Let’s not kid ourselves. When it comes to these politicians and their parties, they’re not exactly sitting out when it’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) election time. Oh no, some of them might try to be all hush-hush about it, but trust me, their fingers are in that grassroots electoral pie.

Whether they’re big shots on the national stage or just trying to hold onto the mayor’s office, these politicians have a vested interest in the barangay elections. Why? Because those barangay chairpersons are like the Grab delivery service for votes. They ensure those ballots reach the right places, if you catch my drift.

We are not naive. When election season rolls around, these politicians are opening up the piggy bank, dishing out cash left and right. They’re placing their bets on the barangay and SK candidates whom they think will deliver those sweet, sweet votes in the national and local elections. It’s a high-stakes poker game but with our future on the line.

That’s why we often see them playing this little game of “postpone the barangay and SK elections.” They’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, oh no. They’re just trying to keep that wallet closed and delay the inevitable, again and again.

It’s sad that money politics has become the standard operating procedure in this country. Winning elections based on merits, well, that’s about as rare as finding a pearl in a heap of shells along the beach.

What’s worse is the bloodshed. I mean, come on! Shouldn’t this be the battle of the ballot, not a scene from a Quentin Tarantino movie?

It’s a sad state of affairs when people are shedding blood over the power to represent us. Can’t they settle their differences with a good old-fashioned game of chess or a thumb-wrestling contest?

And those in charge of the elections want to sell us the idea that it’s all sunshine and rainbows. “Generally peaceful,” they say. I mean, sure, if our definition of “peaceful” involves people getting hurt and killed.

In the tumultuous terrain of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the October 30 elections played out like a spine-chilling drama, casting a shadow of dread over the spirit of democratic engagement. 

About 70% of the election hot spots were in the BARMM. 

The epicenter of this violence remained firmly rooted in the Bangsamoro region. 

The perpetrators and victims were often supporters or relatives of the candidates. 

The casualties were caught in the crossfire of a democracy tarnished by brutality.

The violence wasn’t just a one-time show; it was a series, with episodes in different locations in the Bangsamoro region, with what seemed to be the worst cases in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), 19 people died, and 28 others were hurt since the start of the election period. Of the 19 deaths, 11 were documented in the Bangsamoro region. The same region also accounted for 23 of the 28 people hurt so far. The election period is not yet over – it will last until this month.

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MAP: Barangay, SK election-related violence in 2023

They say, “Well, you know, it’s not that bad compared to the previous elections.”

For some context, the 2018 barangay elections had 35 deaths for the whole country. So, it’s all relative, like a stubbed toe isn’t so bad because your neighbor just lost a leg?

The Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) played the role of a vigilant watchdog in this demented game, keeping track of all the craziness.

The CCAA kept a close eye on things, and they came up with a whole laundry list of incidents: shootings, stabbings, hackings, riots, fistfights – you name it. It was like a bloody buffet of violence out there.

What the group monitored paints a chilling tableau of a staggering 200 reports detailing critical events that sent shockwaves through the provinces in the BARMM.

From October 19 to October 30, the CCAA said it recorded 17 election-related deaths in the Bangsamoro region. Eleven of these were on Election Day. The group documented 30 people hurt in the region.

The CCAA list also includes the good ol’ voter and candidate supporter intimidation. Why am I not surprised?

In Maguindanao del Norte, the non-Moro indigenous people got the short end of the stick. They were caught in the crossfire, disenfranchised, and denied their right to be part of the political game.

In the eyes of Liezl Bugtay and Deanne Capiral of CCAA, it was the “bloodiest election in the past decade” in the autonomous region. And this, the group warned, could only be a glimpse of what could take place in the region in 2025 – the year BARMM would hold its first regional elections.

Capiral and her group have a good reason to be worried because the results of this year’s barangay elections would factor into the outcome of the elections two years from now.

It’s likely going to be worse in the BARMM, where the old local political dynasties don’t see eye to eye with those running the regional government – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP).

What we just saw was a carnival of chaos, a festival of folly, and a reminder that when it comes to elections, we’ve still got a long way to go before we can truly call it a democratic process.

Peaceful elections? Yeah, right. Pastilan. – Rappler.com

Herbie Gomez is Rappler’s Mindanao bureau head.