07/10/2026
๐๐๐ ๐| ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฝ ๐น๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐บ๐๐ก๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐กโ๐ฆ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐. ๐๐๐๐๐
๐จ๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐
Western Visayasโ Regional Election Director Atty. Dennis Ausan knows this better than most. Twenty-five years of high-pressure public service have only reinforced this belief. Beneath the silvering hair and a back that now grumbles stands a man who has given a quarter of his life to the unpredictability of Philippine elections.
For Atty. Ausan, 63, aging is not a retreat from the world, but a step back from the trenches with a clearer view of what he has spent his life defending. After more than two decades with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), he has witnessed some of the most dangerous encounters in Philippine polls. Yet the bullets, long nights, and mounting weight of managing regions never managed to wear down his hope for a just Philippines.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐
๐
Before he became โSir Auโ to his colleagues at COMELEC, he was a father of two and a husband first. Even when the demands of his work blurred the line between the office and home, Ausan worked to build a foundation of trust with his family, knowing that the work he does extends beyond himself.
In a job where time is the currency, Ausan makes sure to give what he can, especially on days when his absence weighs more heavily on his children and wife.
โMay times nga nagapanumdom ka nga you couldโve spent some more time man tani sa pamilya mo. Pero part of everything na siya, compensate mo lang sa iban nga ways,โ he said.
Still, there were moments when being present meant being miles away. During one assignment to another region, his daughter contracted dengue. With only a phone between him and his family, his concern crossed the distance his body could not.
Thirty years of marriage have reinforced a trust between Ausan and his wife that his work, however demanding, serves a purpose beyond the office. Their partnership has carried them through years of distance and duty, reminding him that a career in public service does not have to come at the expense of the people waiting at home.
๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐จ๐ ๐ต๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
โ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,โ he said.
Ausan believes in an intergenerational workplace where the technical fluency of younger workers and the experience and ethical discernment of older employees complement one another. For him, leadership is not about who has been in the room the longest, but about making space for everyone to contribute.
As a Regional Election Director, he has spent years between the directives of top leadership and the realities on the ground. That position has shaped his view of election work as a form of human rights advocacy, particularly when securing access for vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and Indigenous Peoples.
๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
In places where elections can turn volatile, Ausan puts his people first. When the 2007 elections in the Municipality of Pantar, Lanao del Norte, were declared a failure after the absence of a final list of voters, Ausan was assigned to the area. With the integrity of the elections at stake, he stepped in to help make the next attempt possible.
โYou really need to balance it when judgment calls. You have to stand your ground. It happened several times,โ he said.
As team leader for the second district of Lanao del Sur, he led 32 election officers from Region 6 in conducting elections in the former ARMM, now the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. In Kapatagan, a closely contested mayoral race between the mayor and vice mayor raised tensions around a voting center.
The vice mayor pushed to transfer two barangays to a nearby school amid security concerns, while election officials stood by the approved precincts. When tensions escalated on election eve, Marines were brought in and the voting centers were eventually divided between the two sides, allowing the elections to proceed without bloodshed.
For Ausan, keeping the elections moving without a shot being fired was an achievement in itself. The safety of his colleagues and the families waiting for them mattered more than simply getting the job done. When duty placed him between procedure and the realities on the ground, he learned that sometimes, protecting the people meant knowing when to find a way forward.
๐จ๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
As he looks to the youth who will inherit the world, ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐
๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐. ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐.
While retirement can mean stepping away from the authority that comes with public office, Ausan seems more interested in what comes after it. He looks forward to writing books, composing songs, traveling with his family, and even signing documents under banana trees for those who need him, carrying with him the same simplicity that has kept the weight of public service from becoming the whole of his life.
For Atty. Ausan, however, leaving public service does not mean leaving behind the ideals that brought him there. Even as he prepares to step away from the Commission, he continues to believe that old people must retain their idealism, holding on to the hope that the country can still become more democratic and just.
Perhaps that is what he hopes to leave with the generation that will take their place. ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
When his time in the Commission ends, Atty. Ausan hopes the younger ones will not simply continue what his generation started, but carry the work further than he ever could.
Creatives by:
๐๐ ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ฑ ๐. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฎ
๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ข. ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ
๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฃ. ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด
Comelec Vulnerable Sectors Office
