Senior voters endure election day hassle

The die has been cast. At least 65.7 million Filipinos registered to vote. More than 30 million Filipinos have spoken. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the country’s next president.

But before I even imagine what lies ahead for this nation of 110 million; before I wonder what the future will be, or before I simply move on from election day itself, I won’t just yet. Or at least not today because I would like to put the spotlight on something that happened during Monday’s polls that isn’t getting the attention it deserves. I am talking about the treatment given to seniors, at least from what I saw when I lined up for roughly five hours and from stories shared by friends from other precincts.

Sad to say a lot of senior voters had to endure the long lines, too, but they shouldn’t have. In my precinct at least, there were just random calls from Comelec volunteers – once in a while – for seniors in the queue. They were then asked to go nearer the finish line, three seniors at a time. But this is already after many of them had waited in line for some time. Many of them had to wait, standing up for hours, because you could only sit down once you reached a certain part of the line, closer to the door.

Isn’t this an utmost inconvenience for senior citizens who braved the sweltering heat that day just to vote – pandemic and all? The respective precincts could have easily assigned a separate line for senior citizens, but from what I saw there was none.

I had to give my slot to senior citizens a few times while standing in the queue. It was the best I could do to help, but the Comelec could have done so much more. There should have been a separate line for senior citizens.

I was also surprised that other voters, much younger and stronger, did not even offer their seats to seniors.

This is not right and this isn’t who we are. Whatever happened to showing our respect to our elders?

This wasn’t evident only during election day, but this one is simply worth writing about because going out to vote – as many of us have experienced – wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. As I wrote earlier, it was tiring, exhausting, and it was impossibly hot, as hot as a summer Monday could be.

Note, too, that we are still in a pandemic. The least the Comelec could have done was to make it easy, convenient, and fast for senior citizens to get out of the crowded precincts to avoid catching the virus.

Senior citizen woes

This is not the only problem faced by senior citizens.

For months now, I have been writing about senior citizen woes – from establishments failing to honor their senior citizen cards, to young people disrespecting them, or simply the loneliness and despair of being in one’s twilight years.

I’ve likewise received quite a number of letters from senior readers who shared with me their experiences. I am grateful to all of you for taking time to share with me your stories. I am not done replying to each and every letter sender, but please know that I appreciate your responses and I try as much as I can to put the spotlight on your situation.

Some lament how it is simply tough to be a senior citizen in this country.

Discounts

One letter sender complained that some establishments, such as a supermarket in Alabang, does not honor the senior citizen card and even slaps a 10 percent service charge.

Says another letter sender: “If you order food through the website, you’re not given a senior citizen discount. In one instance, a Filipino fast food chain asked me for a special power of attorney for the food that I was buying for a 73-year old relative despite the fact that I have the senior citizen’s card of said relative.”

From another reader: “Some establishments are not giving the full discount and at times there are those which refuse to give it. I read my senior citizens’ booklet stating the items subject for discount and the amount of discount. LPG, water, and electricity are included, but some establishments do not give the discount for these.”

There’s a lot of work to do on the part of our government to ensure that our senior citizens get their benefits. I hope the new administration has a plan for them.

We who aren’t seniors yet should also never forget to give our elders the respect they deserve. Offer them your place in long queues. Let’s not use the parking slots assigned to them or to PWDs, or simply offer to help them, however way we can.

Let us remember that our seniors were once upon a time, young citizens like us and they represent every man and woman who held our hand when we were growing up, when we were still finding our way into this world, when we could barely walk or even make a single step forward.

They are someone’s father, mother, brother or sister, just like our very own.

(Postscript: Thank you to the stranger who let my senior citizen mother get ahead of the line in a supermarket’s cashier last Wednesday morning at Corinthian Hills along Temple Drive in Quezon City).

Iris Gonzales’ email address is [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com