MANILA, Philippines — To pursue excellence in their respective fields, athletes make various sacrifices, from giving up time with their families to churning out money from their own pockets to fund their training.
But foregoing their right to vote should not be one of them.
Some hundreds of Filipino athletes will be unable to cast their vote in the 2022 Philippine general elections due to the timing of the 31st Southeast Asian Games to be held in Vietnam.
With the opening of the biennial games — where the Philippines is the reigning champion — a mere three days after the general elections, most, if not all, of the Philippine contingent will not be in the country to fill out their ballots.
And with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) disallowing them from participating in local absentee voting, the national athletes who have given honor to flag and country have been left disenfranchised.
The Comelec reiterated that local absentee voting was only to be made available to specific groups of people — that is, government employees performing election duties, members of the Philippine National Police, members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and media personnel covering the elections.
The athletes and coaches, except those who are enlisted in the Armed Forces like Olympic medalists Hidilyn Diaz and Eumir Marcial, are not part of the said groups.
Athletes and coaches would need to fly to Vietnam weeks ahead of the May 12 opening for final preparations for competition and in order to get acclimatized to the host country.
It becomes a problem then as the Comelec refuses to budge in giving Team Philippines — which could not control the dates determined by hosts Vietnam for the regional competition — a chance to practice their democratic right.
It's ironic that our athletes who compete in different arenas to bring honor to the country are being denied the chance to compete in the arena of democracy.
Of note that these athletes are Filipino citizens first before they are our national athletes.
It is questionable at best that they be denied what is a right of every Filipino of legal age.
After the Comelec upheld its decision to deny the Vietnam-bound athletes' right to vote, the Philippine Sports Commission made its statement seemingly just taking the decision at face value.
"While this is sad news for all concerned, the PSC Board respects the Comelec's advice," wrote the PSC in its statement.
If our athletes are owed anything for their unending dedication in giving honor to our country, fighting for their democratic right to vote should be the least of what the PSC and the Comelec could do for them.
Team Philippines can only hope for a more dedicated charge in helping them play a part in choosing the country's leaders.
After all that they've done — literally shedding blood, sweat and tears to bring glory to the country — fighting for their right to vote is the least we can do.