By Fe Zamora
MANILA, Philippines - The May 14 election was a "celebration of volunteerism," a shining moment for about half a million volunteers who gave "light" to the electoral process, according to an assessment by a Church-allied election watchdog group.
But the gains were shadowed by the "scalawags in the Comelec and known operators in its ranks," according to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in a post-election assessment report released on June 23. "We honor and salute our PPCRV volunteers, even ourselves, who worked against an abundance of fear and a poverty of resources in order to safeguard the rights of each and all voters to vote freely, to have each and all votes counted and canvassed accurately, to defy guns, goons, gold in exposing cheating and unlawful manipulation at the polls," the PPCRV said in its report.
In the report, the PPCRV praised the 439,693 volunteers as "living testimony" to the spirit of volunteerism. It said the election was also a "celebration of collaboration, partnership and dialogue" that the PPCRV had with its Muslim partners in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Comelec-accredited National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).
It cited the Legal Network for Truthful Election (Lente), the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), Radio Veritas and the Catholic Media Network, Social Action Centers of the Catholic church and several Bangsa Moro civil society groups and the Assembly of Darul Ifta which had entered into a partnership with the PPCRV for the elections in ARMM.
"There were shadows still, a lot of shadows brushing the landscape," said the PPCRV. One of these was the age-old practice of "guns, goons and gold" which resulted in the wanton killing of candidates and their supporters and rampant buying of votes not just with money but also with offers of government positions and contracts. Much of the confusion and delay in the implementation of rules were blamed on the Commission of Elections' alleged mismanagement of the polls. "The retention of scalawags in the Comelec and known 'operators' in its ranks blurred efforts at restoring its credibility and its campaign to reinforce moral values, and sadly negated the goodwill and the good intentions of the Comelec," the PPCRV said. It said the "chronic failure of elections" in the ARMM highlighted the failure of government and its agencies, political leaders as well as the religious leaders, and the nation as a whole to use their resources and political will to alter the reality that ARMM is "the cheating capital of elections in the Philippines."
It also noted that a "considerable number" of boards of canvassers were able to evade investigation and prosecution by flaunting the phrase, "honest mistake."
But it said the program to educate voters was "definitely gaining ground" as shown by the failure of movie actors and celebrities to win. "Issues, platform or governance and programs were beginning to mark national elections rather than personalities," the PPCRV claimed.
June 24, 2007
Philippine Daily Inquirer