Voting Power of Philippines 92%Editorial
Go to famous places in the
Philippines, and find two people, representing the richest and the
poorest of the population. Ask each of them how they reached their
state of wealth or poverty, and demonstrate the difference through
pictures.
The poorest people can barely afford to eat one meal a day. whereas the richest have condos and residences in exclusive gated villages with 24-hour security guards. What is it in these self-made people which made them rise from poverty in a true rags-to-riches way, whereas millions continue to live in poverty? Is it the system that pressures the poor to remain poor? Or is it the lack of willpower among them to work hard and get away from the baneful life?
Whatever the reasons are in staying in the quagmire of poverty, the poor has discovered something very powerful in their hands---it’s their VOTE POWER. They are not interested in their rights, and it has always been difficult to make them aware and engage in political conversion. They have always thought they are second- or third-class citizens and had accepted that position for a long time. So they made few demands of the people who ruled. Along the way, the poor have become more educated about politics, and why they have been deprived.
The most important thing is that they have understood the democratic process that their vote is equal as the rich, and that they also have dignity. They are now aware of their status, and that with their votes they can change the political system.
Such a political awakening among the Philippine poor who live in the slums are being documented by the academia that are monitoring the new enthusiasm for politics among the rural poor of the country. There are many people’s movement (party lists) emerging. Now they are making more demands, they have discovered that their vote means something. This kind of thinking among the poor is revolutionary and new in the Philippine democracy. It is a period of transition as we are witnessing it as part of becoming a real democracy.
This emerging mental shift among the Philippines’ downtrodden comes from millions, about 92% of Philippine voters that will change the results of the upcoming May election. These are the seeds of new political culture that gave the poor of the country of 90 million a greater role in determining their economic fortunes.
The new power that the country’s largest constituency will feel for the first time that their votes matter to elect a government and to determine who should rule the country. This change from the old political patronage system controlled by the elites will be gone, There will be no political bargaining.
The Comelec’s deputizing of the military, supported by ruling elites will only deepen the view among the rural and urban poor that their votes will be stolen.
The new national poll suggests that majority of Philippines’ poor don’t think that most traditional politicians deserve to be elected or re-elected, and most of the anger seems to be directed at the administration’s candidates. With the technology advancement of cell phones, computers, & TV’s, the poor are now equipped with weapons to equalize the elites.
The winners of 2010 election will concentrate their campaign to the D,E, and F areas of the country, about 92% of the registered voters. They are the poor, the powerful poor, and the awakened giants of the political arena in the Philippines.
Only one candidate, a presidential candidate, who experienced and lived the drama of being poor, will be favored, as he was one of them. And I bet that 92% of these voters will vote for him.
JOE MAURICIO
The poorest people can barely afford to eat one meal a day. whereas the richest have condos and residences in exclusive gated villages with 24-hour security guards. What is it in these self-made people which made them rise from poverty in a true rags-to-riches way, whereas millions continue to live in poverty? Is it the system that pressures the poor to remain poor? Or is it the lack of willpower among them to work hard and get away from the baneful life?
Whatever the reasons are in staying in the quagmire of poverty, the poor has discovered something very powerful in their hands---it’s their VOTE POWER. They are not interested in their rights, and it has always been difficult to make them aware and engage in political conversion. They have always thought they are second- or third-class citizens and had accepted that position for a long time. So they made few demands of the people who ruled. Along the way, the poor have become more educated about politics, and why they have been deprived.
The most important thing is that they have understood the democratic process that their vote is equal as the rich, and that they also have dignity. They are now aware of their status, and that with their votes they can change the political system.
Such a political awakening among the Philippine poor who live in the slums are being documented by the academia that are monitoring the new enthusiasm for politics among the rural poor of the country. There are many people’s movement (party lists) emerging. Now they are making more demands, they have discovered that their vote means something. This kind of thinking among the poor is revolutionary and new in the Philippine democracy. It is a period of transition as we are witnessing it as part of becoming a real democracy.
This emerging mental shift among the Philippines’ downtrodden comes from millions, about 92% of Philippine voters that will change the results of the upcoming May election. These are the seeds of new political culture that gave the poor of the country of 90 million a greater role in determining their economic fortunes.
The new power that the country’s largest constituency will feel for the first time that their votes matter to elect a government and to determine who should rule the country. This change from the old political patronage system controlled by the elites will be gone, There will be no political bargaining.
The Comelec’s deputizing of the military, supported by ruling elites will only deepen the view among the rural and urban poor that their votes will be stolen.
The new national poll suggests that majority of Philippines’ poor don’t think that most traditional politicians deserve to be elected or re-elected, and most of the anger seems to be directed at the administration’s candidates. With the technology advancement of cell phones, computers, & TV’s, the poor are now equipped with weapons to equalize the elites.
The winners of 2010 election will concentrate their campaign to the D,E, and F areas of the country, about 92% of the registered voters. They are the poor, the powerful poor, and the awakened giants of the political arena in the Philippines.
Only one candidate, a presidential candidate, who experienced and lived the drama of being poor, will be favored, as he was one of them. And I bet that 92% of these voters will vote for him.
JOE MAURICIO
