Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume IV, Number 20 June 20 - 26, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
2004
Polls Most Fraudulent, Most Violent Just
how widespread was fraud and violence in the recently held national and local
elections? Data gathered by the Patriots revealed the credibility of the
elections is now questionable and that the proclamation of supposed winning
presidential and vice presidential candidates, if and when it happens, would not
reflect the people’s mandate. By
Alexander Martin Remollino
“All
these opened the doors for widespread fraud and manipulation of election
results,” Fr. Dizon, Patriots initiator, added. Administration
supporters recently projected that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would win
over presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr. by 1.1 million votes. For
his part, senatorial candidate Frank Chavez said, “This is the worst! In 1986
(snap elections) there was an attempt to cover up; in the 2004 election the
cheating was brazen.” “Stealing”
the polls In
a documentary titled Stealing the 2004 Elections, contents of which were
included in Chavez’s PowerPoint presentation, various instances of fraud and
violence were reported. These were based on various media reports, as well as
documents obtained from the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP or Coalition
of United Filipinos) which fielded actor Poe as its presidential bet, and the
Bangon Pilipinas (Philippines Arise) Movement of evangelist and presidential
candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva. Patriots’
documentary showed a discrepancy of 341,225 votes between Poe and Arroyo in 47
municipalities in nine provinces alone. The provinces are: Apayao and Benguet in
Luzon (one municipality each); and Tawi-Tawi (five municipalities), Lanao del
Sur (23 municipalities), Sultan Kudarat (six municipalities), Lanao del Norte
(three municipalities), Sulu (three municipalities), and Agusan del Norte (one
municipality). Excluding
the municipal certificates of canvass and provincial statement of votes for
Sultan Kudarat which revealed inconsistencies reaching 86,989 votes, the
election returns (ERs) from the municipalities where vote discrepancies were
said to have taken place credited Poe with 212,808
votes and Arroyo with 126,709. However, the certificates of canvass indicated
that Poe received only 108,133 votes while Arroyo got 276,270. The
presentation of Chavez, a former solicitor general and Alyansa ng Pagasa
senatorial candidate, showed scanned copies of specific election documents, many
of them with erasures that were not countersigned by poll officials. There were
also scanned copies of election documents from several precincts showing total
presidential votes to be greater than the number of registered voters or the
actual number of votes cast. “The
nationwide scale of election result manipulation could not have been possible
without well-entrenched operators coming from the (Arroyo) bureaucracy
itself,” Chavez said. The
documentary also noted a report from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible
Voting (PPCRV) which estimated the number of disenfranchised voters to have
reached three million. For instance, the documentary cited the case of Valencia
City, Bukidnon (Mindanao), where 25,000 out of 75,000 registered voters were
unable to vote. There was voter disenfranchisement in 12 provinces nationwide,
as well as seven cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region or
Metro Manila. Stealing
the 2004 Elections also took
Arroyo to task for the use of government funds for her electoral campaign. It
also contained scanned copies of purported Malacañang memoranda enlisting the
participation of Cabinet officials in Arroyo’s presidential campaign –
including a top-secret memorandum outlining “Oplan Checkmate,” a propaganda
campaign strategy against Poe. The
plan was to project Arroyo initially trailing but gradually caching up in
ratings and eventually leading in surveys. “Checkmate” also contains a
strategy for discrediting Poe, the documentary claimed. There
are documents and there will be witnesses to corroborate these at the proper
time, Chavez said. Military
and police partisanship Both
Chavez and Patriots noted that the military and the police engaged in partisan
political activities during the polls, in violation of election laws. Chavez’s
documentary even cited a case in Sto. Tomas, Pangasinan (a province north of
Manila some four hours by bus), where poll canvassers were held at gunpoint to
produce results crediting Arroyo with more than 5,000 votes and leaving the rest
of the presidential candidates without a single vote. Patriots,
meanwhile, cited the case of 10,000 Mangyans (a tribe native to Mindoro, an
island south of Manila) who were reported by human rights groups as having been
prevented by the military from voting. The 10,000 Mangyans were known supporters
of the progressive party-list group Bayan Muna (People First), human rights
groups said. Patriots
also noted cases of canvassing held inside military camps and military personnel
serving as election inspectors. “In Mindanao and other areas, reports were
received of direct military intervention in the casting, counting, and outcome
of votes.” Patriots
further noted that: “The progressive party-lists like Bayan Muna and Anakpawis
(Toiling Masses) paid a dear price as their members and supporters were victims
of disenfranchisement through military operations, extra-judicial killings,
abduction, grave threats and other forms of harassment before, during and after
the elections.” Human reports said there were at least 50 progressive
party-list leaders and organizers killed during the whole election period most
them attributed to state forces. Scores were also reported missing. The
poll watchdog also noted that the administration’s opponents “were targets
of political harassment.” It cited the case of KNP vice-presidential candidate
Loren Legarda who was called a “political prostitute” by former military
intelligence chief Gen. Victor Corpus, and that of Poe who was accused by the
police of involvement in supposed destabilization plots. 2004
polls: “bloody and dirty” “The
reports that we received from partners and from numerous calls to our monitoring
centers established a nationwide pattern of dirty and bloody elections,” Dizon
said. “There is evidence that the battle for the highest offices in the land
is no exception. Massive cheating and terror against political opponents were
utilized in attempts to thwart the people’s will.” Patriots added, “We regret to ask: Can we blame our people if they perceive that the soon-to-be proclaimed president by the administration-controlled Congress is bogus, without a clear mandate and has stolen the electoral victory?” Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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