BY MAY of this year, political tides are poised to turn once more as 12 senate seats and around 18,000 official positions overall are to be filled by the country’s 2019 midterm elections. Those are the stakes in numbers, but do citizens rise to the level of those stakes?

Since President Rodrigo Roa Duterte first outlined his goals at his inauguration in June of 2016, he has attempted to address a number of pressing issues within the country. Duterte has waged a war on drugs, tackled economic problems such as contractualization and outdated tax schemes, and has made public services including mental health care and tertiary education more accessible. While the President has worked towards admirable goals, his methods for achieving these objectives have been condemned both nationally and internationally.

Most notably, Duterte’s drug war has seen an estimate of 12,000 deaths, according to the Human Rights Watch. Inquirer reported that around 74 of the drug war’s victims were either teenagers or children. The President also allowed the covert burial of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr in the Heroes’ Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio—an extremely contentious choice given that Marcos’ regime was toppled by the Filipino people only 32 years ago. On the diplomatic front, Duterte reneged on his campaign commitment to uphold the Philippines’ historical claim on the West Philippine Sea. The President has faced criticism for what Filipinos felt were weak responses to China’s harassment of Filipino fishermen and their various efforts to militarize the contested islands.

Ateneans have taken to the streets multiple times to protest the Duterte administration’s policies, such as the war on drugs and the effort to pass a new bill which would reinstate the death penalty. While the ability to protest is a trademark feature of any functioning democracy, this year presents the opportunity for Ateneans to participate in something even more central to the democratic process: voting.

While protests act as countermeasures against tyranny, bad policy, corruption, and any sort of governance displeasing to the people, voting is the process which ought to safeguard the quality of public office in the first place. In this sense, the responsibility to keep public office pure begins with the everyday individual. Are we doing a good enough job? Protests against current leadership seem to imply that we are not.

Despite a relatively high voter turnout in the last presidential elections, protests remain a signal that citizens remain unheard. However, there is a certain irony in the idea that there are those who might be quick to protest but remiss to even register to vote. Extreme and unforeseen circumstances aside, what excuse is there to pass up on the process which renders the individual with the most voice? As citizens of the Philippines, voting is more than just our right, it is our responsibility.

An often forfeited privilege  

The democratic system is built upon the principle of equality, stipulating that every voice must be equally accounted for. The results of an election should reflect the collective view of the majority. While officials are sworn in based on the recorded results of an election, they may not necessarily be the collective choice of the majority if citizens opt to not exercise their right to vote. Every voter bears both the privilege and the responsibility to dictate the future of the Philippines.

Enduring two long years of questionable decisions from an administration that promised so much, on top of decades of political misjudgements, is enough to make any citizen, any voter, lose complete hope in the system. With every passing election, it becomes more difficult to go out, voice one’s support, and vote, only for mistakes to be made again and again. But we must.

With every passing election, every questionable decision, every dysfunctional administration, we must not lose hope in the system. On the contrary, we must strive harder to fix it. Go out, voice your support for the best candidates, engage in political discourse, and vote.

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