ANALYSIS
Incredible
Even Before Day One
President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her supporters cannot just sit back as if all’s
well with the world. Those crying fraud appear to have a convincing case in
their hands and the administration is not helping matters by glossing over
allegations of fraud.
By
Alexander Martin Remollino
Bulatlat.com
The
walkout last June 8 on filibustering Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. of the
Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP or Coalition of United Filipinos) by
some 200 people from the gallery of the House of Representatives, where the
canvassing of the presidential and vice presidential votes is being conducted,
has raised more questions than answers.
The
certificate of canvass for the local absentee votes – those from police and
military, and personnel of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the
Commission on Elections (Comelec) – had stirred controversy a day before
because of discrepancies in the figures it contained. The certificate of canvass
showed that a total of 5,710 votes had been cast. But the tally for the
presidential votes was: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 4,164; Panfilo Lacson, 988;
Fernando Poe, Jr., 421; Raul Roco, 151; and Eddie Villanueva, 102 – totaling
5,826 or 116 higher than the indicated number of votes cast.
A
debate ensued and stretched itself into the next day. Provoked by a remark from
Sen. Francis Pangilinan – a former student activist who is with the
administration coalition – that the public was getting impatient about the
canvassing, Pimentel went into a lengthy talk explaining why there were delays
in the canvassing in the first place and why it was the administration that was
to be blamed for these. The senator from Cagayan de Oro City took up some four
hours in his talk.
At
5:30 p.m., about 200 people walked out of the gallery. Some told reporters that
they were “disgusted” with the “delays” in the canvassing. But House
security also told the media that the “walkout” crowd had always been
arriving together, and assumed they were part of a single group. The opposition
has accused the administration of staging the walkout – an accusation given
credence by TV news crews who reportedly told media that their news desks had
received advanced notice that “some people will walk out.” A report in the
June 9-15 issue of the national-language Pinoy Weekly states that the walkout group is composed of Arroyo
supporters under the banner of Alay sa Kapayapaan at Pagkakaisa (Akap or
Oblation to Peace and Unity).
Credibility crisis
The
walkout – which is being laid on the shoulders of an administration that has
increasingly had to contend with allegations of poll fraud – by its apparent
dubious character is a blow to the credibility of the canvassing and the
circumstances surrounding it. Administration spokespersons are playing up the
walkout before the media, while evading concerns on the authenticity of the
certificate of canvass in question.
But
the May 10 election had been suffering from a serious credibility crisis even
before the campaign period could begin.
The
last Comelec appointments to take place before the campaign period were dubious.
Aside from the fact that their beneficiaries could not be confirmed by
Congress’ Commission on Appointments as these were made when the legislators
had adjourned session, they themselves were suffering from questions on their
credibility. In particular, Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano figured in
the 1995 dagdag-bawas (vote-shaving/padding)
scheme against Pimentel, then a senatorial candidate. Pimentel won in the
electoral protest he filed and was proclaimed senator. Garcillano has not been
taken to task, however.
The
sacking of the former education and information chief of the Comelec, Ferdinand
Rafanan, is another matter that cast clouds on the credibility of the election.
Rafanan, a lawyer, had raised issues regarding the violation of election laws
– including against Arroyo – before he was transferred to a post in Eastern
Mindanao, ostensibly because he was more needed there. In the Comelec, Rafanan
has a reputation for being one of the more responsible and competent people to
head its education and information division.
The
government had mounted giant billboards carrying the president’s name and
pictures during the February-May campaign period. Supposedly public-service
announcements of the major government agencies, these were criticized by various
quarters for being campaign billboards in disguise; these did not have to
contain the president’s name and pictures, it was argued, if they were merely
public-service announcements.
The
use of government funds for election campaigns is prohibited by law.
Rafanan
had also said that Arroyo could be disqualified from the presidential race if
her campaign ads exceeded the maximum airtime allotted for each candidate.
Conflicting
figures
The
credibility of the May 10 election is further eroded by inconsistencies in the
figures for votes, particularly those for the presidential candidates.
For
instance, the conflicting figures for the local absentee votes has been
dismissed by Comelec official Betty Pizaña as amounting to merely a “human
error” caused probably by fatigue. Pizaña has not explained why such an
important document as a certificate of canvass was not double-checked for
mistakes before being submitted for counting.
