International observers have confirmed what domestic analysts and human rights advocates have long ago feared and debated about.
According to a recent news report that recently appeared in Philippine dailies, Western election observers have criticized the Philippine government, especially the Commission on Election (Comelec) for lack of a backup system and “insufficient” openness as the country prepares to choose its next president with a new automated voting system.
In my previous entries in this blog, I have argued that “failure of election” (referring to the forthcoming May 2010 general elections which should lawfully end the illegitimate rule of Pres. Gloria Arroyo under the Constitution) would be the greatest collective injustice that the Philippines, as a nation, can suffer.
A failure of election will surely result in the despicable perpetuation of the stay of Pres. Arroyo in the Palace under the holdover doctrine, thus, exacerbating the sufferings of the Filipinos whose taxes and votes she and her clique have abused, raped and prostituted since she assumed power by the grace of the People Power Movement of 2001 (Edsa II).
Reproduced below are a report on the commentaries of foreign election observers and a recent item that appeared in the column of former Chief Justice Art Panganiban on the abovementioned issues, for legal research purposes of the visitors of this blog.
Int’l observers grade Comelec preparation: Needs improvement
By Niña Calleja
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:44:00 03/14/2010
MANILA, Philippines--Needs improvement.
That’s the grade the Commission on Elections got for its efforts in preparing for the country’s first fully automated polls.
Western election observers on Saturday criticized the government for lack of a backup system and “insufficient” openness as the country prepares to choose its next president with a new automated voting system.
“[To give] words of encouragement and to give some kind of indication [of] where things are in the Philippines, the grade is ‘needs improvement,’” Jamie Metzl, one of five delegates of the US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), said in a press conference.
In a report presented to the media, the NDI said the Comelec would need a continuity plan in case of a system breakdown which could likely delay, obstruct or lead to the failure of elections.
“The delegation believes the release of such a comprehensive plan, addressing both national and local planning, could go a considerable way to assuring voters that the Comelec is aware of, and sensitive to the many issues raised in the public domain,” the NDI said in its report.
Aside from Metzl, the other delegates were Thomas Barry, NDI deputy regional director for Asia; Sam Gejdenson, former member of the US Congress; Nora Owen, former Justice minister of Ireland; and Sue Wood, former president of the New Zealand National Party.
Backup needed
Since glitches were possible in any system, Metzl said the poll body must ensure that the machines—to be used for the first time to count ballots, pool and transmit results from more than 350,000 precincts—were fraud-proof and had adequate backup.
“The perception, whether fair or not, is that the Comelec has not done so. When it concerns elections, perceptions can be as important as reality,” the NDI said.
This perception has “inhibited public confidence in the elections and generated anxiety about the automated election system.” it added.
Metzl, who is also executive vice president of Asia Society, said: “We are not underestimating the enormous challenge that’s facing the Comelec in organizing the Philippines’ first fully automated elections. The Comelec itself admitted that it has fallen behind in its preparation.”
Not open enough
The report also said the Comelec had yet to reveal to candidates and voters what backup plan they had, in the event the automated system failed.
Said NDI official Barry: “The biggest challenge and contribution that the Comelec can make is to communicate openly and frankly.”
Gejdenson, former US congressman, said although they had not seen how the precinct count optical scanning (PCOS) machine would operate, they had gathered reports and reviews
about previous machine tests.
Owen, a former justice minister whose home country Ireland experienced a failure in automated election, said this year’s election in the Philippines would be an improvement over its past elections.
“I come from Ireland ... We had an electronic automated system which we have now abandoned precisely because some of the safeguards which are now in your system did not exist in ours,” she said.
She stressed that the “key ingredients” in the new system was to print ballots with names and codes that “can only be read in the appropriate precinct.”
Suggestions
The foreign observers said the Comelec had enough time to work on their suggestions.
“I think they can, it’s a question of accelerating some of what they already have in the pipeline and making the information they have available to the broader section of Philippine society,” Gejdenson said.
The NDI delegates were in the country from March 7 to 12. They met with government officials, leaders of political parties, civil society and human rights groups, and media organizations.
Fifty million voters are set to go to the polls on May 10, when 17,000 posts from president down to municipal council seats will be contested. With a report from AFP
See:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100314-258518/Intl-observers-grade-Comelec-preparation-Needs-improvement
With Due Respect
Brains and brawns
By Artemio V. Panganiban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:35:00 03/13/2010
MANILA, Philippines—It is said that two things are indispensable in running a country: brains and brawns; right and might; legitimacy and power. Leaders must not only use brains; they must also flex brawns. Understandably then, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants to be judged right and to have the might to enforce her perceived right.
