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Home arrow Newsletter arrow Articles arrow Viva Voce
Viva Voce PDF Print E-mail

by Jenina Joy Chavez
 
To give his New Society legitimacy, deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos after proclaiming Martial Law in September 1972 had the people gather in barangay halls all over the country to ratify a new Constitution. In lieu of a plebiscite, a popular vote where people either accept or reject a proposal, people were asked to raise their hands if they were in favor of the new Constitution. This manner of voting is called viva voce or a voice vote.


A voice vote is a voting method used where voters respond verbally to questions being asked. The decision on who wins the vote is decided by the presiding officer, ostensibly based on the number of hands or the loudness of voice during the vote. In this mode, it is impossible to put names or numbers to who voted which way, and the measure voted on is presumed to be unanimously endorsed or agreed to.
 
Voice votes are used for non-controversial matters. For instance, the House of Representatives would usually use voice votes during the second reading of proposed House Bills and Resolutions. However, the final vote for a bill is done nominally, that is, legislators and their votes are clearly identified. For landmark legislation, Members of Congress even ask to explain their votes. In the case of Resolutions, however, this practice is relaxed since Resolutions may be considered less weighty than an actual law.
 
However, there is another reason why nominal voting is avoided and voice voting resorted to – ironically, it is when the measure in consideration is very controversial. The case of the 1973 Constitution is for expediency, and punctuated the utter lack of respect for the people’s right to vote, among others. The case of H.R. 1109 is sheer cowardice, an act of a Congress that understands the absence of dignity in what it was doing and sought political cover through an anonymous vote. Indeed, if the subtext of the 1973 ayes was an answer to the question “who has not eaten yet?”, the subtext of the June 2, 2009 vote was so shameful nobody wanted to be put on record. After all, who would admit to having betrayed the national interest by saying aye to “who wants their pork barrel now?”.

Ignoble Roll: List of Representatives who voted for HB 1109
 
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