Skateboarders’ wish

SKATEBOARDING is a popular sport in the West. It ranks 3rd as the most well-liked game for the teenagers after football and basketball. It even gained its popularity all over the world because of its simple anatomy where it only requires yourself and the skateboard. No wonder why we have several young Dabawenyos in our city hooked at it.

Pinoy Skateboarders.

“Anyone could actually try skateboarding,” said Troy Bascon, a college student who is inclined in skateboarding. He viewed this sport as an activity where it doesn’t discriminate anyone.

you’re girl or boy, fat or thin, small or tall, young or old–everybody is welcome to try and enjoy it as long as they are able.

This sport is also a good way of self-expression.

“The tricks and moves a skater does are actually reflections of his personality. The gracefulness of how you move your feet and scroll with your skateboard is not only an art to be considered but also a mirror of a skater’s attitude,” Troy added.

However, despite of the positive effects skateboarding could bring to individuals, the eyes of the spectators aren’t that impressed with the so called “benefits”. Many Dabawenyos look at skateboarding as a dangerous activity in which young people should be discouraged to get into.

Worst, they are tagged as gangsters or bad guys. They are stereotyped as people who are possible snatchers around.

They think that it is a sport which is prone to accident. It could break your bones and give you wounds. But skaters believed that the dangers which you could possibly encounter are not exclusive to skateboarding only. They usually perceive that whatever sports you are in, you could probably get wounds, injuries and the like as long as you’re not careful. These possibilities are evident also in basketball and other prominent games.

“The lack of knowledge about this sport and about the skateboarders passion why they do (skating) are reasons why people tend to give judgment,” said Lee Roy Guzman, a skateboard competition organizer and a skater for 11 years.

Instead, this sport could give important values like discipline, camaraderie and a sort of escape from gangsterisms. It is actually considered as a leeway for a healthy lifestyle.

“We really want to eradicate the misconceptions around us,” Lee Roy stressed.

One of the biggest concerns of Dabawenyo skaters are the area where they could enhance their ability. They have nothing but city streets and parks like in Magsaysay where they could perform skateboarding.

For several years, they make of their own rails and ramp. They get nothing from anybody except from themselves.

“We did [ask] for support from the city government yet nothing happened,” Lee Roy said.

Skateboarders think that because they are in minority, they aren’t given premium. They are often neglected and misunderstood.

A city ordinance was passed banning skateboarders to go on streets. Since city law-enforcers want to keep order on our highways and prevent the occurrences of street accidents where skaters could have possible involvements.

That is why the small community of skateboarders wishes to ask the city government one thing “a skate park”. They want to have a place to practice and improve their craft. Since the ordinance doesn’t want them to be on streets then better provide them a venue where they could continue to thrive on their skating abilities.

Besides, the sport could be a room for tourism. Just like what is happening now in Manila and Cebu, skateboard competitions are considered as tourists’ attraction.

Like any other unnoticed good athletes, skaters want to seek governments’ guidance. They think that if not now, maybe tomorrow, skateboarders’ community in Davao will bring pride not only to our city but even to our country.

Like how our boxers and football team rings across the board; they were called goats and like skateboarders, they were often neglected. But when they have started to prove themselves globally, the country is now cheering for their achievement.

Let us hope that our government mainly the LGUs won’t wait for an international recognition before they’ll encourage our potential citizens to do better on their respective fields. The best thing to do is to support and acknowledge all sports within the city.

Who knows, the next world renowned skater will be a Dabawenyo.

The power of Sports

Every time Manny Pacquio enters the ring and fight against internationally renowned boxers, Filipinos begin to act untamed ; shouting out loud their kababayan’s name in unity and telling the world how proud they are to be Filipinos.

Mr. Joaquin Henson, a PBA Analyst and sports columnist, the keynote speaker of the Sports Forum held at Ateneo de Davao University last December 6 shared the positive impacts of sports development among the Filipinos.

Henson mentioned how sports have greatly helped our nation to become integrated. He also stressed that in sports, people could learn important values since sports gives everyone the spirit of courage.

“Whenever someone loses a game, it teaches him to desire more to win,” Henson said.

According to Henson, sports do not only build individuals’ self-esteem but even furnish opportunities to feel proud and make friends with others.

“It is an avenue where there’s a direct promotion of team work and entertainment. At the same time, it instills discipline and offers the art of responsiveness,” he added.