That
Malacañang’s spokespersons had immediately issued a statement defending Pizaña
even as its current occupant is also a candidate has not helped to ease
suspicions.
But
this particular certificate of canvass is only the first in what should be
expected to be a long line. “There will be more,” warned KNP lawyer Harriet
Demetriou, a former Comelec chairperson, and there is sufficient reason to take
this as definitely something more than rhetoric.
Rufus
Rodriguez, another KNP lawyer, had in a recent press conference shown reporters
tampered statements of votes, election returns, and certificates of canvass.
From the town of Tinggalan in Kalinga, northern Luzon, the KNP reportedly
obtained election returns showing that Arroyo, who heads the slate of the K-4
Coalition, got nine votes. But the certificates of canvass which shows that she
got 248 votes from the same town – 18 more than the number of registered
voters there.
Likewise,
the KNP has election documents from 25 documents pointing to “systematic and
comprehensive cheating in the elections from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and,
internationally, in Hong Kong,” said Rodriguez.
Bangon
Pilipinas (Philippines Arise) Movement, headed by evangelist and presidential
aspirant Eddie Villanueva, has also documents showing possible vote-padding in
places as far between as Tuba, Benguet, northern Luzon; Rosario, Cavite,
southern Luzon; and Ozamiz City, Maguindanao (southern Philippines).
Reports
from the party-list group Suara Bangsamoro (Voice of the Moro People), based on
election returns obtained by the National Citizens’ Movement for Free
Elections (Namfrel), show vote-padding in 20 of the precincts in Lanao del Sur
province, southern Philippines alone.
Vote-shaving,
etc.
The
progressive party-list groups Bayan Muna (People First) and Gabriela Women’s
Party (GWP), which have both been proclaimed as winners, have recently filed
charges of vote-shaving before the Comelec. They both cite as areas of fraud
incidence provinces in the Visayas island group.
Pimentel,
who was recently proclaimed senator, has filed charges of vote-shaving against
Comelec officials in Bacolor, Pampanga, about one and a half hours from Manila.
Mt.
Province in the Cordillera region, is one of the provinces where Alyansa ng
Pag-asa (Alliance of Hope) senatorial bet Frank Chavez claims to have lost
18,538 votes through vote-shaving, based on election documents and affidavits
from poll watchers and officials stating that there was fraud. Chavez also said
he has documents from the provinces of Davao, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato,
Mt. Province, Central Luzon, and Maguindanao pointing to poll fraud.
Apart
from all these are reports from human rights groups of whole villages being
prevented by the military from voting in certain areas in Central Luzon and
Southern Tagalog, of canvassing being done inside military camps in some areas
in Maguindanao and Sulu even as soldiers are prohibited by law from interfering
in the electoral process.
Giving
more fuel to allegations of fraud is the admission of a Comelec commissioner,
cited by a newsweekly, that he was approached by a fellow commissioner – as
well as government officials closely associated with Malacañang – for help in
securing an Arroyo victory.
Prospects for the
incumbent
The
Arroyo administration has taken to dismissing every single question on the
canvassing – including concerns on poll fraud – as nothing but delays that
inconvenience the people. It may think that it has the upper hand, what with a
public eagerly awaiting the final results of the votes they cast last May 10.
The
administration camp appears to be using a tactic similar to that used by the
military and the police on the broad-based poll watchdog group Patriots.
Everytime Patriots cried fraud – with convincing evidence to back up its
claims coming from various monitoring efforts – military and police linked it
to a supposed destabilization plot. But they were never able to prove their
allegations forcing the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief to apologize to
Patriots.
The
PNP’s experience with Patriots shows that concerns of electoral fraud –
especially when backed by evidence – cannot be dismissed simply by shooting
the messenger.
The
Arroyo camp cannot claim that all the evidences of fraud are merely inventions
of the losing camps. For one, even among those who won, there are cries of
fraud. For another, the documents presented by the parties complaining can speak
for themselves.
Arroyo
and her supporters cannot just sit back as if all’s well with the world. Those
crying fraud appear to have a convincing case in their hands, which is why it is
now up to the administration camp to clarify matters. The administration is not
helping matters by glossing over allegations of fraud – people are bound to
sense the pattern, especially when evidence mounts before their very eyes. And
when they do, the debate may stretch itself well beyond the confines of
Congress. Bulatlat.com
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