Every vote counts

Never again will I fail my country like this.

I often pinpoint 2022 as the year I began to care about our country’s political environment. I was 17, admittedly a bit late compared to other Gen Z Filipinos. Up until then, I rarely felt the implications of politics in my life, especially the importance of educated voting and our right to vote.

I vividly recall writing a political parody of “Hinahanap-Hanap Kita” in fifth grade Filipino class, name-dropping politicians and replacing the title with “Tayo Na’t Magkaisa.” I wrote essays in junior high listing down my favorite president’s accomplishments. There was even a time I based my entire personality around “Heneral Luna,” so much so that I entered an acting competition for Buwan ng Wika as the film’s titular character (and won).

In reality, I only had the most basic understanding of our country’s political environment. Maybe it’s privilege, or perhaps it was my family’s indifference to anything politics-related, but none of it affected me on a deeper level. As a wide-eyed boy going through puberty, I’d skip the latest election headlines in favor of “Ang Probinsyano,” searching for “Grand Theft Auto” cheat codes instead of each candidate’s political platform.

I still cringe for being a certain president’s die-hard supporter back then, admiring his foulmouthed personality while turning a blind eye to all the controversy, the attacks on press freedom, and all the innocent lives taken during his war on drugs.

I don’t exactly remember what changed in 2022. Maybe going through a breakup in the middle of the pandemic opened my mind. I found myself looking past social media and actually paying attention to the news. I was concerned when the presidential candidate with no platform was absent from the majority of debates. I grew increasingly worried when my family and friends expressed their genuine support for this candidate.

And on the evening of May 9, as I tuned in to the broadcast of unofficial results, I was genuinely alarmed.

I guess there wasn’t much to lament over. I didn’t have a platform, and my parents would’ve scoffed at the idea of me rallying. But above everything else, I was still a year short of 18. So, no matter what I ended up doing, I certainly couldn’t have cast my own vote in the end.

Fast forward to Sept. 30, 2024, I was 19, and it was the last day of voter registration. This was it. This was my chance to make an actual difference. I may have put it off for the better part of the year, but I promised myself this time. All I had to do was go to the voting precinct, wait in line for a couple of hours, and finally become a registered voter in the upcoming midterm elections.

Yet I didn’t. Why? Because I was lazy.

I came across a Facebook post of the voting precinct that morning. I saw the number of last-minute voters forming long lines. In the end, I didn’t feel like going through all the trouble. Classic Filipino mentality.

Little did I know that my inaction—my refusal to become a registered voter—was not only a great disservice to the Philippines; I ended up letting myself down as well.

As the months passed and the results from preference polls riddled me with frustration, I decided to move on from my regrets and do what I could to promote educated voting. I concluded a report in my Rizal class with a call to vote wisely in the upcoming elections. I participated in my school’s own senatorial preference polls.

Most surprisingly, with just a few days remaining before May 12, I managed to do the unthinkable and convince my parents to vote in the elections. While my dad and I clearly had contrasting views, and my mom wasn’t known to be an active voter, they both understood where I was coming from and took my advice on who to vote for.

At that moment, I felt relieved. It was a far cry from when I tried (and failed) to convince them back in 2022.

We all know what happened afterward. The election results were a pleasant and much-needed surprise. I’m glad I managed to contribute somehow despite foregoing my opportunity to vote.

More than anything, this should serve as a lesson to everyone, especially if they’re too lazy to vote or feel like their vote doesn’t matter in the long run.

It does. Every vote counts.

Many Filipinos don’t seem to realize how one vote can change everything. It can pave the way for a better economy, quality education, poverty reduction, accessible health care, and accountability in the government.

One vote is all it takes to flush out corruption and topple dynasties. One vote can mean the difference between a bright future for the next generation or a future they’ll have to carry and fix themselves.

It’s not often we get to exercise our most powerful right as a citizen, and by not doing so, we’re not only failing ourselves; we’re failing our country altogether. Because if we don’t vote, who else will?

Never again.

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Yuahn Zachary Guilas, 20, is a journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas.