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Election fraud

A gathering of multi-sectoral groups in the city happened on Thursday at UP Baguio. The discussion focused on the present crisis of governance. As a president, GMA has been tagged not only a lame-duck leader — she won the presidency through fraud with the aid of a commissioner from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).

Former NBI official lawyer Samuel Ong exposed a conversation by GMA with Comelec Commissioner Garcillano in relation to the rigging of the election in the Mindanao areas to ensure her victory. The opposition earlier alleged that the areas identified in the CD conversation showed GMA winning over FPJ. These are just a tip of the iceberg of the election fraud committed by GMA last May 2004 election. That makes her presidency doubtful.

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The election frauds last May 2004 were not only committed in the areas mentioned in the alleged GMA-Garcillano conversation. It happened too in the Cordillera region which involved an official of the regional COMELEC.

I had discussed in detail an act committed by a COMELEC official in my article that was published by NORDIS on its June 6, 2004 issue. My informant was very familiar with the electoral system, including fraudulent acts.

If I recall right, the act was committed on May 5 prior to the election. My informant claimed that the Regional Director of COMELEC-CAR distributed money to some of its provincial supervisors and municipal election officers and assistants. This occurred at the Skyrise Hotel, Lourdes Grotto road in Baguio City where the COMELEC-CAR officials were having a seminar on the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) in relation with the quick count.

Only chosen provincial supervisors and municipal election officers and assistants were the beneficiaries to the “doled-out” money. The COMELEC-CAR director was choosy as to the recipient. My informant claimed that the P1,000 bills contained in a medium-sized black attaché case were not distributed all. Maybe more of the bills had been left to the possession of the director.

Each recipient provincial supervisor and municipal election officer received P 5,000 claimed my source. Municipal election assistants received lower at P3,000 per recipient. My informant documented the serial number of the five P1,000 bills the director gave: BX674303, CD295853, DC316791, GD068637, and AG355700.

The director was quoted by my source to have told him to “make good” for the election interpreted as good to ensure GMAs victory in the region.

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This experience substantiates how the election was exploited by COMELEC (an independent government agency) for a partisan election. Instead of ensuring a clean, honest, and fair election, it served to perpetuate the hold of a politician to political power through its machinery from the national to the local.

The experience also tends to support the allegations that the frauds were not only committed in the Mindanao areas and in other areas but the last election was the worst. This makes GMA’s mandate questionable.

The Philippine society’s economic crisis is worsened by a crisis of leadership. GMA must listen to the peoples’ call for her to step down. Else, a social volcano will erupt and unseat her for being an unfit president. #

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