EDITORIAL - Delaying the vote

Violence could lead to the declaration of a failure of elections in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, but overall, yesterday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were generally peaceful, according to the police and military. A different problem bedeviled the elections, forcing the postponement of the vote in 1,599 barangays: ballots and other poll paraphernalia arrived late or did not arrive at all. Including areas affected by violence and worst hit by typhoon “Juan,” the vote was postponed in a total of 1,732 of the country’s 42,025 barangays.

What happened? The Commission on Elections blamed the National Printing Office for the delay in the delivery of the ballots. The Comelec is also reportedly set to investigate some of its own personnel who might have deliberately sabotaged the delivery of the paraphernalia. The personnel are suspected of wanting to corner the P50-million Comelec budget for forwarding services.

In areas where the elections pushed through, there were the usual complaints about names disappearing from voters’ lists. A new problem in this electoral exercise was the candidacy of over 4,000 incumbent barangay officials who were ineligible to run because they have already served three consecutive terms. The names were supplied to the Comelec by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Why weren’t those candidates detected early on and disqualified from running?

President Aquino expressed public sentiment when he said he was dissatisfied with the preparations for the elections. The old manual system of voting was used and the Comelec is supposed to be prepared for the many problems that could crop up. If it is established that the delay in the delivery of election paraphernalia was deliberate, the Comelec should consider the possibility of applying the new law on electoral sabotage, which carries heavy penalties, against those involved. Poll automation in May this year marked a general improvement in Philippine elections. The barangay and SK polls should not be a step backward.