More hitches than usual mar elections

Voting proceeded in over 300,000 polling precincts across the country yesterday but the process was marred by widespread complaints of missing names, incomplete voters’ lists and late delivery of election materials.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos said yesterday’s electoral exercise went "fairly well" despite reports of disenfranchisement that flooded in from many polling precincts nationwide.

"It is going fairly well," Abalos told a news conference on the progress of the electoral exercise after spending Sunday night in a hospital for fatigue and suspected ulcers.

Abalos admitted that "minor problems" plagued the conduct of yesterday’s polls including complaints of missing names of voters, missing precincts and ballot boxes, misprinting of ballots and even omission of spaces for the positions of governor and vice governor in provincial ballots.

Comelec operations division director Pio Joson also admitted that "hundreds" of voters might have been disenfranchised.

But Joson clarified they have yet to receive accurate feedback from field offices on voter turnout. Comelec officials initially claimed an 85 percent turnout of voters.

"From what I know, many were not able to vote. But let us see how much the turnout is," Joson said.

Jose Concepcion, chairman of the independent watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), said Comelec officials had been advised that many voters could not find their names on lists posted outside the precincts where they had voted in past elections.

"I went to my district of Forbes Park (in Makati City) and saw there were so many problems and these problems, I believe, cover the entire nation," Concepcion said.

He said Comelec officials at times took three hours to locate the precincts of voters, but by then "a lot of voters had left already."

Namfrel secretary-general Bill Luz also confirmed that many voters could not indeed find their names.

"There were many people at the precincts. Now, if that is because they could not find their name... We will find out later," Luz said.

Damaso Magbual, Namfrel-National Capital Region chairman, said the conduct of elections yesterday was confusing.

"This election is particularly more disorderly and confusing for the voters," Magbual said.

Namfrel officials reported that the problem of disenfranchisement of voters, including those in Metro Manila, was the primary concern in the elections.

There were also reports of delay in the delivery of election materials and poor quality of the indelible ink used.

Insufficient ballots were also reported in Quezon City and Navotas.

Magbual said Comelec officials are being blamed for lapses in preparations in Taguig and Parañaque City.

Namfrel’s claim corroborated a similar assessment by the Church-based civic group Patriot which said there was massive confusion among voters yesterday since most of their names were missing or misspelled.

"Our conclusion is there has been massive confusion. We feel Comelec is not really prepared," said Fr. Jose Dizon, leader of the group.

A Western observer who monitored voting in Manila said missing voter names were the most common problem that plagued yesterday’s poll exercise.

Small numbers were involved in two cases but in a precinct in Paco, Manila the foreign observer estimated that about "20 percent" of the voters were disenfranchised.

Concepcion, for his part, said he did not believe the dropped names or mixed-up precinct assignments were done intentionally, as suggested by many opposition parties.

"This problem began three or four years ago," during the term of deposed President Joseph Estrada, he said.

"They messed up the list but that problem was not so big then."

Abalos defended Comelec although he had to admit that there were indeed some problems.

"So far, so good except in some areas where people are finding a hard time locating their names," he said shortly before eight hours of balloting ended at 3 p.m.

Abalos said there was a good turnout of voters "because (of the) long queues."

Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borja, who has been a poll official for the last 42 years, assessed the turnout was "good" and the conduct of the elections as less violent and generally more peaceful than others in recent history.

Borra claimed they are "a little bit happy" with the results of the elections.

"Since last night and of course this morning (elections) is not as violent as the 2001 elections... and in 1998," said the veteran Comelec official.

"From the report, as you can see from each commissioners, it seems a little bit peaceful than the previous political exercises," Borra said.

The Department of Education (DepEd) also said public school teachers who served in the poll duties had the impression that yesterday’s conduct of elections was relatively smooth and peaceful.

"The reports have been positive. The elections have been running smoothly from the point of view of the teachers," DepEd Undersecretary Jose Luis Gascon said.

Gascon reported out that there were no reports among the 475,000 teachers being harassed so far.

Gascon revealed that the most common complaints were not from the teachers but from voters whose names went missing.