My take

In barangays, sports is used as a platform to bring people together, since it has something to tender the community’s camaraderie. It becomes one of the central activities of the youth organizations like SK, given that it stirs up  involvement.

With these, I can greatly recognize sports as a powerful tool and a means to bring this nation way up.

I just observed that beyond the positive things that Mr. Henson has shared to us, there’s a sad reality. The government’s lack of support towards our Filipino athletes is apparent. The insufficient funding to train and mold highly competitive individuals, who are apparently potential to bring Olympic medals, is a problem to be resolved.

Basically, our athletes are as good as any other internationally renowned players or even better than them. They actually have the will and passion to win, talked about Paeng Nepomuceno, Bea Lucero and any other athletes that have proven that Filipinos are capable of making our nation known and proud in the field of sports. But still, they are leased prioritized.

How I wish that we’re like Thailand, a country who gives full out support to their athletes, whether they win or lose, they continue to provide them what is due to their athletes. Since they know, that athletes are also good resources or investments of a state to project its positive image in the international community. They even became our heroes, like how others passionately considered Pacman.

I hope that being a third world country won’t necessarily hinder such idea. With sports’ power to unite us and bring pride to our land, I am hoping together with our athletes that the government will do something about it. Again –they are investment. They are valuable resources.

Fate in Faith Healing

It is said to believe that an average Filipino citizen doesn’t go to a doctor directly whenever he experiences something bad in his body. He must be very sick before he goes to the expense of calling a licensed doctor to give him scientific remedies. He considers these medical doctors in the hospitals as a form of last resort. Maybe because, the concept of going to hospitals in the Philippines is a costly act that would force these poor citizens to sacrifice a lot just to pay long lists of hospital bills. That is why traditional practices like faith healing remains popular in the country.

The so called faith healing which refers to notably overt and ritualistic practices of communal prayer and gestures is the most accessible means of attaining cure in the country. Aside from the fact that it is cheaper, it has been said to be proven throughout the centuries.

Several “mananambal” or “albularyo” (faith healers in English) are believed to be gifted people chosen by gods. They are said to have super powers that can cast out bad spirits causing diseases and bring cure to various ailments.

Most of the doctors don’t believe with faith healers idea of pointing out bad spirits as the main cause of body disorders and illnesses. Since science has its own way of clarifying things out with clear bases and logic.

But according to a faith healer interviewed by Dr. Juan M. Flavier, President of Rural Reconstruction in the Philippines, no one can deny the existence of these spirits which doctors continue to contradict as causes of problems. That is why there are illnesses that doctors can’t cure and these cases are eventually end with albularyos.

Many say that faith healing is a non-problematic procedure of attaining wellness; however cases that had harmed lives of people are being recorded -bringing doubts with their powers of healing.

Like of in Gladstone, Oregon where a teenager’s death was identified a simple problem that could be easily treated however because of the family’s preference to access faith healing instead of scientific remedies, the teenager died.

No wonder why issues on faith healers legitimacy in performing their so called profession is now being questioned by various prosecutors in liberal democracies, which is under debates and discussions.

As of now, the medical world is pushing efforts to put awareness to the people around the globe to shift their preferences if they really value life.

However, in scenario where incapacity of paying medical doctors to be treated is evident and the lack of the government’s support to create cheaper hospitals and provide free welfare for its citizens like in the Philippines, then no one could question the public on why they are still falling in long queues, hoping to acquire cure in the hands of their mananambal or albularyos.

DMFD: To strike a chord

The gruesome killings of 30 media practitioners in Maguindanao last year is an evident scenario that reflects how Philippine Media has been corrupted and abused in the past decade.

This horrifying event is one of the many reasons that had brought the various media institutions from Davao City to unite their selves that paved way the launching of the first Davao Media Freedom Day (DMFD) that aims forward a just and fair treatment from the Philippine government.

“We [the media men] labor so hard yet we encounter these sad realities” said Tek Ocampo in Filipino, a local newscaster from GMA News Network Davao and one of the speakers of the 1^st DMFD launching in AdDU.

He pointed out how newsmen came across a range of mistreatment from the government that has somehow impeded their rights.

Discussions on threats from the authorities and risks on dealing with their profession as watchdogs and protectors of the masses were talked about. Other speakers shared their personal experiences on these issues –attesting that media cruelty is not mutually exclusive in the regime of Marcos but even in the present time.

Ideas aroused that if the newsmen are suffering from various danger and threats then maybe it’s now the high time for them to take actions like arming themselves for security purposes. However, journalists do not disagree on this.

“Journalists are journalists. Police are police” stressed Estella Estremera, Sun Star Davao’s Editor-in-Chief, which she tried to give emphasis on everyone’s delineation of roles in the society.

Despite of the eagerness of the law-makers to give the newsmen’ treatments like how they allow businessmen carry arms for protection, media believes that the idea wouldn’t solve the present problems, yet it will only open more possibilities for chaos.

If the Philippine government is serious on giving actions on these crucial realities that maligned rights of their citizens, it is possible that justice will be served. But if the government will be too feeble on putting all their promises into solid acts, then, these distressing realities will continue.

The launching of Davao Media Freedom Day will not only remind the people of what had happened to the journalists in Maguindanao. But its yearly celebration will also strike a chord to all Davaoenos how important media is in the society and how should the government give them the sufficient services and treatment they deserve.

 

Nothing will change

It is very ironic that the proud and loud Philippines, which is, considered as the stronghold of press freedom is suffering from different sort of violence and threats.

On its very nature, Philippine Press is being envied for its boldness and for its liberty, for its power to influence and to mobilize the Filipino people.  However, this very nature had contributed a lot of detriments. The power of the press to criticize various anomalies and scandals in our government became a subjective ground for them to be suppressed by the monstrous authorities.

The Maguindanao Massacre is the most horrifying evidence of media cruelty in our land. Thirty among the fifty-eight victims of the massacre are members of the local press. Today, that’s the biggest recorded number of media practitioners killed in the world in just a day. The gruesome scenario has received various condemnations not only from media organizations in the national level but also in international community.  No wonder why Philippines is considered as one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the globe.

Today, lawmakers expressed their favor on the idea of arming the legitimate members of the media for self-protection. For them, they saw that the criminal elements are fearless to do cruelty among the press because they don’t have anything to counter-attack these people. They find good reason in allowing newsmen to bring arms like how policemen permit business people and other citizens to have those to respond on security issues. But there is vagueness with their proposal; only those responsible media people are allowed to bring arms. If that’s the case, how could we deter who’s responsible or not, who deserves to be protected or not and who has the right to feel secured at the end of the day.

Many media practitioners don’t take the proposal as a solution for the increasing numbers of cruelty. In their perspective, it would only lead to further chaos. Instead, let the government create a strong campaign to stop these perpetrators and launch a movement to end the culture of impunity in the country.

“Police are police. Journalists are journalists” as what Ms. Estella Estremera of Sun Star Davao said. Therefore, let everyone in the state do their vital roles –roles that are legitimate. As long as the Philippine government is not willing to stand on providing justice and putting appropriate action on this poignant reality, nothing will change. The possibility of another massacre could happen.

 

Matter of responsibilities

As an alter-ego of the President, Sec. Edwin Lacierda should put in his mind that the words he utters everyday are not his anymore but of the president. It’s not a matter of depriving him from his rights; it’s a matter of fulfilling his responsibilities.

The Media asked Sec. Lacierda what is the stance of P-NOY towards the rejected appeals by a group of employees of the ABS-CBN for complaints of unfair labor practices by management. The only answer he gave is that the ABS-CBN is a publicly listed company and it has its own management, thus P-NOY doesn’t need to step into these since there are appropriate agencies that could address such issue.

Given that Sec. Lacierda is correct upon pointing out that there are appropriate agencies that are more equipped and knowledgeable in addressing the employees’ appeal, can’t he not, as part of the new administration, look into to these complaints?

If Sec. Lacierda’s excuse is ignorance on these matters then why not consult the government’s Labor Secretary to forward these appeals?

His statement saying that “P-NOY doesn’t need to” involve himself to the issues is a horrifying statement that would threaten the 80 percent trust rate of Filipino People have for the new president. These words are words that could eventually slap Pres. Aquino’s credibility and even his capacity to provide a justful governance at the end of the day.

Assuming but not conceding that Sec. Lacierda is still “learning the ropes” within the government, still the excuse isn’t valid to simply reject complaints from laborers who allegedly suffered injustices from a Kapamilya network.

We should not forget that once you step into the doors of Malacanang and seat on one of its chairs, you should be ready to face and respond the various problems that are nation has.

