PITY the politicians. They’ve all filed their certificates of candidacy and now have to wait for the official campaign period to begin before promoting themselves. This may seem a good thing for them — because they can avoid spending — but wait! Christmas is just around the corner! And no politician can escape spending for Christmas.
Pity the politicians.
I’ve actually wondered why filing has to be done so early when everything should be electronic these days. If we could set filing in the middle of January, then these poor folks get to avoid being visited by their constituents during the holidays. Well, I guess they can’t prevent constituents from dropping by and singing carols but they can opt not to be home when that happens.
So imagine filing in January, say the 15th, with the Comelec announcing the names of those they deem as qualified to run by the end of January. That’s still enough time for campaigning if the elections are to be held in May and solves the issues caused by having declared but non-campaigning candidates when Santa Claus comes to town.
Pity the politicians.
At least in America, they get to avoid this. Party primaries happen in March, April, May June sometimes even July, with conventions in July and August, and elections in November — way long before Christmas. Very practical timetable if you ask me. But the same can’t be said about the Philippines, we who have a penchant for making simple things complicated or stretching things out. See how our version of the Oscars can stretch into the wee hours of the morning. Or beauty pageants end at 3 a.m., even those held in small towns to commemorate fiestas.
The same goes with the election season, stretched and elongated when it shouldn’t be.
In America, while “Election Day” is the second Tuesday of November, voting has actually begun. More than a million mail-in ballots have been released in many states, including the so-called battleground states of Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Georgia. In Georgia, over 300,000 ballots have been mailed, breaking old records. And while mail-in ballots are usually Democratic, even Republicans have requested mail-in ballots for 2024 so it’s too early to tell whether the heavy turnout will be good for one party or the other.
Mail-in ballots will be a strange idea for Filipinos because we are so used to one big holiday on Election Day and take advantage of the break to go on a trip after voting, or to hang around polling stations to watch the count. In contrast, Election Day in the US is never a holiday, and that’s why if buyers can vote early and by mail, they do so.
Obviously, they trust their mail system, yes?
It’s decision time for America, while it will be ours seven months from today. There’s reason to pity the Filipino politicians who will now be the target of the “namamaskong” voters this Xmas season. But life has a way of evening things out: you see, after decision time, it will be time to pity the voters because the winners will put self-interest above all else!