Reality Bites

Abalos admitted that not everything the poll body envisioned went as planned. "Not even the most noble of intentions prevented the Commission’s serious brushes with reality in the last few months," he said.

"Some of the people whom we trusted to be our partners engaged in faultfinding and mudslinging," Abalos said without mentioning names.

"Those whom I expected to be fair and balanced gave in to sensationalism and hype, to the detriment of the Commission as perceived by the public," he said.

Comelec and independent monitors acknowledged substantial numbers of voters may have been disenfranchised because of flawed or incomplete voter lists.

One of the main complaints from voters was that election officials were slow and in some cases failed to deliver voting materials to polling stations in over 300,000 precincts scattered across the archipelago.

A failure of elections was declared in the island barangay of Fuga in Aparri, Cagayan; in a barangay in Babuyan Islands and Barangay Dalupari in Calayan, also in Cagayan. Likewise, Comelec declared a failure of elections in three areas in Abra, as well in Barangays Naguilian, Minable and Balatubat in Camiguin island due to late arrival of election materials.

Helicopters were supposed to deliver the election materials to Tineg town in Abra but failed due to inclement weather conditions.

Commissioner Florentino Tuason, commissioner in charge for Region I and Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), authorized yesterday the holding of special elections in Tineg, Abra today.

"I authorized the holding of special elections for failure of election paraphernalia to reach the area," Tuason said.

All the reported areas have a voting population of less than 5,000 which according to Comelec would not be significant to affect the outcome of the national elections.

On a good note, Comelec said however they were surprised by reports that elections were relatively peaceful in the traditional election hot spots in Southern and Central Mindanao.

More than 43 million people out of a population of 84 million registered to vote in elections for president, vice president, members of Congress and local officials.

Abalos also lamented some bombings and shootings that disrupted yesterday’s polls.

At least 16 people were reported killed yesterday in election-related violence, taking the campaign death toll to over 100. There were also scattered reports of vote-buying, intimidation and missing ballot boxes.

Election officials also reported that an explosion set off a fire that gutted portions of a building and destroyed election documents in the central town of Taft in Eastern Samar.

Officials said tens of thousands of election campaign documents loaded in two vans were confiscated by police in the region. Police were checking reports of vote-buying in one area.

"Lamentably, there was nothing I or anyone could do to stop the senseless violence in many places," Abalos said.

He insisted Comelec, "though beset by many challenges, is determined to deliver an honest, efficient and credible election within its means with the help of everyone who is convinced that this is our collective future at stake."

At the height of the election campaign, the Supreme Court issued a surprise ruling that outlawed the Comelec’s plan to computerize the counting of votes – allegedly because of flaws in the bidding to provide the automated machines.

This forced the Comelec to print a new set of ballots and to retrain several million election officers.

Comelec again suffered a setback when on the eve of election day, the Supreme Court ordered the poll body to refrain from conducting an electronic quick count.

Over 43 million Filipinos voted yesterday to elect a president, a vice president, 12 senators, 212 congressmen and over 17,000 local posts. Credible exit polls are expected Tuesday but full results could take over a week.

Poll officials and volunteers began counting votes in the afternoon.

The five-way presidential race is seen as a fight between US-trained economist President Arroyo and Fernando Poe Jr., the country’s best-known film star who left school at 15 and whose inexperience has alarmed financial markets.

Mrs. Arroyo, 57, a key Asian ally of the United States, has presented herself as a safe pair of hands for the economy and is backed by big business, while 64-year-old Poe has run on his film star reputation as "Mr. Clean."

A final independent opinion poll had predicted Mrs. Arroyo would win 37 percent of the vote compared to 30 percent for Poe, with the remaining votes split between three other candidates.

"Our future as a free country rests on this election," Arroyo told reporters, showing off an index finger stained with indelible ink, a procedure to prevent double voting. "An election equalizes power. Let us guard our future," she said.

Despite the hitches of missing names and other "technical problems" besetting the conduct of every elections, many of the 43.5 million electorate made huge efforts to do their democratic duty even as heavy rains and scattered thunderstorms hit many areas of the country, which is entering the start of a four-month wet season. - With Evelyn Macairan, Rainer Allan Ronda, AFP, AP