MAKATI

Conjugal toilet for fire station crew

by Ma. Josebelle S. Bagulaya

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH, 2013

IN THE May 10, 2010 elections, the Ganito kami sa Makati, sana ganito rin sa
buong bansa campaign slogan was a hit that helped propel its city mayor to the
second highest position in the country. But that slogan was likely not referring to
the two field offices in Makati of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Makati Comelec offices in Makati are housed on the second floor of the
Makati Central Fire Station on the corner of Ayala Avenue extension and
Malugay Street. Surrounded by well-designed and expansive edifices, the
buildings many shortcomings become even starker.

Its really old, says lawyer Feldon Sadang, District 2 election officer, referring
to the building that has peeling white paint in its hallways. He says that
compared to the Comelec offices in the cities of Taguig, Pasig, and Manila, the
decrepit building is the worst Comelec office he has been to.

The condition of the office is so bad that some voters would rather not go to the
Comelec if they had a choice. They [voters] dont like to come here, says District
I Election Assistant Arnulfo Sy-Changco. If we have an outstation registration,
thats the time they want to register. He adds that the voters in his District would
complain, When we go up, we are already so tired because the stairs are very
steep. Inside, the office smells funky.

With a total income of P10.734 billion in 2011 and nearly a billion pesos
in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share according to its official website, the
Makati City government is expected, at the least, to be able to provide well-built
and well-equipped government offices to see to the needs of its 529,039
constituents.
By all indications, however, the city government is falling short of providing a
suitable office space for the Comelec field offices in the city as required by the
Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa Bilang 881).

The 120-square-meter office of District 1 sees to the needs of 193,781 registered

voters, among them residents of Forbes Park, Dasmarias Village, Bel-Air,
Magallanes and other areas known to be the subdivisions of the wealthy. The
nearly identical District 2 office, meanwhile, services 205,000 registered voters
residing in 13 barangays that include Cembo, Comembo, Pembo and others areas
where Makati residents with low-income reside, Sadang says.

Late registrants
Interestingly, unlike District 1 residents, those from District 2 seem to find no
problem going to the Comelec office. In fact, Sadang says his office faces the
consistent problem of registrants flocking to their office in the last few weeks of
the registration period.

Sadang also says his offices current location is better than being housed inside
the premises of the city hall. This is despite the rundown condition of the
building, which, Sy-Changco explains, is a symbol that the Comelec is not
indebted to the incumbent officials. We are not pressured, he says. We are not
pampered. The way you look at the office, you will see if they are loved or not.

Asked what improvements he wanted to see in his office, Sy-Changco says that
the conjugal comfort room, which is shared by male and female employees,
needs to be fixed. But he says he is satisfied with the size of his office, which is
just enough for his 17 personnel, nine of them contractual employees. They will
have to monitor 26 candidates vying for various elective posts in the district.

With only seven election assistants in District 1, each election assistant will have
to see to the needs of 35,000 voters. But Sy-Changco is not too concerned about
that kind of ratio, saying that the Comelec head office has addressed the problem
through emergency recruitment or giving them supplemental personnel.
More personnel
By comparison, District 2 has a slightly larger number of personnel: seven
permanent staff, seven casual employees, and five supplemental staff.

The two Comelec district offices in Makati get their budget from the Comelec
head office, which also provides them with office supplies. Sy-Changco adds,
though, that the city government provided District 1s chairs and desks. (District
2s office furniture came from the head office.)

Generally, our office is okay, Sy-Changco says, adding that they do not lack
equipment. In fact, they even have a line printer that makes the overwhelming
paperwork easier. The District 1 office has four air-conditioning units, a water
dispenser, and a refrigerator. While there is a separate room for storing files,
stacks of papers are nevertheless piled on the staffs desks.

But there are times when the funds from the Comelec head office arent quite
enough to cover all the expenses of the two offices. In such cases, Sy-Changco
says he and his colleagues either use their own money or ask assistance from
non-government organizations and watchdogs like the Parish-Pastoral Council
for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). Sometimes they request from the city
government, especially when there are emergency purchases needed.

But he says that while his office accepts aid from the city government, he is wary
of asking for help too often from the incumbents. Thats dangerous, says Sy-
Changco. They might ask for many favors in return.

Sadang, for his part, says that it is only in very exceptional cases that we request
from the city of Makati. This is even as he admits that his office sometimes runs
out of funds. Without revealing the exact amount, Sadang also says that while his
office receives a mobilization fund from the main office, this is only during
election time. He remarks, I cannot say that we are well-provided when it comes
to supplies because sometimes we use our own money to get things done,
especially those that are urgent.
Sad reality
Still, he clarifies that the bad condition of their office does not affect their work.
As long as the supplies are coming, he says, we are (content) with what we
have.

He notes, though, that it is hard for Comelec field personnel to remain 100
percent independent from the local government, especially for those whose
offices are housed inside the city hall. Theres a certain degree of control by the
LGU, he says. You cannot eliminate that. That is a sad reality that you have to
accept unless you put a robot there.

Sadang, however, says that the Binays are so well-entrenched in Makati that they
do not need to wield influence on Comelec. Makati residents will always vote
(the Binays), he says. They dont need to pander to Comelec.

Both Sadang and Sy-Changco say that the most pressing need that they want the
Comelec head office to address is the financial needs of the poll bodys
employees. Says Sy-Changco: Our only request is for our salary to be increased.
That would be better than having more personnel who are not doing any work
and receiving low pay.

Sadang hopes that a wage raise would be among the reforms that the Comelec
head office will institute. According to Sadang, lawyers in Comelec do not
receive RATA (Representation and Transportation Allowance). We do not have
allowances. In other government agencies, he says, the RATA ranges from
P10,000 to P30,000 depending on the lawyers position in the agency. PCIJ,
May 2013