A Church-based organization in Cebu will not take vote-buying and other dirty tricks during the elections sitting down.
Fr. Carmelo Diola, chairman of Dilaab Foundation Inc., said it’s about time for the Church to reach out to the electorate to be “on the ground just as politicians do” and to help voters make decisions with an informed conscience.
“The Church has often been associated with poll watching during the elections. But that is beyond our competence. The best the Church could do is to form the conscience of people,” he said.
Diola was invited to speak during the meeting of the Cebu Federation of Beat Journalists (CFBJ) at the Marcelo B. Fernan Press Center in Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
With him were Dilaab president Marlinda Tan, executive director Tess Tejero and volunteer Mayren Cogtas.
Dilaab has decided to collaborate with other groups in preparation for the uphill battle against massive vote-buying and other problems encountered in the election season.
As a policy of the Catholic Church, he said Dilaab will never endorse specific candidates but will present guidelines on the qualities of a good leader to voters.
Dilaab presented the LASER test, a five-point guide developed in 2007 to help voters and candidates make choices based on values and realistic criteria.
The LASER test guides voters about the candidates’ “lifestyle, action, supporters, election conduct and reputation.”
Diola encouraged the electorate to discern and pray in order to select good leaders for the country.
“What is the missing link in the elections? We lack mechanisms in forming the practical conscience. Many people vote because a candidate shook their hands, or is good-looking, or was recommended by their captain, or gave them a basketball,” he said.
“We need to listen to our conscience which is the voice of God within us. Conscience is our spiritual instinct to do good and avoid evil,” he added
Mayren Cogtas, a Dilaab volunteer, said several voters have a wrong notion of vote-buying.
“They told us that there is nothing wrong with it because it’s just a pahalipay. They used it to buy food for three days,” she said.
Cogtas said Dilaab volunteers explained to the electorate the ill-effects of vote-buying. They also distributed stickers that read: “Tulo ka adlaw nga kalipay, tulo ka tuig nga pagmahay (Three days of happiness, three years of misery).” and “Kristiyano kami, dili baligya ang among boto (We’re Christians, we don’t sell our votes).”
She said some candidates even tapped chapel leaders to list the names of people who are receptive to this unscrupulous practice.
“The manner through which the Church has been organized has been used by politicians. That is why as we educate voters, we also need to reach out to our candidates,” Cogtas said.
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