Again, “the president doesn’t need to do anything”. But as long as P-NOY would favor justice and affirm protection of Filipino laborers’ rights, he must and he will do something. Whether the problem is small or big, private or public –the president must have something to say.

“We will learn from the mistakes of the past administration” If this is what P-NOY wants to happen in his regime, he should listen to the voice of the minorities; the voices that were neglected by the previous administration. He should let his allies learned the sense of sensitivity and sympathy.

We know that Sec. Lacierda is part of the civil society groups who opposed the past regime. But now, Heis part of the new regime, the Palace Spokesperson, the voice of the president

These are lessons that should be learned. Again, it won’t deprive the spokesperson; it would only correct his duties and responsibilities.

inspired by Ma’am Susan Ople’s advocacy

Pointing fingers

In the recent hostage-taking incident in the country, media played a big role in disseminating information to the public –not only locally but also internationally. Broadcast media used its very power to cover every single drama and action found in the said incident. Through media’s blow-by-blow coverage, the world has witnessed the hostage’s bloody ending.

Despite of the media’s boldness to air the scenario, many fingers are now pointing them as one of the factors why the police’s action has been jeopardized; blaming them as the reason why the hostage-taker became more agitated at the end of the day.

In this moment, media faces the question whether or not they have covered the incident just for the sake of ratings and profit. Whether or not they have forgotten the ethical guidelines in airing news. Whether or not they have contributed something in the crime.

In times when national security is at stake, there should be measures for coverage that must be followed. These measures must be set not to impede the rights of media to practice their duty rather to pacify a crucial scenario. It’s a matter of limiting possible intrusiveness, disclosing vital information and protecting the lives involved. With these, the duty of media in keeping us updated with the stories that concerns us wouldn’t be hampered. Hence, it would create an avenue where media could establish a character that knows how to cope with the authorities.

However, the government has failed to provide such measures. They even missed to coordinate properly with the media to make their operation smoother and to put things in order.

We couldn’t simply point our fingers to an institution that caters our thirst for information. Blaming the media for a police operation flaw is an act of immaturity. Since its very nature is to expose things and give us the necessary details. We cannot simply halt them. The more we put broadcast media out of the scene, the more harmful would it be. How could we determine truth then when there’s no watchdog present? How could we know that there’s a hostage-taking incident near Luneta if they were not there?

Let us not forget that it is media’s right to inform and it’s the people’s right to be informed. Media in general protects the best interest of the majority. It’s for the sake of service. It’s for the country.

But if indeed the media has done something wrong, let the institution correct itself. If the government will identity what kind of flaw the media has done, let the government do something about it.

The Monday’s crisis must be a lesson learned to our country. We could never resurrect the lives of the victims by pointing fingers whom to blame, let us try to evaluate and plan for better actions instead. With that, we could move on.

Sex Education in the Philippines

Sex.

Basically, it is one of the few words that catch our attention. Whenever we see the word “sex” in magazines, newspapers and other print materials, we tend to stop at some point and become interested to read the article where it is written. It’s not because we simply feel the urge to read about sex but perhaps the “questioning self” wants to clarify and discover the truth about this matter.

In liberal democracies, sex is viewed as a normal activity for both adults and teenagers. Whether they are married or not, in a serious relationship or just in a fling, they engage to this kind of human activity.
In fact, most of their High School youngsters have this “get laid plans” before entering college. For them, sex is not a big deal. So, their state colleges and universities came up with a decision to integrate sex education into their classrooms as a regular part of instructions.

In the Philippines, it’s very different. Whenever we say the word “sex”, we are labeled as “rude”. No wonder why if we heard of “sex” we directly associate it to “vulgarity”. We cannot blame ourselves because we are living in a society with a stronghold of moral standards and conservatism. Some of us are still walking around the circular path of Father Damaso’s preachings in Noli, dictating us not to do this and that, which made us all hypocrites at the end of the day.

For sure, you haven’t heard your parents explain to you what sex is. We only encounter this word when we meet our friends, classmates, neighbors and the internet. We’ve got bits of information from our peers of the same age, brought about by curiosity and eagerness to know. We’ve got nothing from our moms and dads. It feels like everyone in our family is keeping his or her mouth shut when it comes to sex. Maybe, it’s not because they don’t want us to know what it is all about, but because they don’t know how to convey their thoughts. They find it awkward to share what they knew since they themselves have no backgrounds on sex education. Frankly speaking, majority of the Filipino families doesn’t have proper socio-cultural background in dealing with this particular matter. They find malice in educating us about sex. That’s why you can still hear children up to now, calling their organs “bird” and “flower”.

