Voting for the first time

MANILA, Philippines - As a Filipino citizen, one of our primary rights and responsibilities is the right to suffrage. I am now 20 years old and I’m proud to say that I am a registered voter. I am actually excited and anxious at the same time for the presidential elections on May 10, 2010.

I am excited because this is my first time to vote. I am excited because I can now play an active role in the formation of our government. On the other hand, I am anxious because I know that my vote will make or break the state of our government.

More so, I am anxious about the upcoming election because it is an automated election. Admittedly, I find it a bit difficult to utilize and manipulate computers, gadgets, and the like. In fact, I even mess up computers sometimes. Because of this, I label myself a “technologically-handicapped” person. Since my twin brother is an Information Technology graduate, I always leave it up to him to troubleshoot problems in the computer. I think the only thing that I’m good at with the computer is accessing my Facebook account. Kidding aside, I am just a bit anxious about the automated election because I am not that good with computers.

Fortunately, we had a voter’s seminar at the Manila Doctors College, my alma mater, wherein we were taught how to use the automated precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine in voting. Because of this, I can say that I am now prepared to vote using that machine, even though I am still a bit anxious about it.

It is a constant debate among my friends who are we going to vote for. By now, each one of us probably already has in mind who we want to vote for president. We always have heated debates about who we think will perform best as president. Each of us has a steady supply of artillery in the form of criticisms to nullify the qualifications of the other’s candidate for president. We would always use the information that we heard from the news as a basis to defend our candidates and criticize the other candidates.

However, it is confusing sometimes when you hear in the news negative information about certain candidates. You will not know whether it is fact or just negative information directed at them. This sometimes makes you think twice about voting for a candidate you have chosen.

My vote for president is going to be for someone who I think will have a solution for the most prevalent problem in our society, poverty. That someone will be able to successfully raise the economy of our country, someone who can withstand and perform well amidst intense pressure and stress, someone who will be able to lessen if not eliminate the corruption in our country, someone who has the best interest of every Filipino citizen at heart, someone who will not take advantage of the power vested upon him by the Filipinos, someone who is concerned about the welfare and development of our country, someone who doesn’t only make promises but also puts his words into actions, someone who will not settle for less and will strive for excellence, and most importantly, someone who is morally and spiritually upright.

The author graduated magna cum laude last month from the Manila Doctors College with a BS Psychology degree and will enter medical school in June.