The Filipino communities in Kuwait asked me as a lawyer and Labor Attaché whether or not it was illegal to conduct a Mock elections in a Halloween Party held by about 200 Filipino expats and technical workers. My answer was, of course, that there is nothing illegal about it.
Out of 200, a good 147 voted for the President or (73%) and 138 voted for the Vice President or (69%) . The results may yet indicate the general pulse of the voting population of Filipinos in Kuwait, as follows: Noynoy Aquino – 75 (48.30%), Chiz Escudero – 38 (25.85%), Manny Villar – 21 (14.29%), Joseph Estrada – 14 (9.52%) and Gilbert Teodoro – 3 (2.04%). For the Vice President: Mar Roxas – 86 (62.32%), Loren Legarda – 37 (26.81%), Jojo Binay – 15 (10.87%).
These mock elections were conducted by a new Filipino organization called LIFE (Legacy of Integrated Filipino Employees) in Kuwait. The purpose of the mock elections was to conduct a test on the thinking and inclinations of Filipino voters in Kuwait. LIFE is composed of engineers, technicians, skilled workers as well as nurses, HR practitioners and other professional OFWs.
The mock elections was done on the spot, its results were tabulated and reported to the leadership of LIFE, which shared them with us.
Exit interviews
The LIFE officers conducted exit interviews asking questions as to what are the qualities that they look for in a national leader. They were to give multiple answers. The answers are revealing, as follows:
(1)Ability to Unite and Inspire the Filipino, : 82%
(2)No record of dishonesty and corruption, : 79.7%
(3)Character and Reputation,: 74.62%
(4)Competence to solve national problems, : 68.23%
(5)Faithfulness to spouse and Loyalty to Family,: 63.88%
(6)Godliness and Uprightness,: 52.65%
(7)Approachability and Pro-people,: 51.50%
(8)Respect for Human Rights,: 51.25%
(9)Disaster preparedness,: 48.95%
(10)Commitment to safeguard national patrimony : 47.62%
The above results indicate the growing maturity of the Filipino electorate.
They also show that OFWs have a good grasp of the national and current issues.
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Email: polo1jabriya@yahoo.com