If the family, as the basic social unit and the ideal source of first learnings, is not capable of providing sex education, then it would be better if the government takes the responsibility in order to address these needed knowledge and values. It would be difficult for the children to understand things that are hidden and not well explained. Just like how my friend, way back in his childhood days, asked his dad why his mom got pregnant. The only answer he got was that “kapag masayang-masaya ang isang babae, mabubuntis sya.” Now tell me, is my friend’s dad a good sex educator? Does this statement would help him know what the truth about sex is?

We cannot deny that we are in the state of adolescence, whereas we have these raging hormones that are easily stimulated by uncensorable knowledge from non-school, techno-social environment. Such stimulation could possibly bring us all to the world of undesirable consequences. The Young Adult Fertility Survey conducted by University of the Philippines Population Institute said that there’s a significant percentage of early to late adolescents who are already into premarital sex. This result reflects our society today. Talk about our friends in High School who have their babies before or after graduation. Talk about Nene in “Katorse” who feared about her nanay’s reaction rather than the burndens she’ll carry after having unsafe sex. Problems regarding ignorance in sex are indeed rampant.

With SexEd, the intention is not to encourage young ones to engage into sex but to propagate learnings instead. As long as highly influential institutions, like the Church, are there, willing to guide and give assistance, we will not forget how to draw the line between what is moral and not.

If our government will continue to adhere to all the medieval age thinking, I doubt if we could help this country from preventing Rapid Population Growth. As what Conrado de Quiros said “It’s the Education, not the Sex”, true indeed that we’re for education and not of sex. However massive screening and studies must be allotted regarding this matter if ever our government would implement sex education as part of our private and public schools’ curricula. We can never say “never”, when in fact we’re not blind of the rampant controversies around us and when our eyes are all open, widely open to see those problems. Let us not be miopic in these issues. Let us think of the future and most importantly, THINK OF TODAY.

Noynoy, We will wait and hope

ONE of the most exciting parts of President Noynoy Aquino’s inauguration was seeing GMA leaving the Malacañang Palace. It is not because the Filipino people will miss the issues of her luxurious dinners abroad but because it symbolizes hope-filled years for a better Philippines.

P-Noy did not claim that he is like Superman or Einstein. He acknowledged himself as a simple human being who is willing to serve the Filipinos. Without arrogance, he said, “Kayo ang boss ko.” This signifies his humility as a man and a public servant. With this humility, we can’t expect him to act like a superhero who would risk his life for somebody nor to solve mysteries like those scientists. But we could not also allow him to just sit, talk, sign papers, and follow Liberal Party’s decisions just because he said he is a simple man.

We, the Filipino people, want something from him — something that could improve the ill-situation we have; something that would change the distorted structures of the government; something that is new.

In his speech, he stressed that he can forgive all who offended him but those who violated the law will face the consequence. He bannered again his mother’s statement as he said, “There can be no reconciliation without justice.” This statement is firm and powerful and this alone will make us wait and hope.

We will wait for P-Noy’s actions against corruption derived from the previous administration.

We will hope that justice would truly prevail; that there’ll be no biases; that no one will preserve selfish desires and interests.

We will wait and hope for an answer to the mysteries unsolved and problems not coped in the past nine years. Yes, P-Noy is just a man.He is not a hero like Superman or a scientist like Einstein but we hope he will be there to defeat the anomalies and solve issues.

We hope he will allow justice to prevail. We hope he will treat us as his boss for the next six years because this is what encompasses servant leadership.

photo source: PPV Studio

Philippine Election Analyses

The Odds

On the days leading to the historic May 10 Automated National and Local Elections, the Philippines was engaged in heated debate whether or not to hold the elections, as several anomalies sprouted to cast doubt on the accuracy and reliability of the machines.

The issue on printing ballots was one of the problems faced by the Commission on Election (COMELEC) during the preparation period. The Head of Poll Body’s printing committee for National Printing Office, Esmeralda Amora-Ladra, reported that they were unlikely to produce the required 50 million ballots since the NPO machines were not operating at maximum capacity. She further stressed that there was a need for them to avail of another set of machines in order to do the work faster. The NPO also forwarded a suggestion to the COMELEC to prepare measures in the case of possible manual elections.

