Goosebump moments
These were goosebump-inducing moments where one felt excitement at the expressions of support for candidates and for each other because truly the elections are not for the candidates but for us
Political apathy and low turnout of voters are terms we will not hear this election day tomorrow, May 9, 2022. The conduct of the campaign for the national elections presented plenty of goosebump moments when people from all walks of life volunteered time, effort, and resources in the political exercise. We saw young people determined, indefatigable, and proud to be part of the campaign. There were celebrities and artists, including national artists and veteran performers, who joined rallies and composers who wrote political songs, without compensation for many of them.
Office workers, taxi drivers, and security guards took the effort to go to rallies and listen to the candidates. Taking a cab became a chance to hear drivers speak about their chosen candidate without the need for me to push my preference. Whether they were for Vice President Leni Robredo or the dictator’s son and former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the two leading candidates for President, these taxi drivers spoke of values our next leaders should espouse in an effort to convince me.
There was a college student, a volunteer, who spoke to a campaign leader on the eve of a grand rally that he would stay awake and be on call all night for her for any last-minute concern. And he had been up that whole day. Another traveled from her province to volunteer for the campaign. They were not alone.
They resorted to online political engagement where supporters belied trolls and tried to keep the conversation sober, although there were instances of false information, insults, and name-calling, the ugly side of the campaign.
These were goosebump-inducing moments where one felt excitement at the expressions of support for candidates and for each other because truly the elections are not for the candidates but for us.
Candidates say the elections are for the future generation—our children and their children, so on and so forth. But that’s not true. We vote for today, for us who do not want incompetence, wrong priorities, corruption, and dishonesty.
We also vote for our elders. Those who had aspirations for us when we were young. We vote for everyone as politics affects all aspects of life, of people who aspire for a leadership that is capable, honest, and inspiring.
The turnout of voters tomorrow, Monday, will be another goosebump trigger. Turnout is expected to be as high or higher than in the 2016 polls. In the last general elections in 2016, those who turned up to vote represented 81.95 percent of the 54,363,844 registered voters. This was the highest percentage of voter turnout since 2001, the poll body said. The number of voters for this year went up to 65.7 million and the percentage of turnout is expected to be in the high 80s.
The biggest goosebump or exciting moment to come will be election day when Filipinos break their apathy and take political action.