November 8, 2007
While I'm looking for news about the result of the recent Barangay Election in Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines, I came across with the report from Manila Times regarding the election failure in Tapaz, Capiz. The news goes like this:
Poll violence, ballot-snatching and failure of election reported
CAPIZ, PARADISE PHILIPPINES, No barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections took place in remote Barangay Rizal Norte, of Tapaz, Capiz on Monday, as a band of armed men snatched ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia from teachers, reported Panay News.
Tapaz has 58 barangays. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Capiz Police Provincial Office identified 29 of its barangays as election areas of concern.
Around 15 armed men blocked the teachers, initial information gathered showed.
Nobody was hurt in the ballot-snatching.
The Comelec declared a failure of election in Barangay Rizal Norte upon learning of the ballot-snatching, which disenfranchised some 2,000 voters, Dulay added.
Capiz has a total of 46 barangays classified as areas of immediate concern, while overall, the province has 366,822 regular voters.
Earlier, the Comelec identified 97 barangays in Capiz with accessibility problems and Barangay Rizal Norte in Tapaz was one of them.
- Manila Times
Philippines Paradise
I'm really sad about this happening in our province. There are really people that will do anything just to be on POWER. Maybe they are really exerting effort to be an official of their barangay because there will be an incoming battle this coming year (specifically the 2010 Presidential Election) that they are one of the vital component of this event and of course … ehem … local leaders will be contacted by national candidates and of course … ehem … for them. 
With regards to SK Election, youth are already trained to become future politicians. They were thought by their supporting politicians on how to handle elections from delegating jobs and information gathering and protecting their voters by guarding them or hiding them the night before the election. They were also thought on how to put peso bills to white envelopes 
and how to distribute it without being caught and of course lastly they were thought how to prepare ghost project proposals. Tjeu are really trained very well because they'll be handling the country after the older politicians die.
With regards to voters, some voters from the Philippines like my neighbors hehehe, are really expecting for white envelopes every election. As if the election will not push through if there's no envelope or instant noodles or bar soap hehehe
I'll just pray for those people and still hope that maybe someday there be one person or (more than one) that will make changes and make it to reality the dream of every Filipino to make the Philippines a Paradise. A place without corruption or discrimination and only peace and love guided by teaching of God.
- Paradise Philippines
