From victim to vote buyer to frustrated watcher

Joseph Reylan Viray

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After being cheated of the SK chairmanship through vote-buying, I realized money dictates who wins elections in this country. But I'm not losing hope

“Politics in My Hometown” is the reader’s corner on #PHvote, a space for first-person accounts on how campaigns and elections, governance, and service delivery are in your locality. Send to phvote@rappler.com your 800-word essay, collection of photos, videos, or any medium through which you can best tell your story. A photo and note about yourself will be a good idea.

 

PAMPANGA, Philippines – The town where my right of suffrage is usually exercised sits along the Rio Grande de Pampanga. It was here where my thoughts about elections and anything circling about it were cultivated and nurtured. 

The magnificent river was a witness to the first two political victories I had. The first was when I won as a youth mayor of our town during the Youth Week celebration that’s mandated by the Local Government Code. For a week, I assumed the mayorship of our town. I was so overwhelmed that I started to entertain thoughts about being the next elected mayor. 

The second was when I won as Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman of our coastal barangay.  In both elections, I toppled my opponents with big margins that some pundits call a “landslide.” I was then threading a path toward a political career. But my enjoyment was ephemeral. 

When I won as SK chairman, I was qualified to run as SK Federation chairman of our town, which could make me an ex-officio member of the municipal council. Ambitious that I was, I tried my luck.

I gathered all my strength and eloquence to visit and converse with the members of the federation. I conveyed to my colleagues my development plans. Three days before the election, I was topping the informal surveys conducted by the municipal government.

A day before the election, everything turned around. My opponent, a distant relative whose parents were influential local politicians at that time, had allegedly visited each and every barangay SK chairman and gave them cash gifts. The cash gifts assured my opponent her victory.

This was my first time to experience defeat, one that made me realize that money is indeed a means to win a serious election.

Rio Grande de Pampanga. Photo taken by Joseph Reylan Viray

I cried by the muddy banks of the river, and metaphorically inundated its pristine waters with my tears of disappointment. I was disappointed because I knew that I was the better and more experienced youth leader. I felt bad because I was not born to a family of wealth, which could have probably sealed my victory. 

In succeeding elections, my belief and value system about elections was no longer near ideal. I involved myself in facilitating vote buying for candidates. I was used as their coordinator. I would do a listing of voters who would be paid.  

For instance, my group would be listing around 300 voters and peddle this list to our candidate.  Our candidate would in turn give us an amount corresponding to the number of voters. During the 1990s, a voter was paid P500 to P1,000. So we would be getting around P150,000 to P300,000, which we would distribute to voters through purok or area leaders or family heads.   

My candidate won. Our group did this for two elections, which we both won. The third and the last election was different.  Voters became more greedy. They peddled their votes to rival candidates. They gave their own list to all candidates and all candidates gave them money. 

It was now a case of public bidding – the candidate who gives more money gets the vote.  When we lost the last election, I decided to re-evaluate things. Again, I felt bad and went to the banks of the sacred river. I cried and asked forgiveness for being part of the rotten system. 

I chose to leave my hometown and politics. I tried to find another career in the city.

Since then, I started to keenly observe every election as an outsider. I noticed that more and more moneyed politicians had entered politics. It has become even more difficult for a poor folk to win elections.

A mayoralty candidate would have to spend a staggering P40 million to P50 million to win an election.  From P500 in the 1990s, each vote is now peddled at P2,500. So if you want to win in a municipality of 30,000 voters, you need to spend at least P50 million pesos. This would not include your campaign expenses. So unfortunate. The amount is unimaginable considering the salary which is at stake. A municipal mayor only gets less than P400,000 in salary per year. An honest return of investment, for heaven’s sake, is impossible. 

After every election, I inundate Rio Grande de Pampanga with my tears of disappointment and despair. This coming election is no different. Is hope in the horizon? I’m waiting and hoping still. – Rappler.com

Mr. Viray is a member of National Youth Assembly for Moral Leadership. He is also a Knight Commander of Rizal, International Order of the Knights of Rizal. 

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