Latecomers

There is at least one argument against the proposal by the party list group Kabataan to extend the voters’ registration in order to give both young and old a chance to register as voters in next year’s elections.

And it doesn’t  have anything to do with what Rep. Pablo John Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd district called “discipline”, that virtue which people all possess but which many have yet to fully master.

It’s all about opportunity. Recall that in the last few days leading to the registration of voters, a barangay multi-cab fetched several youths in one barangay in Cebu City in order for them to register.

The barangay official who requested anonymity confirmed that the multi-cab was sent by officials allied with the administration Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK).

There’s no surprise about the “hakot” tactic used by administration parties with deep pockets which is probably why the BO-PK declined to comment on the “special treatment” received by the Gutierrez family at the Cebu City Comelec office.

If political parties manage to fetch youths and bring them to the Comelec office for registration, imagine how many people they could mobilize if the voter’s registration period was extended by even one day.

It was just as well that the Comelec put its foot down in imposing the deadline on the voters’ registration. There was nearly a two-year gap from the last elections and late applicants cannot use as excuses their work or class schedule.

With celebrity talent manager Annabelle Rama’s claim that she made a prior  appointment with Comelec City officer Marchel Sarno for her family’s transfer of registration from Manila to Cebu City, we wonder whether it’s possible to make similar appointments online.

But that would  defeat the purpose of imposing, again that word, discipline, and order in this country’s election process. Like that bill seeking to provide funds for parties in order to discourage turncoatism, solving the problem with money or giving extra leeway to people who should have known better and had been given more than enough time to register  isn’t the way to go.

With voters’ registration out of the way, the Comelec now has its hands full mobilizing its personnel for next year’s elections. Turning back the clock and giving an extra day for late applicants will not solve disenfranchisement of voters but rather would abet the “hakot” tactics of  politicians who will spend money to have their own people clog the Comelec office and the precincts with their numbers.

Enough with the noise already.  There is still three more years to the next election and the “disenfranchised applicants” should join that instead.