A. B.

C. D.

E.

A.
Suffrage is the basic, fundamental human right that all people exercise in choosing
public officials to serve as leaders of the country. Every country practices this fundamental
right. This is stipulated in Article 21, Section 3 of Universal Declaration on Human Rights
which states that, “the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government;
this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal
and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting
procedures.” Here in the Philippines this is explicitly stated in Article II, Section 1 of 1987
Constitution, wherein “Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority
emanates from them.”
Therefore the right to exercise of suffrage is very significant because the people’s
votes determine what type of government and governance our chosen candidates will
deliver. It also should be taken into consideration that exercising suffrage should have no
literacy or substantive requirements imposed other than the proper age, residency and
the place where they will vote, as per the provisions of Section 5, Article I of the same
constitution.
 In short, right to vote ensures democratic and responsible government. A
democratic government where everyone have equal access to public service and not just
a rule of inheritance. A responsible government where public officials do not abuse the
power they emanate by installing their family in public service. A democratic government
where the people choose their leaders based on their merits they achieved and
advocacies they wanted to deliver to the people and not just by biting into the lure of
money. A responsible government where public officials do not use money to buy the
votes of the people. A democratic government where people are concerned about the
future of the country and vote wisely. A responsible government where public officials
care for the concerns of the people and not by themselves.

B.
However, the exercise of suffrage in the Philippines is far from perfect. In fact many
Filipinos even resigned to the fact that election in the Philippines is a dirty game of
controversies and politics. Vote-buying, election-related killings, electoral manipulation,
are just some common electoral scandals and violence that has marred for decades in
the Philippines.
Since its independence in 1946, Philippines has have very numerous election
scandals and corruption. From the 1949 elections that was considered by critics as the
“worst election held in the Philippines”; to the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos allegedly
manipulating the voter turnouts of COMELEC in his favor against his opponent, Corazon
Aquino; to the electoral protest of Miriam Defensor Santiago against Fidel Ramos for
cheating her in the 1992 presidential elections and to the most infamous election scandal
in the 21st century being the Hello Garci scandal of 2004, where Samuel Ong possessed
original recordings of wiretapped telephone conversation between then-President Gloria
Arroyo and Commission on Elections official Virgilio Garcillano asking if she was leading
by a million votes against rival, Fernando Poe Jr. and to this day was never charged for
electoral fraud.
Part of the reason why election in the Philippines is very questionable is
contributed to lack of awareness, oversight and education of Filipinos in choosing proper
candidates. Filipinos are arguably the most vulnerable and easily manipulated
electorates. They are easily swayed by the allure of easy money from candidates bribing
them for their vote, the advertising might of electoral candidates in television, the leverage
of electoral candidates by religious organizations that supports them, lack of research
towards candidate’ qualifications and many more. This lack of awareness has allowed
some politicians to continually abuse the system and leverage them to their advantage.
For example, in the 2019 mid-term elections, the accused senators who were “allegedly”
involved in the 2013 PDAF/Pork Barrel scam Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and
Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. were acquitted of plunder and later filed for candidacy to run
again as senator respectively, with the latter actually earning a spot in the Senate.
C.
Therefore Filipinos need to be educated, most especially the younger generation,
about the importance of their exercise to suffrage. Teachers should be very familiar about
their roles as facilitators of learning and that teaching them the importance of their
suffrage will help maintain democracy in the country. It is important that teachers should
have prerequisite skills needed to teach people about the importance of suffrage.
Perhaps the most notable skill, or ideal rather, that a teacher should possess is the
sense of patriotism. Patriotism refers to one’s devotion and love for his country. This virtue
pushes the citizens to work for their country selflessly and make it better. Love for the
country is a necessary requisite in educating the importance of suffrage to the Filipinos
because we decide what the government will be and its future. It is imperative that being
patriot is required to teach suffrage.
Knowledge is another significant skill a teacher should have. Of course it is no
brainer that being knowledgeable is imperative in teaching the fundamental constitutional
rights especially the right to suffrage. How could people even understand the basic
importance of suffrage in the national development of the country if teachers are not
intelligent enough to teach them?

D.

E.