House to House, Heart to Heart
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A campaign volunteer going the extra mile to reach voters (Source: twitter)
On the dark side, you see traditional politicians go onstage handing out wads of cash in the guise of giving away prizes. Caught on video are political operatives furtively distributing envelopes containing 500 pesos each to attendees. When confronted by the media, the explanation given was that the funds were part of the pandemic ayuda (financial assistance) to be released by the government. It was just coincidental that the money was being doled out during a rally in favor of a particular candidate.
While these acts are forms of vote-buying prohibited under Sections 261(a) and 89 of the Omnibus Election Code, authorities have let it be and looked away. Two wrongs do not make a third wrong right.
On the bright side, you watch A-1 musical bands, television celebrities, and social media personalities traveling to the rally site at their own expense and performing sans any talent fees. Rally participants invest their time, talent, and treasure as opposed to those who are hakot (bused in) and bayaran (paid and fed) by the local officials. The youth have showcased their artistic talent by painting shared murals or creating personal placards. Rally organizers in each city engage in a friendly OlymPinks competition, trying to outdo each other’s creativity but at the same time lending their tarpaulins and donating their leftover supplies for subsequent events. It is truly heartening to witness a renewed spirit of Filipino volunteerism and bayanihan unleashed.
In the 2016 Philippine Presidential election, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) adopted the slogan “Tamang Pagboto, Tamang Pagbilang” (Correct Vote, Correct Count). We considered various shibboleths for the 2016 electoral exercise but eventually picked the mantra that it is the duty of every voter to choose the best candidates while it is the responsibility of Comelec to honor that voter’s choice by correctly counting their votes.
Tamang Pagboto
The cornerstone of a free and fair election is an informed vote. To be informed connotes the responsibility of a voter to listen to the candidates articulate their reasons to run for office and examine their campaign platforms. It implies an active pursuit of, and a resolute commitment to, the truth.
Given the current “state of disinformation” where the distinction between facts and lies has blurred if not completely disappeared, I wonder if the average Filipino is still able to cast an informed vote. Many are imprisoned in chambers that echo lies, unable to discern the truth and learn from the lessons of history. Others fumble through a fog of falsehoods, no longer able to see the path toward good and honest government. Democracy dies in the darkness but disinformation has ambushed it in broad daylight. In my view, this unfortunate situation is the foremost challenge that the country faces in the May 9, 2022 elections.
When you think about it, the election cheating had begun with the intentional propagation of fake news and misleading propaganda using various social media platforms. The unmistakable target is the gullible and impressionable voter. With deception becoming the rule rather than the exception, the possibility of many voters casting a “disinformed” vote in this upcoming election is only too real. And such blight of disinformation serves as the foundational poison to an election that will eventually prove fatal to any democracy. Nobel laureate Maria Ressa succinctly described the problem: “If we do not have integrity of facts, we won’t have integrity of elections.”
How do we counter this form of cheating when its poison has invaded the bloodstream of our national consciousness? Too many are drowning in fake news and not even aware of it.
H2H
Journalist Raissa Robles tweeted a powerful call to “turn the PNP’s deadly ‘Oplan Katok’ in the country’s poorest neighborhoods into a positive Oplan Katok-Boto.” Robles quipped, “This will be very hard but it’s the only way”.
I couldn’t agree more. I am heartened by accounts of H2H or “house to house” campaigns undertaken by tireless and dedicated volunteers, including many celebrities. We can follow their example by using our feet to walk across various barangays to knock on doors or our fingers to walk across our keyboards and phones to undertake a virtual Oplan Katok-Boto. We may not have the drawing power of Angel Locsin or the swoon-inducing charm of Donny Pangilinan, but we all have the ability to speak our truth.
While your feet and fingers do the walking, let your voice be a compelling bearer of accurate history and legitimate facts. Be ready to provide evidence of veracity, provide links to independent sources (i.e. the documentary “Kingmaker” now dubbed in Tagalog and captioned in five local languages), carry around and be ready to show photos and infographics depicting the plunder, the opulence and atrocities that marred our history, prepare your talking points backed up by references to irrefutable proof (e,g., February 2021 ruling of the Philippine Supreme Court dismissing 2016 Vice President election protest; final and executory 1997 Philippine Supreme Court ruling on the Marcos estate tax; US Federal Court order of $1.9 billion to compensate human rights victims; US Court of Appeals contempt judgment of $353 million in favor of human rights victims).
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-18-mn-10301-story.html
https://www.rappler.com/nation/marcos-estate-tax-final-executory-1999-dof-unpaid/
Be ready to describe your candidates’ track records -- their contributions and achievements in office, the ideals they upheld through their actions and measures they’ve taken, the strength and quality of their characters, the concrete and people-focused nature of their platforms. And, as we intensify our efforts, let’s remember to remain humble, gentle, and respectful. Ultimately, Oplan Katok-Boto is an earnest knock on our kabayans’ minds and hearts.
There is over a month left before May 9, 2022. Let us use this time to reach out not only to family and friends, but also to fellow Filipinos beyond our immediate circles of influence. Let us heed the call to go out into the streets, virtual or otherwise -- from barangay to barangay, from house to house, from door to door, from mind to mind, heart to heart. Campaigning H2H is the only way to counteract and cancel disinformation and enable Tamang Pagboto. House to House, Heart to Heart.
Before serving as chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Elections (2015-17) and Presidential Commission on Good Government (2010-15) the agency tasked to recover the Marcos ill-gotten wealth, Andy Bautista worked with two international law firms in New York and Hong Kong (1993-2006). He also served as dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law (1999-2013).
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