah. Seriously, this is no time to blame anyone (yup, not at the moment). I guess we need to help make the first automated elections a reality and let heads roll later on (do we say literally?). Yup, someone has to pay for the mess. As one broadsheet had it, “. . . and it should not be Juan De La Cruz.”
And Angelo Reyes na nanggagalaiti sa COMELEC ‘coz of the PCOS flimflam; and Congressman Locsin making bara? (I love it!) Oh well, if I may borrow Ces Drilon’s line, I wanna both laugh and cry.
Suddenly those calls to vote wisely (or according to one’s conscience) have taken a new twist. It used to be: Don’t sell your votes. And then it became: tanggapin mo ang bigay sa iyo, pero vote according to your conscience. Of course for so many years, the enterprising Pinoy had so many means of ensuring that those whose votes have been bought get to present proof of voting for candidate who did just that, buy the voters’ votes (parang magulo ano?). Well, with the PCOS going flimflam, somebody was quick to say this: “tanggapin mo ang pera at iboto ang nasa kunsyensay mo. Di nga mabasa ng PCOS ang boto mo, ang bumili pa kaya ng boto mo”. Oo nga naman ano?
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Talking about voting and conscience. Let me give leave you with the 10 Commandment for Responsible Voting from the PPCRV:
Hi there! It’s another long weekend, but no thanks to PGMA’s holiday economics this time. It’s that day which marks the start of the kind of life that we will have in the next six years. And I think the coming Monday is one of those holidays when I don’t intend to oversleep. I’ve got to be at the polling area to vote, what with clustered precints and all. And not mention what surprises the machines for the automated polls will churn out next.
And today’s title? No offense meant to our Chinese friends. It’s that Pinoy thing about referring to things made in China as pirated and therefore lemons. You know like the familiar I-don’t-like-my-cellphone-china-made-coz-it’s-lemon kind of thing. Anyway, what about it? Call it an effort to make something light out of a serious situation, you know like worrying about the forthcoming election going haywire after watching some poll officials and Smartmatic officials on TV (surely they look good on TV though, that’s the only thing good about them) explaining the glitches on the PCOS machines and the compact flash cards. A friend was quick to say “kay pirated man ada an mga machines kay made in China. They should have had the stuff made somewhere else”. Of course the officials thoroughly explained what the whole thing (or problem) was all about, that things will be okey in time for the elections, blah, blah, blah. Seriously, this is no time to blame anyone (yup, not at the moment). I guess we need to help make the first automated elections a reality and let heads roll later on (do we say literally?). Yup, someone has to pay for the mess. As one broadsheet had it, “. . . and it should not be Juan De La Cruz.”
And Angelo Reyes na nanggagalaiti sa COMELEC ‘coz of the PCOS flimflam; and Congressman Locsin making bara? (I love it!) Oh well, if I may borrow Ces Drilon’s line, I wanna both laugh and cry.
Suddenly those calls to vote wisely (or according to one’s conscience) have taken a new twist. It used to be: Don’t sell your votes. And then it became: tanggapin mo ang bigay sa iyo, pero vote according to your conscience. Of course for so many years, the enterprising Pinoy had so many means of ensuring that those whose votes have been bought get to present proof of voting for candidate who did just that, buy the voters’ votes (parang magulo ano?). Well, with the PCOS going flimflam, somebody was quick to say this: “tanggapin mo ang pera at iboto ang nasa kunsyensay mo. Di nga mabasa ng PCOS ang boto mo, ang bumili pa kaya ng boto mo”. Oo nga naman ano?
* * *
Talking about voting and conscience. Let me give leave you with the 10 Commandment for Responsible Voting from the PPCRV:
- Thou shalt vote according to the dictate of your conscience.
- Thou shalt respect the decision of others in choosing their candidates.
- Thou shalt seek to know the moral dignity, capabilities and other personal qualities of the candidate you will vote for.
- Thou shalt strive to understand the issues, platform and programs of candidates and parties seeking your vote.
- Thou shalt not sell your vote.
- Thou shalt not vote for candidates using guns, goons, and gold.
- Thou shalt not vote for candidates with records of graft and corruption, and human rights violation.
- Thou shalt not vote for candidates just because of utang na loob, personal appearance, popularity or pakikisama.
- Thou shalt not vote for candidates living an immoral life.
- Thou shalt not put the welfare of the country above all else in choosing the candidate you will vote for.
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Great Times Tours and Events Calbayog Branch will turn one year old tomorrow. The travel agency is located at Justice Lane, in Barangay Capoocan (near the Hall of Justice) in Calbayog City.
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Sarah Geronimo in Live in Calbayog! Great Times Events and Tours owner and manager Salve Uyloan recently signed a contract with Mr. Vic Del Rosario of VIVA Records. This is for the concert of Sarah Geronimo slated on September 7, 2010 at the Calbayog City Sports Center.
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This is it for now. Have a nice long weekend everyone! Ciao!
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