The Null Votes Have It!

Much like the words that sent people to the streets back in 2001 to oust Erap Estrada, I cannot help but utter the similar words with a twist. Accuracy has been sacrificed by expediency. For more than a week, as the canvassing progressed, the shortcomings of the automation became apparent. I guess the blame falls on the education of the voter on how to properly cast their votes. I don't want to think that cheating was prevalent and I would like give all parties the benefit of the doubt despite some questionable results.

How many voters were disenfranchised, we will never know for sure. What we know is that a machine has decided the fate of our nation. In hindsight, any mark should have been accepted. Shading, a check or even an x should have been allowed. With the nullified votes, the automation system deserves to be revisited so that things like these will not happen again. It's a good thing that Pres. Aquino's lead was overwhelming or the presidential results would be shrouded in doubt.

The vice presidential race is a totally different issue. With almost 3 million null votes, the truth may never be known unless Sen. Mar Roxas files an electoral protest. I'll leave that to the PET to uncover. If there's any consolation to the whole affair, Gloria Arroyo will be out by June 30.

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Let Us Keep This In Mind

What does this "A little while" mean? (Jn. 16:16-20)

God's time is not our time. We want everything explained and resolved and repaired now. But there are things to be learned by waiting. Patience and insight and growth all come slowly.

I must admit that I'm sitting on pins and needles, waiting for my vice president to be named. I also hoping that my senator, Risa Hontiveros would land in the magic 12. Impatient as I may be, my Mom sent me this wonderful message. Binay maybe in the lead now but it's too close to call as those coming from Mar's bailiwicks are yet to be counted. There seems to be an attempt to set a trend and to condition the mind of the people. I cannot blame the COMELEC as there seems to be unseen hands that are working in the shadows to give Binay a reason to cry cheating should Mar finally overtake him.

Reports of vote-buying and pre-shading are true. The foreign observers have reported this. From the far-flung to the nearby cities in Metro Manila, there was cheating. Voters were forced to feed pre-shaded ballots into the PCOS machines. A foreign observer even watched as a BEI told the voter to just feed his ballot into the machine. The media concentrated too much on the candidates and precincts where they voted. Those located in the depressed areas and hidden from public view were seldom covered. This is were the intimidation, vote-buying and pre-shading took place. Whether the BEIs were terrorized or paid, we will never know. Automation or not, unscrupulous politicians and their goons will find ways to cheat. I am sure that time will come when we can truly say that our elections are clean and credible.

Now we are at the crossroads. We have a tight vice presidential race and the one leading the race is claiming victory. With 3 to 5 million votes still to be counted and with a lead 800,000, everything is still up in the air. No one can say how things will go. I hope that my vice president would come out victorious. We cannot have an administration with a clean president and a vice president with skeletons in the closet.

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Whose Endorsement Mattered Most

During the campaign, endorsements from everybody was sought by all aspirants. From the national candidates to the local aspirants, getting the right endorsement mattered. A friend from San Juan and an Iglesia Ni Kristo member told me how they toed the church's line. I was told that Erap was disappointed with this. In fact, they gave the Erap-Binay tandem a big fat zero. I was also told that in the New Ear precincts, Erap and Binay suffered the same fate. Obviously, the INK is the only church that observes command voting.

Gibo Teodoro may have gotten Quiboloy's nod but look at where he is now. Quiboloy is not what he portrays himself to be. God may have punished him for using His name in vain. I don't think Quiboloy's endorsement will not be sought again at least in the near future. Teodoro's poor showing is testimony to a false prophet. His endorsements of Erap and GMA were mere coincidence. Beauty queens may have endorsed Gibo, but this is a presidential race, not a beauty contest. I would rather see Gibo run for the senate first before gunning for the highest post of the land. Mike Vekarde was more cautious. He probably saw where Manny Villar presidential bid would end up. So instead of endangering his congressional aspiration, he chose not to endorse any candidate. After all, majority of his followers favored Erap.

What about the celebrity endorsements, how did they fare? Manny Villar thought that the big guns would help him weather the presidential race. Revillame, Dolphy and Pacman did not help a bit. Attached to the three were moral issues which the majority of voters shunned. Pouring millions in concert-cum-rally did not help. Those who went attended because of the bands and celebrities and nothing else. The number of attendees did not translate to votes. Villar lost massively. Loren Legarda had Sarah Geronimo as endorser but she is no Judy Ann Santos. Geronimo did not have the same influence as Judy Ann's. Geronimo's endorsement also was not able to lift up Legarda's public image.

