Deadline beaters

Few things  best illustrate the Pinoy mentality of procrastination—or what the Spanish called the mañana habit— like yesterday’s deadline for voter registration.

It was  the same scene two years ago, when hundreds of Cebu City residents lined up all around the block just for the opportunity to register as a voter for next year’s elections.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has  every reason to say “I told you so” to  late registrants who lined up as early as 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. to file their application for transfer or to register as first time voters despite the 3 p.m cutoff deadline.

Many  registrants could only  look with envy as  celebrity children of talent manager and Cebu City north district congressional candidate Annabelle Ricalde breezed past them to register while they  had to line up in the hot sun waiting for their turn.

There’s a modicum of logic in  Cebu City north district election officer Marchel Sarno’s justification for the line-jumping.

He said Annabelle’s children could cause a mob  with fans or curiousity seekers breaking the line to catch a glimpse of the entertainment stars.

That begs the question: Why didn’t they register earlier then instead of waiting for what everyone know is a panic Oct. 31 deadline. The decision of Annabelle to run for office was made months ago.

Why shouldn’t the consequence of a late decision  to register be the same for all applicants?

It was a slap in the face of other deadline-beaters to see their station in life marked out so dramatically by the appearance of Manila-based-but-now-alleged-Cebu City-residents processed with dispatch by the government.

What other VIPs have been given the same privilege of priority attention, if it’s true as Sarno said, that the only consideration was the need to be orderly and avoid a rush of start-struck fans?

Does the rule also extend to girlfriends and significant others in the entourage?

The only difference for citizen Juan, that we can see, was that he was outgunned by  celebrities, who have the clout to demand attention and even transform the dynamics of an election by just being popular.

If there are rules and exceptions for handling citizens who assert the same right to register as voters as Annabelle’s family, we’d like to see them in black and white.

Can Sarno and the Comelec  show this?

Annabelle Rama mentioned a prior arrangement made for the appointment at the Comelec Cebu city north district office.  To be  fair to the public,  the reservation system has to be explained in the open.

Courtesies extended to VIPs are understandable, given the Pinoy culture of deference to people in authority.

But there are occasions when this obsequiousness should not be displayed so brazenly.