Classification: Prose
Theme: Corruption
Synopsis: Let me ask you a question; how much money will you accept in exchange for shading a ballot?
I had thought it was a myth all these times, or perhaps I had been too out of touch with reality to actually see it happening in front of me.
But, there it was. A bill shrouded in heaps of blue, an all-too-familiar piece of paper I had seen hundreds of times in my mother's wallet, an amount that was enough for a week's worth of food. A thousand peso bill being held in clammy hands, covered with sweat from being in the sun for far too long.
"Sa'tin lang," a voice I had heard from countless television ads whispered. I didn't know what else to do—my hands were shaking from the onslaught of pressure that had been handed to me by a dirty piece of paper much more valuable than I am. "Kulang pa ba? Gusto mong dagdagan ko pa?"
My whole body felt stiff as if one wrong move could cost me a lot. What else was there to say? A thousand pesos, easily being handed to me in exchange for shading an oval on a piece of paper. It was easy money and yet my hand stuck to my side, unmoving but still shaking.
I could pay off the hundred peso debt of canned goods we had in our local sari-sari store if I had accepted it. I could finally buy the fifty peso dress I had seen in an ukay-ukay if I had accepted it. I could have bought a week worth of rice if I had accepted it.
But my hands stood still as if something was weighing them down.
The person in front of me let out an exasperated sigh like they had no time to be here—like helping us was a chore to be done and not an act that was done out of the goodness of their heart, out of their will to serve. "Ayan! Kunin mo nalang," they shoved the money in my hands, already crumpled from their iron grip. "Kukupad-kupad ka pa, kayo na nga 'tong tinutulungan."
There were two pieces of paper in my hands, given to me without my permission. Ah, perhaps, they really went as far as giving me more than they should have.
I was thankful.
Two thousand pesos was enough to pay off my debt in the sari-sari store, enough to buy the ukay-ukay dress I wanted, and enough to pay for our rice for the whole week. However, it was not enough to buy my power to choose the right leader.
No amount of money will ever be enough to put the future of my country into ruins.
Published by: Ysabella Charis Vaila
Date published: January 25, 2022
Time published: 12:46 pm
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