The Philippine Online Chronicles

(Still undecided? Here is a guide to presidential candidates and their platform matrix)

Is there a glimmer of hope in the automated election? At least a dozen things can go wrong during the first automated elections this May 10, simply because it is new and has barely been tested for all the bugs.  Election uncertainties dominate three major dailies, based on a study done by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), from February 28 to March 13, 2010.

The major problems that have emerged in the 2010 elections dominated the print coverage (114 times). During the monitor period, among the leading election issues/problems that occupied the broadsheets were: the possible power crisis and its effect on the polls, to the extent of leading to a failure of the automated elections in May; the granting of emergency powers to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to address the power shortage in Mindanao and concerns over emergency funds given to local government units; questions over Arroyo’s last-minute appointments in the military and the executive branch; concerns on whether Arroyo can appoint the next Supreme Court justice chief; and the Supreme Court’s ruling that appointed officials running in this year’s elections must resign.

Despite the doom and gloom that has been written about the May 10, 2010 elections, I believe that there are things within our control. We can help minimize anxiety by being prepared and educating ourselves on the process and the potential problems that may arise and how to address them.

1. Know your precinct number before Election day

• You can start looking for your precinct online at the Comelec’s Registration Verification Precinct finder.
• If your name is not in the precinct finder, or the online site is down, just visit the local Comelec office so you don’t panic during election day. It pays to know your precinct number and exact location of your precinct ahead of time too.

2. Know whom to vote and make a cheat list

• Make a choice on your presidential candidate and choose wisely based on your beliefs, your criteria, and platform of government.
• Still undecided? Here is a guide to presidential candidates and their platform matrix. You can also check and download the profiles of national candidates by Caucus of Development-NGO Networks.
• Know the candidates on the national level.

-List of Presidential candidates

• Read profiles of Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro, Dick Gordon, Ed Villanueva, Nick Perlas, Erap Estrada, Jamby Madrigal, JC de los Reyes.

-List of Vice-presidential candidates

• Read more on Loren Legarda, Edu Manzano.

List of senatorial candidates

• Read more on Nacionalista party , Liberal party, PMP, NPC, Ang Kapatiran, LAKAS-Kampi-CMD.

List of Party list candidates

• Get to know party lists (Part 1 , 2,  3).
• Listing of Bogus party-lists.

Know your congressional district level (Lower House seats), and at the provincial level (gubernatorial, vice-gubernatorial, and provincial board) by using this interactive site. It will bring you to congressional and provincial candidates in your region.

3. Practice with a sample ballot

• Know your ballot - It’s a lot easier to fill out the ballot now because there is no need to write names. All we have to do is shade the oval beside our candidate of choice.
• Download a sample ballot and practice shading the oval spaces beside the candidate’s name with a felt tip pen. The sample ballot contains the name of the national positions and the party list
• Know how to fill the ballot.

4. Know  the steps of an automated election system (AES)

• Read the steps on how to vote in an automated election
• Watch this video on "Five Easy Steps sa Pagboto sa AES"

Tagalog Version

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Cebuano version

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• Know how the machine looks like or the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS).

Watch this video

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• Watch this video on precinct scenario.

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5. Know potential problems on election day

• While you may already be familiar with how to vote in an automated election, there are a few technical problems that can occur before your vote gets counted and transmitted.
• Read this interactive guide to educate yourself on potential problems.
• Read the guide on potential problems that may occur (download here) and the suggestions on addressing the problems, such as bringing a flashlight to brownout-prone areas or following the election personnel who transfer memory cards.

So yes, prepare for brownouts, long lines, and pre-marked ballots being fed into the voting machines. There is also a possibility of weak signal and a breakdown of the PCOS machines that could hamper the counting.

6. Share your knowledge.

• Share what you know about candidate's platforms, fair election practices, and campaign spending.
• Conduct conversations with other voters, especially non-internet users, your family, relatives, friends, or the stranger standing beside you.
• Be responsible when passing on text messages or forwarded emails.
• For those who are not voting, you still have to make a choice, at least to influence those near to you.

7. Be part of citizen power :"being in media." If you want to cover and document this important and special democratic exercise, sign up here as Blog Watch citizen journalist.

It takes just seven steps to lessen the anxiety before election day. Do your part to keep our elections clean by educating yourself about the voting process and keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity.

Photo by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado. Some Rights Reserved.