longcuts

Elections in the country generally have only two outcomes – either a candidate wins or he is cheated.
This is the reason why suits and counter-suits immediately follow the elections.
The losing candidate usually files a protest; the winner also files the customary counter-protest just to prolong the proceedings until the next elections.
The cycle is repeated every 3 years.
And the lawyers are happy, naturally.


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Everybody is now preparing for the automated elections next year. Candidates are gearing for the filing of certificates of candidacy on November 30.
The Comelec is urging voters to register. Advocacies for clean, honest and orderly elections are now regularly aired on TV or radio programs.
There are now aspirants for different positions, national or local.
And of course, some incumbent officials enjoy expensive infomercials that are paid for using people’s money.
The Comelec and Smartmatic are all excited over the miracles of poll automation. They say the canvassing for national positions gets done in 2 days, imagine that.

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But lawyer Harry Roque said during the deliberation in the Supreme Court last Wednesday night, they discovered one thing – if the automated polls will push through, there is nothing in RA 9363 (automation law) or the Omnibus Election Code that governs electoral protests.
So what happens if a losing candidate files a protest?
What are the rules, the procedure, the jurisdiction in the protest?
How will the Comelec resolve the issues raised? What will be the basis of the ruling? And finally, how will the Supreme Court resolve the case on final review?

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To make the automated polls really workable, he said, the Comelec ought to have asked Congress to amend the law.
The amendment, he said, should include provisions governing electoral protests, among others.
When asked if it is still possible for Congress to make the necessary amendments, Roque said the prospect is dim.
If there are absentee voters, there are also absentee members of Congress.
They could hardly muster a quorum.
So how can they do business?

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There is another problem, he said.
It used to be that the Comelec has full control over the elections. Nothing gets done in the polls from registration to canvassing to deciding protests unless the Comelec enters into the picture.
As a former city election registrar told Longcuts once, during elections, the Comelec is like God.
And I concurred, based on actual practice and past experience.
But not anymore.
If the automated election pushes through, Roque said, it is Smartmatic, not the Comelec that is in full control.

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When asked to explain, Roque said Smartmatic is in control because it has sole and exclusive “access” to the hardware and the software.
The software, especially.
Smartmatic could manipulate the computer software and the Comelec would be helpless. They could program anything and everything so the winner in the elections becomes pre-ordained.
Any training, any repair and anything that concerns the computer hardware or software is the exclusive domain of Smartmatic.
And he finishes his theory with this scenario – in the 2010 elections, it is Smartmatic, not the Comelec, that “ordains” the winners.
To win, candidates must not only consider the Comelec, they also have to consider Smartmatic.

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For appearing and talking his mind in last Saturday’s Ang Mayor sa Dakbayan, city kagawad Dandan Bantugan got a whipping in the Bohol Chronicle where he maintains a column.
He was also whacked by his “colleagues” or “teammates” in radio programs over DYRD.
In this respect, he’s “helpless.”
It’s practically a no-win situation for Dandan.
He belongs to the majority bloc in the city sanggunian. And the majority bloc was accused of cover-up in the deliberation of the terribly boring issue of un-liquidated cash advances in the city.
So he has to speak out. He has to explain the cover-up story. He has to prove that the story that got printed in the Chronicle was not accurate. He has to narrate the incident when vice mayor Toto Veloso denied having said there was a cover-up.
In effect, Dandan has to publicly dispute the legitimacy of the cover-up story.
And he did it last Saturday over rival station DYTR.
By doing so, he committed a mortal sin.
So he has to be crucified.

* * *

Many are wondering how long Dandan’s column will last in the Chronicle.
Other people are also wondering how long will Dandan see the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.”
Will the management of the Bohol Chronicle allow Dandan to continue using the pages of the paper to freely express his thoughts?
Safest answer, of course is, only the future can divine.

* * *

Yesterday, Dandan “committed” another mortal sin.
Reacting on the premature publication and discussion in DYRD of the draft committee report submitted by committee on public accountability chair Mariquit Oppus, Dandan called up and said “Ingon ana na gyod ta ka desperado nga i-leak man dayon bisag wa pay pirma ang draft sa committee report?”
He also said kagawad Oppus has explained that the submission of the draft committee report was not intended for inclusion in the agenda.
“Ako gi-release para makuha nako ang consensus sa ubang miembro, dili para i-agenda,” Oppus reportedly said.
There are several questions about the inclusion of the draft committee report in the agenda of the city sanggunian last Friday.
One, why was it included in the agenda when it was still a draft?
Two, why the haste to include it when there were yet no signatures in the report?
Three, it was submitted past the deadline. Dandan said it was marked received past 4 of Thursday while the deadline is not later than 5pm of Wednesday.
Four, who leaked it to DYRD when it was not yet official?
Of course, I will not ask why it was prematurely reported when its legitimacy and provenance are still in question.

* * *

There are 4 people who, Dandan said, are “responsible” for the “progress” of the draft committee report.
They are kagawad Mariquit Oppus, the SB Secretary, Majority Floor Leader Edgar Bompat and Vice Mayor Toto Veloso.
Dandan said Oppus denied having leaked the report.
Bompat is also unlikely to leak it, said Dandan.
That leaves the SB Secretary and VM Toto Veloso.
Question – who do you think has the best motive to provide DYRD reporters with a copy of the draft, nay, bogus, committee report?

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Meanwhile, I called up yesterday Atty. Eliseo Labaria, the provincial election registrar for his comments.
I also called up Comelec Assistant Regional Director Atty. Veronico Petalcorin regarding the governing law on protests in an automated elections.
Labaria told me there is none.
Petalcorin texted me this message, “nanawag ko nyor, wala pa Comelec guidelines sa protest.”
When I asked him what will happen now, ARED Petalcorin texted back “mao nay issue nga i-resolve sa Comelec en banc, perhaps it will invoke its constitutional powers.”
On the issue of implementing rules on the conduct of the automated elections, both officials also told me they have not yet received any.
Because of this bleak scenario, Roque told me some presidential aspirants are beginning to get itchy feelings about their huge investments in infomercials.
Well, I’m sure in the coming days, there will be “silent” moves to reassess the campaign strategies of these presidential aspirants.
More when we return, stay tuned for more.