Unmasking electronic ‘cheating’

By Herbert Vego

AN explosion of TNT could kill hundreds or thousands of individuals.  The acronym stands for trinitrotoluene, an organic nitrogen compound found in artillery shells, grenades and airborne bombs.

By comparison, three men who call themselves “TNTrio”  (for “truth and transparency”) hope to explode in the faces of “operators” behind the Smartmatic who allegedly manipulated the May 9, 2022 election to install Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos for President with 31 million votes and Sara Duterte Carpio for Vice-President with 32 million.

The three – Eliseo Rio, Jr., former secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology; Augusto “Gus” Lagman, a former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner; and Franklin Ysaac, former president of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) – have filed a petition for mandamus  asking the Supreme Court to command the Comelec to preserve all records of transmission logs supporting the vote counts.

They find it incredible that more than 20 million votes (trending in favor of the Maros-Duterte “uniteam”) had been transmitted by 8:02 p.m. or one hour after the closing of the polls on May 9, 2022.

A separate action by a retired military officer, Lt. Col. Leonardo Odoño, to have the Comelec commissioners impeached for betrayal of public trust, has likewise come to naught in the absence of a congressman willing to sponsor the impeachment case.

To quote Alenn Nidea, a New York City-based lawyer, “As in a motor car, mandamus is the spark that ignites the engine and impeachment is the step that accelerates the car into motion.”

So far, however, not so good. Not even “losing presidential candidate” Leni Robredo has initiated a public outcry aimed at whipping up massive disgust and helplessness over the “defeat of democracy” in the Philippines.

We who voted for Leni and her senatorial slate could not believe her “sound of silence” despite her obvious heavier crowds against Marcos’ during the campaign rallies.

Thankfully but ironically, no less than the words of President Marcos could belatedly unmask the realities behind computerized cheatings in the automated Philippine elections of 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022.

Those words uttered before a speaking engagement in 2018 have become viral on YouTube replays on the internet. To quote some of those words verbatim:

“Maliwanag na maliwanag na eh. Ang ibinebenta ng Smartmatic ay hindi election system. Ang ibinebenta nila ay daya-an system.”

He uttered those words in the heat of an election protest he had filed before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) against Leni Robredo who had defeated him in the 2016 vice-presidential race. He lost the protest, nevertheless.

Based on lawyer Glenn Chong’s allegation, Marcos had been cheated in the Mindanao provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Basilan.

But now, the same Chong has been appearing on TV to say that Marcos was a “beneficiary” of Smartmatic “cheating” that awarded him the presidency in 2022 with 31 million votes, and vice-presidential running mate Sara with 32 million.

Why would Marcos benefit from the electronic voting technology he had condemned?

Chong’s cryptic answer when interviewed by vlogger Maharlika on her YouTube channel: “I know what you did last summer.”

“Maharlika” is the alias of a former pro-Marcos vlogger who is now anti-Marcos. She said that Chong – a former congressman of Biliran — was alluding to “Liza Smuggs” (not her real name), whom he had allegedly seen doing business on behalf of Marcos with a ranking Smartmatic official in March 2022 or two months before the May 9 election. Chong threatened to be more specific later.

Chong said that his own bodyguard, Richard Santillan, had been shot dead by the police “to scare me.”

However, how could Maharlika demonize Bongbong without harming Sara, too? Remember, Sara had gained more votes for vice-president than Bongbong for president.

While Marcos has unabashedly called Sara “BFF” without batting an eyelash, there now appears to be animosity between her and his cousin, Speaker Romualdez, because of their alleged intention to clash for the presidency in 2028.

But then again, where are Leni and her defeated senatorial stalwarts (with the exception of one winner, Sen. Rizza Hontiveros), who are supposed to benefit from the exposure of the infighting within the “uniteam”? Why have they sealed their lips?

I dread imagining any negative perception.

-oOo-

MORE POWER’S UNDERGROUND CABLING HAS BEGUN

MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), has ceremoniously started work on “undergrounding” of its electrical wires along the J.M.Basa stretch, with Engineer Bailey Del Castillo, deputy head of Network Operations, leading the team.

The groundbreaking for the underground distribution system recently took place at Sunburst Park with the participation of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, MORE Power President Roel Z. Castro, Engr. Del Castillo and representatives of FiberNet Konstruct Corp. (FKC), which is the contractor of the project.

“The resilience of our city’s infrastructure will be greatly improved, providing uninterrupted power to homes, businesses, hospitals, and schools. This reliability will foster economic growth, attract new investments, and create a favorable environment for businesses to thrive,” the mayor said.

The 1.6-kilometer underground work will start from the corner of Burgos Street at Plaza Libertad all the way to the corner of Arroyo St. at an estimated cost of ₱96.4 million.

The project consists of three phases consisting of the civil works, the electrical work on cable installation, and the removal of overhead power lines.

Aside from better general appearance and lesser interference with other amenities, the underground cables have the advantage of smaller voltage drops, low chances of developing faults and have low maintenance costs. However, they are at least three times more expensive to install.