Noynoy Aquino may have a celebrity sister. Kris maybe a scandal-magnate and tactless at times, but that's what makes her credible because she just cannot keep a secret. She's as transparent as she can be. You must admit that Kris's endorsement of my favorite congresswoman, Risa hontiveros has done wonders for Risa. She's virtually unknown in the national level. She doesn't have a political pedigree and yet is still there in a strong 13th place. But Kris nor the likes of Regine Velasquez and the other stars was Noynoy's best endorser, the fact of the matter is that Noynoy has the legacy of his parents to thank. Of course he also has his clean name that convinced people he is a worthy president. Despite the "trash" thrown at him by the likes of Bayad Muna and Pacquiao, he held his own. The people took his sincerity and his message of hope. At a time when hope is the only thing we have, a leader who can inspire is what we need.

So there, that's how endorsements succeeded and failed in this elections. At the end of the day, the voter relied on themselves and the promise of a new life. We all know the trials and hardships we will be facing, but I'm sure we won't squander it this time around. We are now more vigilant and participatory in the dealings of our government. The patience we showed in enduring the heat for hours just to cast our votes showed that we are definitely focused on real change.

Whose endorsement mattered most? It is ours, the electorate's endorsement that mattered most.

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The Aftermath

It has been a day since we trooped to the polls to decide our destiny. I must admit that I am satisfied so far with the speed of the results. I must say I am disappointed however with the slow pace some of the results are being transmitted which makes some people suspect trending. I've heard from friends far south that operators are hard at work. Could this be the reason why problems of transmission seem to crop up? Even Cebu which has a modern telecom system seem to be encountering problems. I am not surprised with Lanao and we all know very well how Mindanao has always been an operator's haven.

Despite the promises of automation, I am wary of its performance. Disenfranchisement, pre-shading and even vote-buying were reported. I myself witnessed how jeepney-loads of voters were brought to the polling center and were fed before voting. Even disinformation was used to prevent voters from voting. Certain volunteers of a party-list were telling voters that the elections was extended to 11:00pm when it fact it was extended only by an hour.

In the bailiwick of a losing candidate, I got reports of intimidation and harassment. Voters in the depressed areas were fetched from their homes and brought to the polls. They were made to insert pre-shaded ballots into the PCOS machines. In fact, my very own mother complained to the BEI because her secrecy folder bore the signature and logo of a candidate. The PPCRV volunteer merely took the folder. My sister even got into an argument with a PPCRV volunteer. Paging PPCRV, do really vet your volunteers? You may have moles in your organization. You are supposed to be impartial and just. Obviously you have questionable volunteers.

Pace of results have slowed down considerably. The speed last night was amazing. The entire day today, only trickles of updates were given. Notice how small the number of votes are? The lack of information about where the votes were coming from leads to speculations. Even if my candidate is leading, I would like to know where the results were coming from. I'll be giving the COMELEC the benefit of the doubt, but are we really getting the right results? I now question the wisdom of random auditing. How I wished the parallel count was allowed.

The next few days will be crucial. I remain vigilant and regularly check COMELEC's website to check which precincts have sent their reports. It maybe a tedious task but that's the only way for me to get the real score. I hope everything works out. So much is riding on this elections. We cannot afford to be complacent. Unseen hands can still manipulate the outcome.

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5 Hrs, And It's Worth It

I did not vote that early. I went to the polls at around 9:38 am only to see a throng of eager voters lined up waiting for their turn to vote. I was told that those who voted at 7 am took 30 mins. to finish up their democratic right. What followed is 5 hrs. of standing in line. At around 2pm, those whose number is 550 and below were herded to a classroom adjacent to the polling precinct. The lady in front of me who came a few minutes earlier asked a volunteer why the pace was so slow? She was informed that they were processing 5 voters at a time. This got the goat of the lady.

She called someone on her phone. She called the person on the other line, Tito Rene. That Tito Rene was none othe rthan Rene Sarmiento of the Comelec. She told him about the slow pace and passed the phone to the one in charge. Like a snap of a finger, the pace was hastened. From the snail-like 5 at a time, it became 20 at a time. By 3:08 pm, I was done. It took me 7 minutes to vote. The 5 hrs. of waiting was all worth it. Despite my aching feet and tingling knee, I was happy to vote.

