Comelec denies ‘special ops’

MANILA, Philippines – Rigging last Monday’s polls was not possible with the automated election system, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the candidate who gets the most number of votes will be proclaimed as there were no means or opportunities to subvert the system.

“There are no special operations now because we have a very transparent system,” he said. “In fact, even the smallest errors are being discovered immediately.”

Last Tuesday, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, the leading vice-presidential candidate, expressed fears of efforts to rig the results of the elections in favor of his closest rival, Sen. Manuel Roxas II.

The Liberal Party has denied the allegation.

In previous interviews, Roxas said they are expecting the final tally to yield a 1.5-million to 2.18-million vote lead in his favor.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), the Comelec’s accredited citizens’ arm, has said several areas known to be Roxas’s bailiwicks have yet to transmit results of the vote.

Earlier, presidential candidates Jamby Madrigal, Nicanor Perlas and JC de los Reyes said the election system was “flawed.”

In a joint statement issued last Thursday, the three losing candidates cited the “constant and steady flow of reports from the field suggesting a considerable quantity of problems with automated elections.”

The camp of former President Joseph Estrada has also vowed to disclose evidence of alleged discrepancies in the results of the 2010 presidential race when Congress convenes as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).

Estrada’s legal counsel George Erwin Garcia said they will ask Congress not to rely solely on the electronically transmitted results when it convenes as the NBOC on May 31.

“We will be presenting evidence, documents and people to prove that there were indeed irregularities… which we think will reflect on the credibility of the elections,” he said.

CHR lauds Comelec

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) lauded the Comelec yesterday for holding generally successful automated polls.

In a statement, the CHR also commended how the results of the elections were broadcast swiftly to the public just hours after the polls closed.

“This change bolsters not only the right of the public to information but demonstrates its interconnection with the right to security of person, particularly of election workers,” read the statement.

“The reduced total duration of the electoral process lessened the opportunities for cheating and fraud as well as intimidation, harassment and violence at the precinct and canvassing levels.

“At best, the automated elections greatly reduced the threats to life of election workers because it diluted the avenues for manipulation of results at the precinct level.”

The CHR also praised the media, civil society organizations, academe and Comelec-accredited citizens’ arms like the PPCRV, Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), and the Citizens’ Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reform (C-CARE), and all other volunteers for their contributions to the success of the automated polls.

“The efforts undertaken by these organizations, especially in areas fraught with election-related tension or violence, helped to protect the right of persons to life, security of person, freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, and freedom of association,” read the statement.

“Their voter education campaigns, and dissemination of information and updates, helped breathe life into the right of persons to receive information, and to vote. Much of the general success of the automated elections is rooted in this collective effort on the part of many sectors of Philippine society.”

The CHR particularly commended members of the Boards of Election Inspectors (BEI) and their support staff, who bore the brunt of the work on election day.

Teachers made adjustments on the ground to try to facilitate the flow of voters; aided elderly voters, pregnant women and the disabled, and in certain cases risked their own personal security to safeguard the integrity of the ballot, the CHR said.

However, the CHR noted serious concerns on the manner in which the electoral exercise has been conducted, beginning with disenfranchised voters because of long lines and problems with the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, among others.

“The CHR remains seriously concerned regarding this clear denial of the human right to vote,” read the statement.

The CHR also denounced what it referred to as the bastardization of the party-list system as many legitimate marginalized sector-based organizations have been denied the right to stand for election, while others of dubious advocacies have been allowed to participate in the polls.

The CHR also took note of the election coverage conducted by certain media personalities and organizations, which has opened them up to accusations of a lack of neutrality or objectivity.

Furthermore, the CHR said while the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces as well as other parties have described the 2010 elections as “generally peaceful,” election-related violence remained prevalent.

“The PNP has logged at least 82 incidents of poll-related violence since January 10, which include 27 deaths and 42 persons injured, not including those who perished in the Maguindanao massacre,” read the statement. —-Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) with Michael Punongbayan