"What a way to deflect public doubt and anger."
"What a way to deflect public doubt and anger."
Commission on Elections Commissioner Rowena Guanzon had one of the most quotable quotes in this year’s mid-term elections. Asked by media about the mess created by the malfunction of more than 1,000 SD cards intended to be used in vote-counting machines, Guanzon answered with a feisty “lagot sila sa akin.”
Roughly translated to English, the phrase means “I will hold them accountable.”
Guanzon’s statement may have given the public some hope that the supplier may face some kind of punishment as a result of the mess. That may be in the form of a fine or a withholding of payment. Maybe, the supplier may no longer be allowed to participate in public biddings for Comelec requirements.
However, the fact remains that before the supplier of the messed-up SD cards faces the specter of an investigation and sanctions, Filipino voters have already been “punished.” Their precious votes may have ended up not being counted. Worse, in some places in the country, the results of the voting may have been put under a cloud of doubt.
Was this another case of the Comelec acting too late or not taking the required action at all?
One of the seriously affected places appears to be historic Dapitan City in Mindanao.
The city had been in the public radar months prior to the elections. The public and media observers had been following the developments in the election contest for the mayoralty post of that city. It was supposed to be a battle royale pitting the Jalosjos clan against Evelyn Uy, former mayor of Dipolog City.
The contest attracted major attention because Dapitan City appeared to be the last political bastion of the once-powerful Jalosjos clan. The family had lost badly in recent elections, keeping just two elective posts. Dapitan City has a major symbolic value to the family, having kept its hold on city hall for decades.
The incumbent is Nene Jalosjos-Johnson. If Evelyn Uy were to defeat her in this election, the clan would have lost its sole remaining stronghold and the last symbol of its political influence. The contest was made more interesting by the fact that the Jalosjoses had never won against Uy.
A Jalosjos clan member reportedly challenged Uy for the mayoralty post of Dipolog City but ended up roundly defeated in that match.
The fight for the Dapitan City mayoralty seat was also made more interesting by the “technical” tactics used against Evelyn Uy. At the onset of the campaign period, her eligibility for inclusion in the city’s voters list was questioned.
The Dapitan City election registration board disqualified her. Uy’s eligibility, however, was upheld by the Regional Trial Court of Dipolog which ruled that she should be included in the voter’s list. The court also chided the registration board for singling out Uy and for apparently going out of its way to make sure that the rival of Jalosjos-Johnson was disqualified.
The issue was later brought to the Comelec en banc. The body, however, did not act on the matter. The inaction prevented Uy from going all-out in her campaign for the mayoralty post.
The inaction of the poll body put its intention and credibility under scrutiny from observers. Was the Comelec trying to hand over the mayoralty post to the incumbent on a silver platter? Was it depriving the people of Dapitan City a chance to have more options in this election? Was the fight for the mayoralty post of the city over even before the polling places opened last May 13? Was the Comelec unfair to the electorate of the historic city?
The “unfairness” of the situation seems to have been aggravated by reports that more than 40 percent of the SD cards of the vote-counting machines in Dapitan City malfunctioned. This followed earlier reports of harassment and vote-buying.
“SD” means Secure Digital. It is the device in which the number of votes for each candidate is recorded as counted by the vote-counting machine. The SD card is crucial both for the transmission and the storage of that precious data.
With that number of SD cards allegedly malfunctioning in just one place–Dapitan City–it cannot be helped but for people to suspect that the situation may not have been purely “accidental.” For our part, we hope this was purely accidental. Otherwise, the “unfairness” to the voters of the city would have reached gargantuan proportions.
Believe it or not, the inaction of the Comelec on the issue of Evelyn Uy’s eligibility to be included in the voters list of the city and the election day mess are also unfair to Jalosjos-Johnson herself.
We can only commiserate with the honorable mayor. Observers are now saying that her supposed win in the recent polls was like a basketball game where the referees and the technical committee were on the side of one team.
Uy has already reportedly filed a protest. Chances are her protest will be met with the same response as her earlier petition before the Comelec en banc.
Meanwhile, Guanzon has been loudly castigating the SD card supplier.
People wonder whether or not Guanzon and the other members of the Commission should have done their homework prior to election day. What would have happened if the Comelec had exercised greater prudence in the selection of the supplier?
Guanzon has been quick to pass on the blame to the public. She attributed the mess to the “lowest bidder” rule which she said the people wanted followed.
This is a brilliant way to deflect public doubt and anger.
This, however, does not change the fact that the situation has been unfair to many Filipinos.
Email: ernhil@yahoo.com