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Voting has always been quick and easy in my precinct. I don’t remember experiencing a time when queues are long and disorganized.

I suppose it also helps that I already knew who to vote for. I take these things seriously, as a person who firmly believes that education must be this country’s number one priority. If we want to kick the corrupt monkeys out of the system, everyone must be educated. Everyone must learn to vote wisely.

As for the rest of my philosophy:

• I would not have become a part-time educator if I did not believe that I have power to make small changes. I may be one small voice (not literally, because I do have a loud voice), but little things, those little changes, add up. Voting is not just my right as a Filipino citizen. It is also my duty as an educator who wants to make a difference. 

• I would also like to exercise my right as a suffragette — the women in my ancestry fought for it.

• My priorities when it comes to choosing candidates are the following platforms, in order of importance: education, employment, health, preservation of minority culture. I am extremely vocal about other issues (such as marriage equality and divorce), but I am realistic about what can be dealt with while I’m still alive.

• I voted for the following senators, using GMA’s cheat sheet (election matrix) and Wikipedia’s reference section as starting points:

1. Ed Hagedorn: Fits my template for all the important issues I want addressed (women’s rights, education/information distribution, health).
2. Dick Gordon: The only anti-RH bill person I voted for. But his reasons for not wanting the RH Bill is sound and his track record speaks for itself. He’s also against the Sin Tax law (even though I would really prefer to have it in place) but cites employment as a reason. If we think about it, tobacco farmers and sidewalk vendors will get affected too.
3. Risa Hontiveros: Same reason I had for voting for Hagedorn. She’s also a known advocate of women’s rights.
4. Jun Magsaysay: Same reason I had for voting for Hagedorn and Hontiveros.
5. Bro. Eddie Villanueva: I have to admit I never vote for people who are religiously motivated. I voted for him this time around because he surprisingly supports a lot of the issues that Hagedorn, Gordon, Hontiveros and Magsaysay shared. Plus, it wouldn’t be so bad to have someone in there who actually has a visible moral compass. Adds balance to the force.
6. Jamby Madrigal: Surprise!!! I never liked Madrigal because of two reasons. She was epal during Cory Aquino’s funeral (she was giving out campaign materials, goodness). And then there’s her same-sex marriage stance. Sure, most of my favorite candidates are anti same-sex marriage. (It’s not like I expect Filipinos to change their minds within the next couple of centuries even though more than half of the population are closet Vice Ganda fans.) But coming from her, it just seems weird…please don’t ask me to elaborate, haha. Thing is, when you delve into the woman’s records, she actually did a lot of things for the benefit of the indigenous communities. So yeah, I did not let my annoyance hinder me from voting for someone who does her job and does it well.

In the entertainment industry, the closest thing that brings out my sense of nationalism is this song by Gloc-9:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2jLrLtbU3k?list=UUJ2-eVUp8f3iCdV0Tk6lT_Q&w=410&h=231]

I actually find voting fun, even though I don’t normally like filling up forms. It could be because our precinct has always been orderly about it. I wanted to shush my brother and father, though, because they were so noisy about who to vote for that it almost felt like I was a teacher giving an exam and they were discussing the answers. LOL. (Though I’m not a teacher who gives written exams, haha.)