Voting 2010

Voting for the Presidential, National, and local elections using automation in Miriam is chaotic and exhausting.

1. First you must know your cluster and precinct number.
2. Fill in a small form for sequence and verification.
3. Fall in line to get the form signed.
4. Move to the next line to enter the voting precinct.
5. Enter the hall, proceed to your cluster and fall in line.
6. Secure your ballot:
1. Present your slip
2. Locate Cluster, Precinct, Seguence at the Master List
3. Sign
4. Secure your ballot
5. Wait for a vacant table
7. Fill in your ballot
1. Present ballot for PCOS scanning.  Wait for verification.
2. Have your finger marked
3. Thumbmark beside your name in the master list
8. Thank the staff

We were further delayed as the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) in my cluster malfunctioned. So line did not move for about 2 hours. In the afternoon, the voters now have a better knowledge on the steps to follow. With less people in the center and the staff better familiar with the operations, the lines moved faster.

Bring hydration, sunblock, cell and pen and lots of patience. Reference card issued by candidates on cluster and precinct number is helpful. So are the volunteers from the nearby schools. Do not take for granted process management. It is the career of the future.

To cast my vote for 15 national candidates, 9 local candidates, I filled in my ballot in less than 4 minutes but lined up for about 7 hours. May my candidates appreciate what I have to go through to earn the people's mandate. The least that I expect from them, serve the greater interest of the public.

Posted while in line for 5 hours to enter the precinct 10 May 2010

Joy in a Calesa Ride

Joy ride is a favorite past time in my hometown in the 70’s where the calesa is the main mode of transport to go around town in Tuguegarao. The kutsero steers us to the four corners of the town, Horno and the Cathedral in the East, St Louis in the South, St Paul and Ermita in the West and Cagayan High School in the far North. In between, we pass through Kalye Komersyo and the Town Hall. 30 minutes and a few centavos (25 or 50 centavos) in a slow calesa are all it takes to swing around town. There is no definite destination except to experience the joy of riding of seeing landmarks in a company of friends passing time in a relatively small town.

The same joy evoked in this calesa ride decades ago was my intention in riding the LRT from Balintawak to Monumento in EDSA. The metro train segment was launched this Holy Week as part of the 360 degree government project to close in Metro Manila loop connecting Monumento to Quiapo to EDSA via Taft and to West Avenue via EDSA. For P 15.0 I viewed in an elevated platform for the 1st time North Luzon Expressway, Caloocan, Malabon and to certain extent the skyscrapers in Roxas Boulevard at the extreme East. The joy was short lived as it was only a 5 minute ride for a 3-4 kilometer stretch. But the thrill that lingered was excitement of seeing familiar objects in a new light and being one of the 1st to do so. The pleasure of a ride whether in a small town or in a highly populated city was pretty much the same.

Photos lifted from the web.

Joy in a Calesa Ride

Joy ride is a favorite past time in my hometown in the 70’s where the calesa is the main mode of transport to go around town in Tuguegarao. The kutsero steers us to the four corners of the town, Horno and the Cathedral in the East, St Louis in the South, St Paul and Ermita in the West and Cagayan High School in the far North. In between, we pass through Kalye Komersyo and the Town Hall. 30 minutes and a few centavos (25 or 50 centavos) in a slow calesa are all it takes to swing around town. There is no definite destination except to experience the joy of riding of seeing landmarks in a company of friends passing time in a relatively small town.

The same joy evoked in this calesa ride decades ago was my intention in riding the LRT from Balintawak to Monumento in EDSA. The metro train segment was launched this Holy Week as part of the 360 degree government project to close in Metro Manila loop connecting Monumento to Quiapo to EDSA via Taft and to West Avenue via EDSA. For P 15.0 I viewed in an elevated platform for the 1st time North Luzon Expressway, Caloocan, Malabon and to certain extent the skyscrapers in Roxas Boulevard at the extreme East. The joy was short lived as it was only a 5 minute ride for a 3-4 kilometer stretch. But the thrill that lingered was excitement of seeing familiar objects in a new light and being one of the 1st to do so. The pleasure of a ride whether in a small town or in a highly populated city was pretty much the same.

Photos lifted from the web.

Election Fever

We are an abundant nation if you notice the Zero Operational Excellence prevalent in Metro Manila's postering and streamer placement activities for the 10 May election. Resources are not scarce if you equate it at the rate materials and labor are wasted wantonly.

• Manpower posts and pastes materials on the walls. Minutes later authorities scrape and tear them down. Later on more manpower plasters in another batch of posters, then authorities tear them down.
• Today, blue streamers hang across two electric posts. In the evening the colors change to red.
• On 10 May, thousands of sample ballots will litter the polling places. Not considering still the thousands of ballots in jumbo format wasted for wrong shading and incorrect number of entries.

Being kind to mother earth also means optimum use of limited resources. Makes one wonder, whose resources are drained during this election period.