FOR THE SANCTITY OF THE BALLOT

Raymond Ciriaco

The tasks of being an election observer for Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) are: conduct observation missions; hold post-election follow-up meetings with relevant members, election commissions, and other stakeholders; and promote transparent and credible elections in Asian countries. Sounds simple enough. But when you get assigned to an area where security officials require you to wear a bulletproof vest and helmet for safety, this chances the picture entirely.

Election observer Raymond Ciriaco, a member of the Rotary Club of Pasay Cyber City, has been in such a scary situation. In 2009 he was assigned by ANFREL to observe the presidential polls in Afghanistan. His family strongly advised against it. “Think of  it over a million times,” they cautioned, aware of the threats issued by Al Qaeda and the Taliban to disrupt the elections with violence. The warnings fell on deaf ears. Driven by his belief that the mission was part of his “faith response to protect the sanctity of the ballot”, Ciriaco went to Kabul—most likely, with a prayer in his heart that he would come back to the Philippines in one piece.

Then the incident that Ciricao’s loved ones feared happened. A few days before the country’s second presidential elections under its current constitution, while Ciriaco was taking his breakfast in Hotel Capital Inn at 8:30 a.m.,  a strong blast shook the ground. Stunned, he looked outside the window and saw dark smoke billowing upwards just several meters from his hotel. Then the sound of sirens from police cars and fire trucks, and the whirring of a helicopter followed.  Ciriaco immediately checked the Internet to know what was going on: the NATO headquarters had just been attacked by a suicide bomber, killing seven people and injuring 91. The following day, the sound of gun shots got him out of bed; a news break reported that three armed men stormed inside the Kabul Central Bank, just a walk away from his hotel.

Ciriaco admits that the two incidents scared him then, but not enough for him to pack his bags and go home.  He continued to fulfill his mission in Afghanistan. Though media reports indicated the  election was tainted with anomalies, Ciriaco was able to conduct his poll-watching duties all right. More important, he came back home safe and sound, to the relief of his wife Maria Ana (also a Rotarian), his four children, and the rest of his immediate family.

Vital Information

ANFREL election observers play a vital role in promoting social equity by safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process in Asian countries. They disseminate and interchange information gathered from monitoring the conduct of the polls. With valuable information, concerned government agencies, stakeholders, and involved organizations are a able to formulate solutions to address related problems.

Through the years of poll watching, however, Ciriaco has arrived at the conclusion that there are “no universal solutions” to all election-related problems because of the differences in culture, social structure, and political system among nations. “It’s never a one-size fits all. That’s when you realized that election alone do not establish a democracy. When you say democracy, you talk of the people’s participation in the government. It’s a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And yet, you can’t just discard the ruling elite. They are always there especially when they are monarchs.”

On a personal level, monitoring elections does not only allow Ciriaco to better understand other cultures but broadens his perspective. “I began to embrace the idea that love our country is the next stage afteryou’ve grown your awareness beyond yourself, your family, your friends, work associates, and your organizations. So, as love of self should extend towards love for others, love of country should extend towards of other countries that you consider belonging to your world,” said Ciriaco, a licensed facilitator of Franklin Covey Center for Leadership and Change in Makati.

His advocacy for clean elections started in 1999 when he took an early retirement after working for a multinational pharmaceutical firm for 15 years.  He became more involved in community service as a pastoral council president. Because of his visibility in community service activities and respectable reputation, he was asked to consider running for a government position—which he declined.  Instead, he joined the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), an organization that seeks to educate voters to vote wisely and responsibly. “I did not want to take sides and create enemies, but I was willing to take a stand for truth and the peaceful transition of power,” the 48-year old consultant said.

His PPCRV participation expanded and he became an evaluator for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) automated elections in 2008. Acknowledging his dedication in his vocation, PPCRV co-founder Ambassador Henrietta de Villa handpicked Ciriaco to serve as an election observer to other countries with ANFREL. This opened the door for him to volunteer for international election observations in Nepal (2008,2013), Bangladesh (2008), Pakistan (2008), Afghanistan (2009), and Thailand (2011).

These endeavors as an international election observer intensified Ciriaco’s appreciation for Rotary as an organization where different cultures and races converge towards a common purpose—Service Above Self. “Through Rotary, one can appreciate that deep down we are brothers and sisters in the same planet. For me, that’s one paradigm shift because we always identify ourselves based on where we are born,” he expressed. 

Photo by: Carmen Dela Cerna

(Originally published in Philippine Rotary magazine, March 2014)