Election uncertainty looms

By Herbert Vego

AS national and local elections on May 9 draw near, “noel” rumors loom wider. The word is short for “no election”.

Why so when the Constitution mandates an election every third year on the second Monday of May?

In view of President Rodrigo Duterte saying “joke only” whenever proven lying, any “assuring word” from him does not mirror reality. Therefore, against today’s passed-on Facebook-Messenger messages warning of a looming martial law to perpetuate himself in power, his denial does not count.

His order to barangay captains to arrest the out-of-home unvaccinated persons could be construed as an “indicator”

Moreover, unfolding events seem to be too surreal to be true – as in Sara Duterte-Carpio running for vice-president despite the advance surveys of SWS, Pulse Asia and Octa Research – circa May 2021 — showing her “No. 1” should she seek the presidency.

It compels us to wonder whether the true picture on their common viewfinder shows otherwise.

As regards her presidential partner, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., facing disqualification petitions before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), naughty minds paint the possibility of him hurdling the problem and winning the presidency by hook or by crook, only to be disqualified later by a court of law so that Sara as the “spare tire” could take over.

A “holier-than-thou” dissenting Comelec commissioner would then tell BBM, “See, I told you so.”

This is not to say that I see that scenario shaping up. But if the presidential daughter ascends a step higher, her dad could enjoy some degree of “protection” against criminal cases on human rights abuses and graft and corruption that could crop up once he steps down.

The integrity of the Comelec has remained doubtful since the martial law era when the jailed Senator Ninoy Aquino and all his allies running for the interim Batasang Pambansa lost.

The retention of Smartmatic as provider and operator of the vote-counting machines (VCM) is scary in the light of allegations of “automated dagdag-bawas” manipulations done in 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 elections.

Incidentally, the change of name from “precinct count optical scanner” (PCOS) to VCM in 2019 was an obvious attempt to erase our “hocus-PCOS” memories from past automated elections.

To refresh our short memory, then Comelec chairman Andres Bautista resigned and flew abroad soon after the 2016 presidential election. It was obvious he was eluding the impeachment complaint that had been filed against him for “massive hacking of the Comelec website.”

Amid allegations of post-election “unexplained wealth,” Bautista has not returned home.

All eight Otso Diretso opposition candidates lost in the senatorial election of 2019. Again, the Smartmatic and Comelec were in hot water because of the so-called “seven-hour glitch” or the seven-hour delay in the transmission of election returns from the former to the latter. In those seven hours, “automated manipulation” could have transpired.

In an attempt to appease the pissed electorate, no less than Pres. Duterte ordered the Comelec on May 29, 2019, “Dispose of Smartmatic and look for a new one that is free of fraud.”

Did we believe him?

Oh, when will we ever learn?

-oOo-

A TALE ON TWO ‘BOMBAYS’                   

AGRICULTURAL productivity for his hometown of Miag-ao, Iloilo is one of the dreams that our friend, Leopoldo “Doods” Moragas wants to achieve. He is a candidate for mayor thereat.

He is unhappy over the poor income earned by farmers, especially onion (sibuyas bombay) growers who produce and sell so much but earn so little profit. He wonders whether a study has been made as to the “supply structure” aimed at improving their income.

He sees something wrong in the “finance structure” that is at the mercy of the other “Bombay,” referring to the Indian nationals engaged in money lending. It is public knowledge that the poor planters and vendors borrow from them at usurious interest.

Moragas, an agriculturist by profession, is a retired senior vice-president at the Philippine National Bank (PNB), hence in a position to “strategize” income opportunities for the farmers.

-oOo-

A ‘TIMAWA’ CANDIDATE FOR COUNCILOR

I was having coffee with my friend Gina Odela at Hotel del Rio when Peter “Kap Mawa” Abadiano joined us.  His name rang a bell.

I remembered that his father had served as a city councilor during the long-ago administration of Mayor Roding Ganzon.

But Kap Mawa, too, has distinguished himself as a public servant. He is the hard-working incumbent barangay captain at Zamora-Melliza.

He believes he is ready to do more for more people. And so, he is running for councilor.

Out of curiosity, I asked him how he got the “Mawa” moniker.

“Timawa eh,” he said.  The Ilonggo word stands for “ordinary, marginalized people.”

He certainly feels how the less in life feel because he used to be one of them.  But he is a rare one who speaks fluent Mandarin, the official language of Taiwan.

“I have done manual labor there,” he said, “including labeling boxes with Chinese characters.”

Abadiano would have loved to be included in the slate of re-electionist Mayor Jerry Treñas but opted to run independently because “all 12 slots are already been filled up.”