Text by: EMMANUEL CAGAYAN
Video by: AMIEL CAGAYAN
TACURONG CITY – The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) reminded its volunteers of their role to secure the vote of Filipinos today.
Over 300 volunteers attended the final briefing at the Nuestra Sra. dela Candelaria Parish on Saturday. The volunteers will be deployed in 24 polling centers or a total of 76 clustered precincts.
The PPCRV is composed of volunteers from different chapels of the parish.
One of them is first-time volunteer, Crisostomo Gentica, a 58-year-old resident of New Isabela. He said he’d like the secure the votes of people in Tacurong and ensure that cheating won’t happen.
Another volunteer Wendell John Quejada, a youth leader, believes that every vote counts. For him, each vote will ensure young people like him of a better future.
Fr. Salvador Robles, DCC, the city’s PPCRV coordinator, lauded the volunteers, saying the role of the PPCRV is to enlighten and empower the people.
Fr. Robles also took notice of a poster prominently displayed in front of a hospital in Tacurong. The poster denounces vote-buying.
For him, the effort to put it up shows one’s love for the country.
“Tagpila ka man? (What is your worth),” the poster reads. It says if a voter accepts P500 in exchange for a vote, it’s just P0.45 paid out daily over the course of three years of a local official’s term.
It adds, even fish paste can’t be bought for 45 centavos. It then asks the voter if he’s worth much lower that a fish paste.
The poster says one vote sold is not worth years of poverty. “Niloko ka na, nagpasalamat ka pa! (You are being deceived, and yet you’re thankful),” it says.
Vicky Cirujano, a resident and registered voter, thanked those who put up the poster because it helps to enlighten voters. For her, no one should ever sell his or her vote.