Election watchdog warns vs rigging votes from ARMM in favor of Team Unity

Election watchdog Kontra Daya warned against rigging of votes from Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in favor of Team Unity candidates.

Kontra Daya joined the Concerned Citizens and other groups in a protest rally, Wednesday, near the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) where the national canvassing is ongoing. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to canvass the votes from Maguindanao on the same day.

Kontra Daya spokesperson Fr. Joe Dizon said, “The Arroyo administration is set to use the highly questionable Certificates of Canvass (COCs) from Maguindanao to manipulate the results of the senatorial as well as party list race. It will be part of the last-ditch efforts of the Arroyo administration to cheat.”

Dizon said, “Comelec must not canvass the spurious COCs from Maguindanao.” Kontradaya, along with many other watchdog groups and media centers, pointed out the improbability of a so-called “12-0″ or landslide TU victory in Maguindanao. Incredibly, several election returns (ERs) were presented wherein the entire Genuine Opposition slate allegedly failed to garner a single vote or were all given a score of “0″.

Lanao del Sur special polls

Meanwhile, Emmi de Jesus, Kontra Daya spokesperson for the Lanao Observer Mission, stated that the special elections held recently in Lanao del Sur were “farcical and extremely vulnerable to vote manipulation”.

De Jesus headed the 17-member mission that went to Marawi City to observe the special elections.

De Jesus said, “Chaos was the order of the day. We witnessed first hand numerous violations of the new Election Code. Evidence of the Comelec’s gross inefficiency, incapacity and, worse, complicity in the cheating, were too rampant to ignore. The heated and often violent conflicts among local rival politicians provide the fertile ground for the crooked election officers, acting as a criminal syndicate, to engage in election fraud.”

De Jesus Added, “The Arroyo administration has failed miserably in bringing fair and free elections to Muslim Mindanao. Instead it is taking advantage of the anarchic situation there to serve its own partisan objectives, i.e. the incredible 12-0 sweep for Team Unity, or at the minimum, the vote padding for TU candidates in the 13th to 15 ^th slots.”

Garci boys

De Jesus noted that most of the voters did not vote for national positions. “Alienation from the Manila government and national politics in general seems to be one reason behind this. Another is the Comelec’s utter lack of awareness campaign. It is so easy for the cheaters to fill out the tally sheets, the ERs and COCs themselves.”

De Jesus underscored that the “‘Garci boys’ whom the Comelec refused to get rid of despite calls from various watchdog groups are now taking custody of the election returns (ERs).”

De Jesus identified them as Jubiel Surmieda and Renault Macarambon, members of the Comelec’s Special Action Group (SAG) tasked to oversee the conduct of special polls. She also noted that Jose Tolentino Jr., head of the SAG, was implicated in the multi-billion MegaPacific scam but was not charged.

Carandang, Alamar

ABS-CBN senior correspondent Ricky Carandang and DZMM reporter Noel Alamar were able to cover the transfer of ERs from the provincial capitol to a hotel in Iligan City. Comelec official Rene Sarmiento said he ordered the transfer based on recommendation from the SAG.

De Jesus said, “We believe that those who have been issuing death threats to Carandang and Alamar are the operators of massive fraud. We condemn this kind of harassment.”

Vigilance

Dizon said, “We commend the media and the Filipino people for their vigilance. We must continue to guard our protest votes, no matter how sham the democracy is in this country. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her cohorts must not be allowed to repeat the 2004 electoral fraud. Cheating will be politically costly for the Arroyo administration.” #