I must apologize to my friend Leah because I kept bugging her about reports of irregularities in Las Piñas. At least I had someone to suffer with. I did not bother to have merienda. The long wait made me lose my appetite. I did drink about 2 liters of water when I got home. It was a draining experience but it was worth it. The true test of the automated polls is the counting and transmission. We really have to be vigilant and patient.

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A City Held Hostage

As things are going, Manny Villar's presidential run maybe over. In fact, the specter of losing even his hometown of Las Piñas is highly possible. The once formidable Villars could be losing their grip. It's somehow their fault as their base, the informal settlers of the city has dwindled in number and those who remain have discovered how "unnecessary" their existence is to the Villars. Alas, some form of persuasion is needed to get their influence back.

The majority of homeowners of the different villages and subdivisions in Las Piñas never liked the Villars. If not for their base, the Villars wouldn't win in the city. The residents of Philam Life is rabidly anit-Villar. In fact, coercion and intimidation is the name of the game. Any household who bares any form of support for Noynoy Aquino will have to deal with uncollected garbage. Stores which hang yellow ribbons or banners of Noy-Mar are threatened with with closure. But the Villars and Aguilars have upped the ante. They are now wooing the house-help, drivers of both private and public transports and the remaining informal settlers.

Last Sunday, May 2, drivers and house-help of Philam were approached by Villar coordinators and asked to sign up and invited to a meeting the following day. May 3 at around 4pm, they went to the covered court of Remarville (a village beside Philam) where the daughter of incumbent Las Piñas mayor Nene Aguilar was there to meet them. April Aguilar then started her short talk. This is how the event was told to me by one of those present.

"Sabihan niyo na ang mga amo niyo, lahat ng di bobot ko Manny Villar ay di bibigyan ng Friendship Sticker(this is the sticker given to all car-owners of the city as a pass to enter the other subdivisions in Las Piñas). Hindi sila tatanggap ng kahit anong sebisyo mula sa munisipyo. Lahat ng may negosyo ay di bibigyan ng permit o lisensya. Kung may pending papers or documents for release ay sisiguraduhin naming matatagal ilabas. Alam namin kung sinu-sino sila at kung sino ang kanilang iboboto kaya di sila makaligatas. Ayaw ko na sarili niyang lugar ay matalo si Manny Villar. Nakakahiya ito pag nangyari."

Warn your employers, everyone who will not vote for Manny Villar will not be issued Friendship Stickers. They will not be extended any service from the city hall (i.e. medical, garbage collection or other social services) . Those applying for business permits or licenses will be denied. We will make sure that those whose papers or documents are pending release will wait a very long time. We know who they are and who they will vote for and they cannot escape us. I don't want Manny Villar to lose in his hometown. This will be very embarrassing.

After her speech, those who attended, around twenty of them, were fed with Minute Burger and Zesto Juice. Another meeting like this took place a day after. This time around, poor folks and tricycle drivers were invited. Around 700 attended. The same stern warning was issued and were also fed afterwards. In both meetings, all attendees were given P400 each. I was able to interview a tricycle driver yesterday. I teased him about the check sticker (Villar's campaign logo) on his trike. I even offered him a yellow ribbon. He politely declined and said, "Gusto ko po pang makapag-trabaho (I still want to work)."

Sadly, not one of those whom I inteviewed is willing to come out officially. They are all afraid of the Villars and Aguilars. So this is what is happening in the little city of Las Piñas. Coercion and intimidation is the norm. Last March, persons wearing orange shirts and claiming to be local Comelec officials went house to house asking how many voters are there in every house. Will the elections in Las Pinas be clean? Will intimidation get to the nerves of the voters and allow themselves to be used in cheating? This is an example of traditional politics at its purest.

To the Villars and Aguilars, you may own 3/4ths of the city but you don't own the people of Las Piñas. Your little kingdom will someday crumble too. Your goons and gold cannot subvert the people's will. Isn't the wealth you now possess enough? Mahiya naman kayo, hindi kayo mga diyos!

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Ruthless

Manny Villar may have circumvented the law, but the people of Norzagaray, Bualacan has something to say to him. This is how ruthless, Manny Villar is. How can we trust him when he can do this to the poor farmers and Dumagats? Villar obviously knows what he's doing. He knows the tricks of the trade. He knows who to deal with to legitimize his land grabbing. Come Monday, May 10, you know who not to vote for. Unless of course you want someone who can turn the country into one big subdivision.

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