All figured out? So, to secure legitimacy, she carefully chose all her appointees to the Supreme Court who, she hopes, would validate her stay, come what may. To assure that armed power would back her hope, she just named a loyalty-tested chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines—Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit—who, as chief of her Presidential Security Group, repulsed at least three military attempts to oust her.
To widen her legal umbrella, her allies want her to appoint a friendly chief justice when Reynato S. Puno retires on May 17, never mind if the Constitution bars her from doing so. Sue her, the Palace dares. After all, the Constitution is what the Supreme Court says it is.
Then, after an incumbent justice is named chief, a new Supreme Court vacancy will open up, thereby giving her the opportunity to name another member of the Court.
Verily, she now has the lethal combination: the Supreme Court to validate her wants and the AFP to enforce her will. Brains and brawns; right and might; legitimacy and power. She has it all figured out.
After 20 years at the helm, Ferdinand Marcos thought he had it all figured out too: a compliant Supreme Court, a pandering Batasang Pambansa, a captured Commission on Elections and a loyal AFP under Fabian Ver. So he confidently called for a snap election in 1986.
What he failed to figure out was people power ignited by a recalcitrant secretary of national defense (Juan Ponce Enrile), a psywar expert (Fidel V. Ramos), a charismatic man of God (Jaime Cardinal Sin), and a rising icon of democracy (Cory Aquino). They proved that brains and brawns are not enough. The people’s trust is as essential, if not more.
Prolonging her stay. In past columns, I outlined how GMA can prolong her stay. To repeat briefly, in a tight presidential contest, a failure of election in just 10 percent of the nation will result in a failure to proclaim a new president because, legally, when the uncounted ballots exceed the margin of the leading presidential candidate over the second placer, no one would be proclaimed winner.
Is this really possible? Yes, very possible. The latest SWS survey shows almost a dead heat between Noynoy Aquino and Manny Villar. And our media are replete with reports of fumbling, delays and glitches in the automated election preparations.
There is jurisprudence (like Señeres vs. Comelec, April 16, 2009) saying that an incumbent shall remain in power until the new official is proclaimed and assumes office. Since precedents favor her continued stay, her smart lawyers can justify a GMA holdover.
Even Philippine National Police Chief Jesus Verzosa’s courageous stance against a holdover is subject, according to him, to the Supreme Court’s final verdict. Indeed, it is the Court that, in a crunch, can validate her stay and the AFP that can enforce her sway.
In this seemingly well-crafted script, how will our people react to a skewed election, a failure to proclaim the new president, and the prospect of GMA’s indefinite stay? Will our people trust GMA? Is she barnstorming the nation to win the people’s trust?
* * *
Logistics of ballot delivery. To answer my earlier columns, the Commission on Elections advised me not to worry about the correct delivery of the correct ballots to the correct precincts at the correct time. Wrote Comelec’s James Jimenez, “Ballot delivery parcels will be marked with bar codes. This will allow the Comelec to track the progress of each parcel as it gets shipped through various checkpoints to its final destination…”
Well and good. Bar codes, if properly monitored with global position devices, can track packages. But the question is, are the courier companies that are yet to be appointed, equipped with this system? Equally important, the logistics of ballot delivery refers not merely to physical transport. It includes the following:
Ballot printing. The names of all candidates for all positions in all towns must be printed correctly. Excluded candidates will skew the election because they cannot be voted for. Belatedly, Comelec admitted that its printing machines would not finish the needed 50 million ballots; thus it is procuring one more printer. But this will not solve the omission of the names of the candidates and other printing errors; no time left to double check them.
Packaging and handling. The ballots are being packed in black boxes. For better handling, the boxes should have been grouped and colored according to destination. Wrapping is important: if moisture enters the packing, there would be problems in the machine reading of the ballots.
Stacking and shaking. In the Smartmatic warehouse, the boxes are being stacked too high, compressing the ones on the bottom and damaging the vacuum packing. Too, the shaking and tumbling of the boxes in the delivery vehicles as they pass rough roads could affect ballot readability. They could be waylaid too.
I can write on and on boringly. My point is that logistics is not simple and can cause failed election in several places because of non-delivery, mis-delivery or wrongful delivery. With less than two months to go, does Comelec have time to attend to these vital minutiae?
* * *
Comments are welcome at chiefjusticepanganiban@hotmail.com
see:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20100313-258491/Brains-and-brawns
What are GMA's real options and limitations?
AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR By William M. Esposo
(The Philippine Star) Updated March 21, 2010 12:00 AM
Last Thursday’s Supreme Court decision to allow Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) to appoint a new Chief Justice of the High Court — despite the clear Constitutional ban during an election period — was met by widespread negative reactions from many sectors of Philippine society. You know that it was a very unpopular and controversial decision because even administration presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro cautioned GMA about it.
To many who were dismayed over the decision, they saw a partisan vote by the nine Associate Justices who voted in favor of it. An overwhelming majority of the current Supreme Court have been appointed by GMA. A retired Supreme Court Justice wondered why the High Court went against its own decision in 1998.
But more than the questionable decision, what alarmed many was the perceived signal that GMA was setting into motion a sinister plan to keep her in power beyond the end of her term on June 30, 2010. The controversial Supreme Court decision has to be viewed within the context of previous actions that were largely perceived as preparatory stages that will allow GMA to retain power beyond her term.
These are as follows:
1. The appointment of GMA operator Norberto Gonzales as National Defense Secretary.
2. GMA’s insistence to run as Pampanga Representative in the May 10, 2010 elections which is considered degrading and untypical for an exiting Chief Executive to do.
3. The appointment of another GMA operator, Leandro Mendoza, as replacement Executive Secretary.
4. The appointment of Lt. General Delfin Bangit as Armed Forces Chief of Staff.
Put all the suspected appointments together with Ronnie Puno — GMA’s “Merry Men” — and you cannot blame those who see an impending realization of the sum of all our fears. Ronnie opted to continue running the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) where he will be co-terminus with GMA when he could have opted to run as vice president or for another public office.
The fear of many is focused on a programmed failure of elections for the national posts of president, vice president and senators. With GMA conceded to win as a Pampanga Representative, she could be elected as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. With no elected president and vice president, with no Senate President — as Juan Ponce-Enrile’s term also ends on June 30, 2010 — GMA as the new Speaker of the House becomes the national caretaker.
The recent snags in the automation setup in the Comelec (Commission on Elections) as well as the questionable eviction of local government incumbents allied with leading presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino heightened the people’s fears. All the Comelec Commissioners are also GMA appointees.
We now come to the point of whether GMA is bold or crazy enough to try to pull off this feared scenario or if there will be other scenarios at play. Despite her track record for acting with impunity, she will be extremely reckless to try to pull this off just when the Yellow Army has resurrected and provoking People Power is a very likely reaction.
At this point, even with a majority of Filipinos suffering from the Information and Education Gaps, this move is just too brazen and obvious that it will surely provoke People Power. Even the ‘village idiot’ will see this as a power grab. There is intense public passion during an election and it is the height of recklessness and stupidity to even contemplate attempting this.
The hidden factor here is how the US will react to this power grab. GMA could not even pull off her emergency rule PP1017 Executive Order which was promulgated after the February 24, 2006 Fort Bonifacio military standoff. She immediately withdrew it after the US asked her to do so. The US — verbalized by no less than Defense Secretary Robert Gates, State Secretary Hillary Clinton, CIA Chief Leon Panetta and former Ambassador Kristie Kenney — had expressed confidence that we will have a good May 10, 2010 political exercise and concern if that did not happen.
There is a big US agenda in Mindanao which almost resulted in the aborted MOA-BJE (Memorandum of Agreement for a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity). US geopolitical interests in a projected future conflict with China require US military operational capabilities in the South China Sea. Add to that the attraction of the oil deposits in the South China Sea which China has claimed.
The US would not want to see a local conflict here that will provide China an avenue to participate actively in Philippine affairs in order to stop the US Mindanao agenda. That feared GMA power grab which can be expected to push the country to a civil war could well be the avenue for China to support one faction. If the power grab does happen, it would be accomplished with US consent.
Should the US decide to be consistent with the previous statements of Secretaries Gates and Clinton, the most likely action plan of GMA and her “Merry Men” would be to ensure that a GMA man is elected as the new president. Seeing that administration official candidate Gilbert Teodoro is just too far behind to become the 2010 president, it is easy to see why “Money Villarroyo” flies.
For GMA, it is anybody but leading presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino and possibly third placer Joseph Estrada. Second placer Manny Villar is the only real possibility for preventing a Noynoy Aquino victory.
* * *
Chair Wrecker e-mail and website: macesposo@yahoo.com and www.chairwrecker.com
See:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=559895&publicationSubCategoryId=64
