#Halalan2022

Just before I migrated to the USA, I attended a migration seminar (a requirement for emigrants) where I was given a chance to register as an overseas voter. Naturally, I signed up; but I didn't give it much thought. So when the election day approached, I felt sad that I wouldn't vote this time around.

But a few weeks before the election day, I received my own ballot in the mail. This was interesting: I had always voted in my barangay precinct back in the Philippines (and I treated my indelibly inked finger as a badge of honour). But now that I'm permanently residing in the USA, I mailed my ballot to the Philippine Consulate. Initially, I wanted to drive all the way to San Francisco (with Val and the wee one in tow) but the driving distance and the cost of parking discouraged me from going). But the USPS staff told me that my mail would arrive in time, so I felt that a drive to San Francisco was not needed.

This national election is certainly heated. I have been invited to participate in a campaign for one presidential candidate. As much as I would love to for this election, I opted to stay away because I work for a government entity. And if I were still in the international development sector, I still would have kept my political views private because that's the appropriate thing to do. 

Anyway, after a long and bitter campaign, Election Day came and went... and the country's next leaders may very well be the son and the daughter of a past and the current president, respectively. The available Senate seats will be filled by candidates who have strong name recall, and do not necessarily have law degrees but who people believe will draft laws that will be beneficial for the masses.  

I thank the US Postal Service for allowing me to vote without travelling far, and the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco for sending my ballot and answering my inquiry about it.