P Noy as chief campaigner

Today is D-day for senatorial, congressional and local candidates as they vie for 17,000 electoral positions in the country’s second automated elections.

I used to think that computerized elections was just a figment of a Third World citizen’s imagination but here we are, using the electronic wonder or curse, depending on which political side you’re on, called Precinct Count Optical Scanners or PCOS machines.

The PCOS machines debuted in 2010 amid fears of technical glitches compounded by human error but doomsday scenarios didn’t happen. The electronic machines that failed to deliver constituted only 0.50 percent of the total number, which is super minuscule, but the defective units were also replaced immediately.

Given that we were used to the manual system ever since our Republic was born, we cannot expect a seamless transition from blue collar to electronic overnight. We have to be patient with the new procedure, and in a democracy where debate is unfettered, there will always be tension and here we need to take it one day at a time.

Before the delivery of some 82,000 PCOS machines to different parts of the country, apprehensions were high because the Commission on Elections (Comelec) failed to provide a proper public review of the program instructions of the voting and counting machines.

This issue has since been addressed when SLI Global Solutions reviewed the program instructions called source code last week. This developed after software provider Dominion Voting Systems formally turned over the source code to Comelec and SLI last week. SLI is the third party hired by Comelec as required by law to conduct an independent review of the source code.

* * *

Computerized elections eliminated some old-style electoral fraud like ballot box snatching to replace valid ballots with manufactured ones, tampered election returns or even fake tallies on a massive scale which were prevalent during the pre-martial law and post martial law periods.

But the biggest electoral fraud in Philippine history could be cited 21 years after the fall of Marcos, during the May 14, 2007 senatorial elections in southern Mindanao wherein flagrant cheating and violence perpetrated by allies of then president Gloria Arroyo, in particular, by the Ampatuan clan took place in Maguindanao.

This was confirmed by no less than former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol in July 2011 as they were pressured to shed light on the dagdag-bawas controversy.

* * *

The 2013 elections is a national referendum for  President Benigno Aquino III and his three year-old administration. P-Noy has been making headway in his anti-corruption campaign and this has paid dividends in terms of the country’s economic performance.

A 6.7-percent national economic growth followed by the country’s upgrade to investment category by international economic monitors make P-Noy even more effective than his late mother, former President Corazon Aquino in endorsing candidates.

A 7-5 win for Team P-Noy is a given, according to pollsters. The President is seizing the momentum by pushing for a 10-2 score.  That means only two from the opposition United Nationalist Alliance UNA, very likely, Nancy Binay and JV Ejercito will make it to the Senate. The casualties from P-Noy camp will have to come from precariously situated bets Jamby Madrigal, Risa Hontiveros and Ramon Magsaysay, Jr.

P-Noy will be closely monitoring Cebu today knowing that this strategic city and province with more than 2.5 million votes will showcase his strong performance and credibility.

Unlike in 2010 when LP gubernatorial candidate Hilario “Junjun” Davide III was pictured as the biblical David out to slay a political Goliath in the person of Gwendolyn Garcia, today Junjun is running with no less than P-Noy as chief campaigner.  UNA hit PNoy when he ordered the suspension of Gwen Garcia in December 2012.  The outcome of the gubernatorial race will be viewed either as a validation or rejection of PNoy’s move.

At the risk of overstressing the obvious, the President’s influence is most felt during midterm elections because he has still three years to his term, which is more than enough time either to payback political supporters or punish non-believers.

Having said that, many politicians will quietly switch sides because, to use that tired phrase, at the end of the day, it will be each man to himself.

* * *

As citizens, we can do a lot to help ensure that today’s elections will meet the standards of a just and civilized society.

Today, we can go out early to avoid the traffic and the crush of people who will queue to vote. Let’s not just make a mental note of the candidates that we will vote for but make a list so we won’t unnecessarily stay long inside the voting booth.

I hope voters will be guided by their conscience and not be swayed by groups who are urging them to decide on a single issue. To do so would be to allow candidates to make their anti-RH stance as cover for their unflattering track record or even public misdeeds.