Who’s financing Loren’s demolitionists?

With only 10 days left before election day, anti-Loren Legarda forces are still viciously attacking the top senatorial candidate by sending 250,000 text messages daily through the use of GSM modems like those manufactured by iTegno. The messages falsely accuse her of having filed a bill scrapping teachers’ vacation pay, and another reducing the retirement benefits of policemen, firemen and soldiers.

Only the vulnerable would believe such claims. The texts have not made a dint on the results of surveys conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia which have consistently put her on top of the winners’ list. You know, I personally wonder what charisma Loren has to top those senatorial and trust rating surveys since 2006.

People in the know say that the smear campaign doesn’t come cheap, since the operators have to pre-load their GSM modems and computer software with prepaid cellphone cards. At one peso per text message sent, how many millions of pesos have they spent since their perceived boss decided to target Loren in a desperate bid to emerge as the No. 1 elected senator in May? You do the computing.

So who’s behind the false anti-Loren texts? Somebody who sent them or had them sent even in the 2004 election, to government workers, teachers, policemen and firemen. The sender has a data base of the contact numbers of government workers, and is believed to be a member of a clique or an exclusive club made up of people who have their eyes set on the 2010 elections, and who therefore must demolish Loren now before she entertains the idea of joining the presidential race.

Efforts to destroy Loren’s reputation have not been limited to sending text messages. Rumors are also being floated that Loren’s campaign materials were found inside a helicopter that crashed last month. No such materials were found in the downed aircraft.

You and I know Loren’s grit and determination to set records straight. For three years since she "lost" her bid for the vice-presidency she sought to expose the truth about the 2004 elections.

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That reputation-smearing is resorted to by candidates in elections is much in evidence during the campaign period. When I was in Zamboanga City, I was told of the "bloody" demolition job on a contender for the post of mayor there. I am not a resident of the city, so I don’t have to vote for either the incumbent mayor, Celso Lobregat, or the contender, Crisanto (Monsi ) de la Cruz, an ex-priest, of the Nueva Zamboanga political party. But the circulation of copies of a video tape showing Monsi and a man in a compromising situation is seen as an attempt to destroy the morality and credibility of de la Cruz. Whether or not Mayor Lobregat is aware of the existence of the destructive material, it does not speak well of the dirty tactics resorted to by people believed to be his supporters. See how ugly politics can be?

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Another newly-formed organization has been formed to save our image as a country of election cheaters. Halalang Marangal (HALAL) is a non-profit, non-partisan consortium of groups and individuals who want to conduct a citizens’ audit of Philippine election tallies to determine the true results of elections. According to Susan D. Macabuag, representative of SADEKA Foundation Inc., which is a HALAL partner organization, the audit will be facilitated by HALAL volunteers and organizational partners who will field election watchers at the precinct level. The watchers will observe the vote-counting and the results by email or text/SMS to HALAL’s database of precinct results. The database will then be made accessible to the public by text/SMS (individual precinct results), by download over the Internet (precinct results or the entire database), or through data CDs.

This transparent approach, says Susan, "enables ordinary citizens to audit the database by comparing HALAL’s precinct data with what they actually saw with their own eyes on the precinct tally board. It also enables properly-equipped citizens to do their own tally by downloading the database of precinct results and computing the total votes per candidate themselves. Citizens can then use their tally (and HALAL’s) to audit the official results at the municipal, provincial and national levels."

At a press conference yesterday, it was announced that the Quezon City vote will be reported by SADEKA Foundation to Halalang Marangal. The Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SADEKA) Foundation Inc. will be reporting the Quezon City vote on May 14 by precinct to Halalang Marangal from the close of the polls up to the completion of the count. For the first time, voters in the city will be able to check their precinct results from the website of Halalang Marangal (http:halal.interdoc.org).

SADEKA will orient volunteers at the Balay ng Bayani at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation along Quezon Ave. corner EDSA today, May 5 and May 12. (Call 4361769).

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My e-mail:[email protected]