How can we be a strong nation if our people lacks the basic resources they need to face life's everyday challenge? How can we be a strong nation kung watak watak tayo? Mukhang mababaw ang logic but come to think of it. Siguro, magandang ehemplo ang walis tingting :-) naalala ko lang ang payo ng lola ko. Hindi na siguro naiisip ng mga modern politician iyan dahil vacuum cleaner na ang uso sa panahon ngayon. Walis tingting na simbolismo ng pagkakaisa at pagtutulungan.
Hinanap at binalikan ko ang dati kong nailathalang artikulo sa pahinang ito tungkol sa nakaraang eleksyon. Yaman din lamang at nagmumuni-muni ako kung sino nga ba ang dapat kong piliin sa mga kandidatong nangangakong magiging maayos ang bansang ito. At dahil nandito ulit ang mga pangambang hinaharap ,natin tungkol sa "automated election". Heto pala ang mga naisip ko noong eleksyon ng 2010....
Unripe, Ripe, Rotten: The different phases of the 2010 election
UNRIPE…the pre-election perception
Less than a year before May 10, 2010 election, Comelec entered into a
contract with a foreign firm Smartmatic to carry out the project for poll
automation. The sealed deal officially marked an important milestone for
the government’s thrust for poll automation and indicated a new era in
Philippine politics. Such move did not escape critics who mulled over the
high probability of a failed election which eventually created uncertainties
among the public. As Comelec played an “against-all-odds” role and
Smartmatic resolves its own issues with its local partner TIM, the calls for
cancellation of the poll automation all the more became louder. The Arroyo
administration endured public scrutiny, relentless media probe and doomsayers’
prediction of an impending crisis but palace did not deter from its plan to
pursue an automated election for 2010.Comelec and its contractor faced bigger
challenges as the project reached its phase by phase implementation, it also
created a bigger question if the country is really ready for the poll
automation. Different issues as regards the testing and distribution of
PCOS, the clustering of precincts, the testing of ballots, the training of BEI,
the public awareness campaign, the mock election and all doubt about this new
system to be implemented became the talk of the nation which was covered in
every news headlines. There were groups who engaged in hunger strike and
barricaded in front of the Comelec office to push for the parallel manual
counting as they question the integrity of the automated election. Two days
before the election, Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM was once again in hot water
when manual count did not match the PCOS-generated returns during one of the
random testing. This issue heightened the groups demand for parallel
manual counting while other groups and even two presidential candidates called
for postponement of the election. Comelec and the contractor gave
different explanation for such an occurrence, but fairly enough Smartmatic was
quick to act on the matter and dispatched the memory card replacement in 76,000
precincts nationwide in less than 48 hours. Comelec responded with a
resolution for no parallel manual counting and an affirmation that the May 10
election will push through as planned although most groups perceived the move
for automated election as still “unripe for the picking”.
RIPE…the election outcome
The big day event came and as perceived, problem as regards the
introduction of a new system was evident such as disenfranchised voters, PCOS
that bogged down, lengthened waiting time as a result of precinct clustering,
rejected vote due to strict ballot scan process by PCOS machines and add to
that the perpetual problem of vote-buying and other desperate shocking schemes
perpetrated by politicians who refused to be out of the limelight.
The eleven hours allotted time from 7AM to 6PM for casting of votes was
extended by Comelec for another hour up to 7PM to address the prolonged waiting
time while Smartmatic deployed service technician and reserved PCOS machines to
either troubleshoot or replace non-functional ones. After passing through the
rigor of this whole new poll process and almost two hours after the closing of
precincts, election results started to be transmitted to the central server
which gave Comelec the chance to have a televised conference to provide update
to the public and release an official partial count of the election. It
was a total different scenario from the previous elections wherein teachers
were subjected to a hard-days’ work and a stressful and tedious nights and days
of manual counting. It is also evident that people were more vigilant of
the election process and actively participated in this exercise as Comelec
reported almost 75% turnout of voters despite the pre-election glitches that
took place.
Then days after the Philippines’ first ever automated election, it was
such an uplifting experience to see a different political landscape being
carved for the country. It was also a relief to see good news running
through TV, radio, newspaper and internet feeds, for once in my life I feel
proud of the Philippines thus I cannot help but put into account some news
stories here. It is not everyday that I got to read positive reports about
the country much more about the dramatic change in the country’s political
arena that was tainted with blood, violence and deceit. Presidential
candidates who lost in the race like Gilbert Teodoro, Manuel Villar and Dick
Gordon were gentleman enough to quickly accept defeat that showed their
confidence on the integrity of the automated counting, a move that etched a new
picture of well-cultured personalities. The United States, European Union
and foreign community conveyed their congratulatory message to the Philippine
Government and to all Filipinos for the peaceful and successful execution of
the automated election. There is also a noticeable drop in
election-related violence, as AFP and PNP reported.The positive pronouncements
brought constructive advantage for Philippine business sector as peso gained
strength over foreign currencies. The shortened counting process resulted
in swift proclamation of winners in the local level which could be translated
into savings in energy, effort and money as unnecessary expenses were
considerably cut down which could have otherwise been spent if we were still
into manual counting. So far, so good! Although we were all just starting
into the process of assimilation in this computerized election, the fruit of
everyone’s decent labor for poll automation has been ripe after all!
Rotten…the post-election scenario
The tons of garbage
from the election, win or lose the candidates has the obligation to clean up their mess,
it isn’t nice to see your names and faces hanging around just anywhere. To all
losers, if you can’t be the winner in the election, just become a champion for
the environment. And to all winning candidates, you now have every power
to make this country a greener and cleaner place otherwise you also need to be
thrown out of the garbage.
Electoral protest
and claims of massive cheating - life is really like that when you are at the losing end, you
always have this feeling of being deceived, you have every right to voice out
your concern but please not to the point of being scandalous and violent,
things can be resolved in a civilized manner, take some lessons from the three
gentlemen Gibo, Manny and Dick.
Senate and Congress
not yet starting with their official canvassing - Wow, isn’t that ironic?We all seem to
hang in the balance because the two most important positions in the land are
still yet to be proclaimed. Senate and Congress will convene only when
they reach a quorum, if that is the case it only defeats the purpose of an
automated election. So how long shall the nation wait?Just don’t make it
too long and don’t make it too slow. Don’t make this country a laughing
stock please.
Fear for
constitutional crisis brought on by outgoing administration’s “overnight appointment”
and incoming administration's refusal to recognize them. Well, well,
well…she is still the president up to June 30, what can anyone do? She
promised for a smooth transition of the presidency, let us just hold on to that
promise and give her a graceful exit. Obviously she is designing a road
for herself, whether people will follow her on that road will all depend on
them.
Threat of
impeachment against President-apparent Noynoy Aquino for refusing to recognize
Renato Corona’s appointment as Chief Justice - Mr. Aquino hasn’t even seated
yet in Malacanang for him to be threatened with impeachment. Give the guy a
President’s welcome that he deserves, he was voted President by a large
population, we all need to respect the voice of the people.
The outgoing
president is making her late plans come into fruition for the remaining days of
her term, whether that will be left to rot or be preserved will be up to the
incoming president. A reminder to the incoming administration, please
don’t forget to prune the rotten system and plant a new seed that will yield
first-class produce.
