Not an easy attitude to change

According to a recent poll by the Social Weather Stations, almost three in every 10 people said they either personally witnessed or heard about vote-buying in their areas during the recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE).

The same survey, as mentioned in a report in Philstar.com, names vote buying as the most common violation during BSKE polls, with the others being bribery in exchange for not voting, harassment of voters, flying voters, cheating during vote counting, and outright violence.

For now let’s just focus on vote buying. In a recent editorial regarding the Philippines’ standing in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, we mentioned how some questionable activities have become so part of our “culture” and “tradition” many don’t see them as wrong, illegal, or immoral acts anymore, but the mere act of doing business.

And that includes the act of vote buying. It has become so commonplace especially in the far-flung areas that one cannot expect to win without shelling out money in exchange for votes, even for the most humble barangay posts. Needless to say, those running for higher office are expected to give more.

Of course, in such a scenario, he or she who has the most money usually ends up being elected, and not he or she who is most qualified to hold that position.

Again we say that the best way to change an attitude is to have good examples. But we see this as hard going in a country where vote buying has become so common that voters play candidates against each other, resolving that they will simply vote for whoever gives them more money.

Do we simply ask people running for office not to give money anymore? That will ruin their chances. Do we simply ask people not to accept money in exchange for their vote? They will merely complain that others are doing it, so why can’t they.

This isn’t a simple problem to solve or an easy attitude to change.