LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

The poll magicians, the devil and Ben
March L. Fianza

Councilor bet Wyler Ogas Lubos of La Trinidad wishes to express his sincere thanks to everyone for their support in the recent election. Others cry over losing, as if it is the end of everything. But Wyler seems to have transformed into a matured politician who knows how to accept defeat.

Congratulations to Greg Abalos, William Esteban and Tim Galwan for their good sportsmanship. Best wishes to new councilors Francis Lee and Jerome Selmo and many happy returns to all other bets.
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Any move by members of the 14th congress to impeach the president may no longer push this time. Consider the fact that even the congressmen who are sympathetic to the administration may soon find themselves slowly drifting to the party of any of the presidential bets in 2010.

Instead, what many sectors wish to see now is the resignation of some guilty Comelec commissioners. But who admits guilt? They can be impeached but that may be next to impossible too, because impeachment is a numbers game. They may also be sacked by the appointing power but any president will not weaken his or her foundation. The best way yet is for the guilty to resign -- or be lynched by an angry state.

More than a hundred protests and complaints lodged in Comelec offices and police precincts are proof enough that fraud and irregularities characterized the recent conduct of election. The print and broadcast media report an unending story of alleged anomalies. Surely, the papers tomorrow will continue reporting the same unless and until the people guilty of turning a blind eye to on-going violations are removed from office.

Our space can not contain the long list of election misconduct or violations committed but there were funny and weird irregularities worth telling. These could have been avoided at the outset. First, at the start of filing of candidates, sane Comelec officials already sensed that Joselito Cayetano who claimed his nickname was Peter, was a nuisance bet at the time of his registration. Only Ben and the devil believed that was his real street name.

Look at what their foolishness put us through, especially to the two Cayetano households. Imagine Mrs. Cayetano and her children in Davao becoming suspicious of their father because suddenly they have a brother named Peter. In Manila, the home of Alan Peter Cayetano also has to do some puzzle solving because another bet named Peter comes out of the blue. What a mess that election! The guy who ordered that the fake Peter be registered should hang himself.

Could he possibly manage a senatorial campaign? The luckiest bet did not have to go around. His registration as soon as certified by the referees was enough. His operators’ goal was to ruin the candidacy of Alan, no more no less. And all Cayetano votes would go astray unless the fake Peter was disqualified. A few hundred handshakes may help portray a fake candidacy but a campaign around the islands was unnecessary. Ben and the devil knew he did not have the intention to win.
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Driving back home to Baguio after casting my Trillanes and Paredes votes in Daclan Elementary School, a nun whose name I forgot to ask rode with me. The dust that blew behind the Volkswagen in my rearview mirror reminded of playful Bokod summers. However, this writer’s dusty daydreaming of a past was interrupted by the nun’s nightmare story.

Here is her story: Wanting to accomplish her right to vote, she left church chores in Barangay Tuding, another town in Benguet in the morning of May 14 and took a bus to Bokod. That was where she voted in the last two elections since she was then assigned at the church in town. Only this time, her voting right was unfulfilled. Her name, along with several others, was nowhere to be found in the usual lists that hang by the door.

The nun a, senior citizen said she had gone through all the other lists but did not find her name. She now knew the feeling of being disenfranchised. How many thousands more, perhaps a million, experienced disenfranchisement? I tried to fit myself in her shoe as she related her story. Listening to it was already bad. What more if it is experienced? There was the similar feeling at a time when women were denied equal voting rights.

It seems like the simple chore of checking 200 names per precinct is really one tough act to do. In a small town of around 50 precincts for 10,000 voters more or less, 150 weeks between now and the next election in 2010 is more than enough time to correct a list of 200 names per precinct. Are our Comelec workers still competent and capable?

Funny that while many disenfranchised voters in Luzon wanted to vote, but it is the opposite in the South. Beautiful Mindanao puzzles me. Reports from various camps of poll watchdogs say that no elections were held in some towns or provinces. Some say there were none. But, if there were no elections, where have all the counted votes possibly come from? Maybe some magicians interfered in the process.

News reports as well as personal accounts of poll volunteers say that many were registered but they did not have to go to the precinct to vote. Even before they did, the results of the voting were already done. Not only were the ballots counted without the voting -- the total number of counted votes even surpassed the supposed number of registered voters. Maybe Ben and the devil are magicians.

By the way, with the manner the votes in Mindanao are delivered solidly for certain candidates, why can’t the island produce a leader of their own? Their voting strength is high as revealed by the results of the elections in their precincts. How come not even their own candidates won over the bets from Luzon? A line says: “You win in the voting but lose in the counting.” The devil, the poll magicians and Ben owe us a satisfactory answer. marchfianza777@yahoo.com