Another glitch faced by the commission is the Ballot Secrecy Folder Scam. A certain whistleblower in the person of Atty. Melchor Magdamo, a former legal attorney of COMELEC under Commissioner Jose Melo last 2008, surfaced accusing Melo, Tolentino and other COMELEC officials of allegedly committing corruption. He said that these officials disobeyed an order of the COMELEC en banc since they proceeded on the bidding for expensive folders 2 years ago despite of an existing order to postpone such plan.

Add to the list of problems the malfunctions of the multibillion PCOS machines on tests conducted by the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) a few days before Election Day. Some of the machines could not read the ballots and could not count the votes properly while others were simply damaged.

The potential disasters uncovered candidates and voters alike to an extent that various political aspirants and groups appealed to COMELEC to postpone the elections, lest failure of elections happen.

Quick Response

As rumors of the postponement of elections circulated, Smartmatic took immediate actions to address the irregularities of the PCOS machines. They replaced the memory cards of the machines for every precinct as Election Day loomed as well as appearing on national TV to ensure the public that the elections would precede smoothly. Fortunately for Smartmatic and the voting public, majority of the machines functioned well on May 10. A successful election already seemed assured as the day closed on a historic national event of our time.

The Scent of Success

Despite the odds, the May election was a success. This success is mostly due to the efforts of teachers acting as the BEIs who made sure that the machines ran smoothly and without error, and the patience of voters cramped in dilapidated classrooms waiting as long as four or more hours in inopportune weather to exercise their right, to ensure that those they consider capable to assume leadership of the land.

The success of this election is illustrated by the high turnout rate. With a rate of 75%, the May 2010 Philippine Elections ranks as among the highest all over the world. Now, the Filipinos could proudly say to the rest of the world that indeed this nation is the first ever country in South East Asia to have fully and successfully carried out the shift from manual to automated polls on a nationwide scale.

Media Meets Technology

The media as the country’s watchdog played an important part in the recent elections.

Aside from covering the events of Election Day nationwide in real-time using advanced technology on par with that used in CNN, the media served to mobilize the citizenry in getting involved on the country’s important issues and activities, using popular social networking sites, cell phones and blogs to connect with the masses, particularly the youth. The latter action was most remarkable, because it provided an avenue for vigilant citizens to send stories of anomalies happening on their regions.

The only snag on the elections on the side of the media was the perceived biases in news coverage of major media outlets in the country, leading some of the networks to be labeled as “yellow networks” and “orange networks”.

Political Dynasties

As a result of the elections, various political families perpetuated their influence.

The Marcoses in particular bagged several powerful positions in the government. From the new Senator Bong-bong Marcos; to his mother, Congresswoman Imelda Marcos; down to his sister, Governor Imee Marcos, who trounced their relatives at the automated polls, the stage has been set for a Marcos political comeback. The Garcias of Cebu are still in power despite the challenges to their dominance. The Singsons, who happen to be the oldest political dynasty in our country, continue to maintain their control over the people. In Davao, the Nograleses and Dutertes still walk the halls of power, within Congress and Local Executive positions as well as outside of it. Even the president himself is the product of a prominent political family.

These are but few of the hundreds of political families that still hold influence in the actions and plans of this country. The continued existence of political dynasties is in contradiction to Article II, The Declaration of Rules and State Policies, Sec. 26 of 1987 Constitution, but given their clout and our fixation with the politics of personalities and personal networks rather than in political platforms the phenomenon continues.

Our Tomorrow

The courage shown by the COMELEC to automate the nation elections is their legacy to our country. However, that legacy will be wasted if they will not impose honesty amongst themselves and if they will not speak of the truth on the controversies they face.

We Filipino voters are the reason why our elections ended successfully. Our willingness to cast our votes and our strong participation to expose anomalies paved way for a hope-filled six years.

We have witnessed that technology played a great role in this year’s election. However, its contribution could never alter the substance of our electoral democracy. The challenge for us Filipinos is to vote based on platforms, not by fame or power. We should never let these oligarchs and political dynasties rule over us again and again. If not for us, election automation and the promise of a matured democracy can never materialize.

photo source: www.digitaljournal.com/article/285454