Impoverished Country

I WAS SURFING the Internet when I chanced upon an issue of The Sunday Times. According to the online publication of the newspaper, “this year’s barangay elections might be the bloodiest in history.”I cannot help but believe them. According to Acting Comelec Chairman Resurreccion Borra, there were a total of 315 cases of election-related violence, about 40 of which resulted to death. It is irritating to think how shallow these people can get. Barangay elections are the smallest government elections in the country, yet political candidates are still willing to kill for a position.

However, a PNP tally showed that five of those killed were candidates for barangay captain while two were running for barangay councilors. Seven of those killed were incumbent village officials. Four of those wounded were barangay captain candidates, it added. The PNP’s count, said Razon, was 48 incidents of election-related violence compared to the 159 incidents in 2002. While there actually are some conflicts among figures showing that the recent elections are generally peaceful, deaths are still deaths.

What a menacing thought that all barangays are still dependent on the government when it comes to funds but, in fact, they are given the power to raise funds via community taxes through the Local Government Code. I wonder where the money they obtain goes. Does that serve as the advertisement for aspirants to commit murder?

Or, that is, of course, if they raise any money at all through their local taxing authority. Analysts claim that local government units have increased their dependence on the Internal Revenue Allotment, the national funds.

An extremely long parade of candidates with their supporters passed by while I was in the middle of my periodical exams at school. I heard jovial political jingles and advertising of political candidates. And I thought why do they give so much? How could they spend their money in such a wasteful manner when they should have been campaigning themselves way before the elections by reaching out to people personally?

Obviously, they are expecting that their gain would be more than the loss once they win. It would strike anyone curious since a barangay chairman receives only up to PhP12 000 salaries, but they spend thousands of thousands for political campaigns on the average.

What I always wonder is why politicians run at all. Tell me that you want to serve, and I would tell you that you could serve the public better than by holding a government position. There is an open secret that these politicians run because of money and more money which may be the root of some political killings.

On another point, what impoverish this country are the long processes. I surely know that there are 41 975 barangays plus the same number for the Sangguniang Kabataan. Organize a poll for them and the Comelec would spend almost PhP3 billion for barangays whose purpose seems only to sweep the roads every morning and organize basketball tournaments every year. We would be better off if city or municipal mayors would just appoint barangay officials.
A thought, anyone? Well, mine, just forget barangay elections, which are mere games for low-fliers aspiring to be high ones. It is a décor in our politics, a bloody décor that is. A training ground as it is. Let them appoint anyone. It would not matter. We never learn.

We try very hard to defend the democracy that we are luxuriously living in. But, we are shrouded by this image that many of us fail to see the more efficient long-term solutions to problems. We see the barangay elections as one of the indicators that democracy is alive and well. While I agree that democracy should be kept, we could not let it stand amid our path to development.