Noy unhappy with Comelec preparations

SAN MIGUEL, Tarlac, Philippines – President Aquino yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s preparations for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections and would like an inquiry into the delay in the delivery of ballots that caused the postponement of polls in some areas.

He also said his government was addressing election-related violence and would like perpetrators pursued and jailed. The President added he would not renege on his promise to dismantle private armies.

“I got word two or three days ago about the issue (on ballots) not being delivered. How

could you be satisfied with that? Compared to the automated elections, this is a more simple undertaking and is also stated in the law, this date was set (for elections) and so (the Comelec) should have prepared a long time ago,” the President said after casting his vote past 10 a.m. at the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Elementary School here with his sisters, Maria Elena Cruz, Aurora Corazon Abellada and nephew, Jiggy Cruz.

“And I think (Comelec) did not prepare well, we should know what the reasons are (for the delay),” Aquino said.

Aquino said the Comelec had told Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. of its plan to extend the voting hours if the ballots would not be delivered on time.

He said he was surprised to learn that even areas not considered remote had experienced delay in the delivery of ballots and election paraphernalia. Aquino said a holiday should again be declared in some areas where elections did not take place.

Important

The President also asked the public not to belittle the barangay elections, saying the barangay – as basic political unit – plays a key role in ensuring the success of government’s delivery of basic services.

Aquino also said there has been no letup in efforts to curb violence especially in Abra and Masbate, where private armed groups thrive.

He said stopping private armies was one of his first marching orders to former police chief Jesus Verzosa but still some people managed to “play around” with authorities.

After his trip to Vietnam, the President said he would sit down with PNP chief Deputy Director General Raul Bacalzo, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Ricardo David to determine once and for all what would be “necessary to forestall these types of violence.”

“But of course, what’s important more than anything, is to catch the perpetrators, have them prosecuted and jailed. Just like the resolution of the bus bombing in Mindanao (last week), we will concentrate on providing peace and order in these areas,” Aquino said. Meanwhile, it took Aquino only four minutes to cast his vote unlike during the May 10 polls when he had to wait for three hours to perform the same civic duty, due to a glitch in the Precinct Count Optical Scan or PCOS machine, according to the Regional Elections Monitoring Center.

PPCRV’s request

Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chairperson and former ambassador to Rome Henrietta de Villa said she would formally ask the Comelec to make its own investigation into delay in the distribution of election paraphernalia in yesterday’s polls.

De Villa said that writing a letter request to the Comelec would be one of the first things that she would do right after the local elections. “After this election, I will write a formal letter asking Comelec to investigate the matter. Is it just inefficiency? What department was responsible if there were perceived sabotage undermining the capability of the Comelec and the election itself,” De Villa said.

She stressed that the poll body “should look at all the angles” including possible sabotage. “Maybe something like this (sabotage) happened.”

She said it was puzzling that the Comelec could mess up on something that it has been doing for years.

“They have been doing this before, never mind if it was an automated election system because it’s completely new and we would understand the glitches. But for something like this, something they have been doing before, manual, it’s curious, it’s disturbing that this should happen this way and so close to election time,” she said. “Why are we always pressed for time in doing things?”

Aside from the late delivery of poll paraphernalia, there have also been reports that some ballots had similar or mismatched serial numbers or had no serial numbers at all.

De Villa also said it would have been understandable if the delay had occurred in far-flung areas or in typhoon ravaged municipalities but not in bustling provinces like Cavite.

De Villa said that while it was still too early to determine the voter turnout or the true extent of election delays, the problem could not be considered “overwhelming.”

She also said their volunteers had been advised not to wear PPCRV shirts so as no to be accused of campaigning for relatives.

“Our diocesan coordinator asked the volunteers not to wear their PPCRV T-shirts because somehow they are related to the candidates. Even if they are not campaigning for their relatives, but because they are relatives, they might be perceived as partisan,” she said.

“To save the PPCRV from any allegation or perception of being partisan, he thought it would be best that they no longer wear the shirts. They also set up voting centers to attend to all complaints,” De Villa added.

‘Worse than May 10’

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said Comelec’s ineptitude in yesterday’s barangay polls had overshadowed the success of the May 2010 national elections.

“The Comelec was unprepared for the polls. There was so much delay in the delivery of paraphernalia. And in other areas they just used xerox (photocopied) ballots,” Evardone said in a text message.

“The success in the handling of the May 2010 elections was overshadowed by the aberrations in today’s (Monday’s) polls,” he said.

“The notion that the barangay elections was non-partisan was only good on paper,” he said.

He said yesterday’s election was “the most expensive” with as much as P3,000 spent for each voter.

Meanwhile, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms lambasted the Comelec for blaming lawmakers for its mishandling of the polls.

Barzaga said his committee would conduct an assessment of the elections on Nov. 9 or a day after Congress resumes session.

The lawmaker was reacting to news report quoting Comelec law department head Ferdinand Rafanan as saying that the House was to blame for not immediately deciding whether to postpone or push through with the barangay elections.

“The Comelec said a decision (to push through or not the polls) must be made on or before the third week of September but as early as Aug. 25, when we laid all the bills (pertaining to the barangay and SK elections). They (poll officials) already knew that it would push through,” Barzaga said in a telephone interview.

He said that during congressional hearings in August, Comelec officials led by Chairman Jose Melo had assured him that there would be no hitches in the barangay elections. The same officials gave him reassurance in another meeting. Barzaga said he called up the poll body’s director for operations three weeks ago and was told that “everything is OK.”

He said most of the problems that cropped up yesterday stemmed from the “lack of planning and foresight” of the Comelec and even of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

He cited the very late issuance of a Comelec resolution disqualifying some 4,000 incumbent village officials, who were seeking reelection despite their being on their third or fourth terms. The number was based on the data provided by the DILG to the Comelec.

Barzaga pointed out that many of those barangay chiefs had served the unexpired terms of their predecessors, who had either died, resigned or left office for some reason.

He said the Comelec and the DILG should have given their notice long before the elections, specifically before the filing of their certificates of candidacy, and not on the eve of the elections.

“This is irresponsible. The Comelec should have given their notice long ago. Now all of these thousands of barangay officials will have their lawyers and all to defend their case. Some of them have valid grounds,” he said.

“Most of these problems and tensions could have been prevented if the Comelec and the DILG had proper planning and acted quickly, not sluggishly,” Barzaga said.

Robredo meanwhile maintained that the DILG informed the Comelec a month before the elections regarding disqualified candidates.

Robredo said they sent last Sept. 24 to the Comelec a list of barangay chairmen who are disqualified from running for having already served more than three consecutive terms.

“We submitted the letter on Sept. 24, the last day of the filing of certificate of candidacies precisely because we want to see first the list of those who were running,” Robredo clarified, at the same time suggesting that the first place kagawad be named chairman if the winning candidate turns out ineligible.

Aurea Calica, Philippine Star