Day 117 of 135

Day 117: Rival Poll Watchers, Old Friends

At a public school precinct in Pateros on election night, childhood friends Ralph (A) and Glenn (B) sit side by side as poll watchers for rival candidates for mayor.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Sino'ng mag-aakala, pare, na dito pa tayo magbabantayan, sa mismong classroom natin noong Grade 3?

    Who'd have thought, man, we'd end up watching each other right here, in our own Grade 3 classroom?

  2. B

    Noon, kodigo mo ang binabantayan ko; ngayon, kandidato mo na.

    Back then I kept an eye on your cheat sheets; now it's your candidate.

  3. A

    Ang galing mong mag-shade, sayang, hindi ka kandidato. Pero ngayong gabi, sa balota lang may bilang ang shade.

    You're great at throwing shade, too bad you're not running. But tonight, shading only counts on a ballot.

  4. B

    Kain ka muna ng balut, pare, may sisiw 'to. Hindi tulad ng kandidato mo: penoy, buo ang balat, walang laman.

    Have some balut first, man, this one's got a chick in it. Not like your candidate: a penoy, a dud egg, perfect shell, nothing inside.

  5. A

    Mabuti na ang penoy kaysa bugok. Ang penoy, nakakain pa; ang bugok, kahit anong luto mo, mabaho pa rin.

    Better a dud than a rotten egg. You can still eat a dud; a rotten egg stinks however you cook it.

  6. B

    Aray. Pero bilang na ang mga araw ng mayor mo, literal, binibilang na ng makina.

    Ouch. But your mayor's days are numbered, literally: the machine's counting them.

  7. A

    Tinatawag tayo ni Ma'am Lorna. Tumagas daw ang marker ni Aling Precy sa balota niya, at humihingi siya ng bago.

    Ma'am Lorna's calling us over. Aling Precy's marker leaked all over her ballot, and she's asking for a new one.

  8. B

    Walang palitan ng balota, kahit kanino pa ang kasalanan. At tita mo siya, kaya pala concerned ka.

    There's no replacing ballots, no matter whose fault it is. And she's your aunt, so that's why you're so concerned.

  9. A

    Tita ko nga, pero hindi kami nagpapansinan mula noong Pasko. Marker ng COMELEC ang may kasalanan, hindi siya.

    She's my aunt, all right, but we haven't been speaking since Christmas. The fault's with COMELEC's marker, not her.

  10. B

    Kahit na. Kapag pinalitan 'yan, lahat ng nagkamali ng shade, biglang tatagas din ang marker.

    Doesn't matter. Replace that one, and everyone who shaded the wrong oval will suddenly have a leaky marker too.

  11. A

    Para diyan ang poll watcher: tao ang tumitingin, hindi lang patakaran. Ilalagay ko sa minutes ang protesta ko.

    That's what poll watchers are for: a person looking, not just a rulebook. I'm putting my protest in the minutes.

  12. B

    Sige, isusulat ko rin ang kontra ko, magkatabi tayo, gaya noong Grade 3. Pero kapag isang boto lang ang lamang namin, libre mo ang balut.

    Fine, I'll write my objection too, right next to yours, the way we sat in Grade 3. But if we win by a single vote, the balut's on you.

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