I had no plans of voting for today’s Barangay and SK elections but the circumstances that happened allowed me to vote. My plan was to go to work since it would be a holiday and it would be a rest day overtime for me (today also happens to be my rest day) and if our 13th month pay schedule of release would be the same like last year, I would have a 20k payout (that would give you an idea how much money I’m making…hehe) this 16th of November. That’s a lot of money to pay for our debts and bills. Unfortunately, my pop was assigned to be a chair member in his school for today’s elections and that means no one will be at home to open our mini-store and my mom would also not be able to vote. So I decided not to go to work and instead help my mom at home and not going to work would also give me a chance to vote.
This is the first time to vote that I was not prepared. I don’t know who the candidates for Kagawad (except for the one who lives in our subdivision) were although I know who the candidates for the Barangay Chairman were. I blame myself for that because I initially didn’t plan to vote for the same reason that most, if not all, Filipinos say - "It really doesn’t matter. The candidates would all be corrupt and nothing will change!"
What made me decide to vote? Not just because I had nothing to do since I did not go to work but because last night, Sunday, I saw one candidate (I won’t mention the name but he’s the one who lives in our subdivision) went to our house to asked us to vote for him and he was doing this house-to-house. What’s wrong with that? Nothing, except that campaign period was already over last Saturday. Next thing I heard they we’re drinking already in one of the houses of one officials in our subdivision. You may asked again what’s wrong with that. Well, there’s already an ongoing liquor ban. Then this morning I read an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer that says don’t vote for the drunkards. The reason of course is self-explanatory.
I said to myself if these are the guys that are going to be elected, I might as well vote and not vote for them. I ended up voting two (2) Kagawads that the last name I know and registers because they had their share of elected relatives before and then crossed out the other four spaces for Kagawad because I didn’t know who the other candidates were. But I’m confident that the one I voted for as Barangay Captain is very capable of leading our barangay and is righteous enough (a doctor) to have a moral authority to lead. But still I don’t know him enough.
Did I made the right choice? In not going to work and voted instead in the Barangay elections and passed the opportunity to have a big pay on my next payday? In not voting for the people who lives in the same subdivision I’m living? In voting the three people that I really didn’t know that well. In voting itself?
Frankly, I don’t know. I just turned to the Lord for guidance after reading what my "Vessels of Honor" calendar says for today. It read "When faced with a morally gray area, we have the authoritative standard of God’s Word, the inner witness of God’s Spirit and the mind of God’s Son to guide us."
I hope we all voted wisely and made the right choice.
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