2007年VOA标准英语-Violence, Money Dominate Philippine Elections

By Prospero Laput
Zamboanga Del Norte, Philippines
16 May 2007
 

Philippines elections are traditionally violent and costly¹.  On May 14th, millions of voters in the Philippines went to the polls to fill more than 18,000 local and national positions. The final results will be announced by the end of the month. VOA takes a look at the campaign in a remote province of the country. For producer Prospero Laput, VOA's Heda Bayron has more.

Elections in the Philippines are fought with money and guns, despite a police officer's warning to a driver that guns are banned in this area.

More than one hundred campaign workers and candidates were killed in the weeks before the election.

Philippine campaigning in remote villiages

It is in the small villages that elections are fought the hardest.  Zamboanga del Norte Province ranks among the poorest in a country where about 40 percent of the population survives on a few dollars a day.

One politician says the solution to poverty is the candidate he favors for provincial² governor -- Berto Uy.  Uy has been the mayor of the provincial capital, Dipolog City.  In running for governor of Zamboanga del Norte, Uy boasts of his record of building infrastructure³.

But paving roads has made him a target of allegations of corruption⁴ because his family is engaged in the construction supply business. Uy dismisses these allegations and says he has only answered the needs of the people.

He says, in impoverished⁵ areas, the number one problem is a lack of good roads. The lack of transportation infrastructure, Uy says, means a coconut⁶ farmer will lose about 40 percent of potential sales.

A small village in the province has not been reached by either electricity or paved roads.  Around noon when it is too hot to farm, many people there gather to bet what little they have in card games. 

Dario, a father of four, lives in a small hut.  When asked about how he picks a candidate, he says simply he will choose the one likely to win.

Candidates most likely to win are those with massive campaign organizations and the money to meet the financial demands of running.

But not all candidates are willing to sink fortunes into campaigning.

"In this country we pay a lot of money for exposure that I find immoral⁷ considering the fact that people remain hungry,” says Doctor Martin Bautista, a senate candidate. “I find it immoral to spend, like, $20,000 U.S. on a 30-second commercial on TV just to make ourselves known."

Bautista is a physician who became well off working in the United States. He moved back to the Philippines with his family to prove that there is hope for improving the political process. But his campaign for the Senate only proved what he already knew -- politics here is often about money, not policy.  

"It has become a cottage industry in the Philippines to become a politician,” he says. “And that's why it has become personal; it's become violent because members of somebody's family depend on the master politician for livelihood⁸."

Democracy is prized in the Philippines. As many as 80 percent of those eligible⁹ voted in the May 14th election. But many people say the electoral process does little to help the poorest in the country, such as Dario, who says he cannot worry too much about politics.

He says, as long as we eat, that is enough.

1 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

7 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

8 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

9 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。