Serious

In the bad old days before due process became the norm, when a head of state announces there is a plot against his life, the usual suspects are promptly rounded up and hanged the next day.

Conspiring against the life of a head of state is serious business. It involves not just murder. It is treason by the foulest means.

In the same manner, a president making the claim there is a conspiracy against his life deals with a matter of utmost seriousness. It is never something casually uttered. Even when there is indeed some inkling of such a threat, it is never declared publicly until the agents of the state are prepared to deal with it decisively.

When such a threat is unveiled publicly, it brings distress to the nation. It escalates political tensions and fires up an atmosphere of political intrigue. It invites scenarios of high-stakes political gambits. Many times in the past, announcing such a conspiracy was a prelude to a coup or a crackdown.

Normally, head of state simply live with the presumption of such a threat without alarming the public. This is why they are secured by a special military unit all hours of the day. This is why heads of government are provided special residences that are well-defended against casual assassins or mere stalkers. This is why physical access to heads of state is always severely restricted.

There is no need to induce public apprehension by talking about the sort of threat that routine security procedures always presume. Normally, conspiracies against the lives of leaders are announced only after these have been busted and the conspirators thrown in jail.

Last week, President Aquino did something truly unusual and really puzzling. During anniversary celebrations for the Presidential Security Group, he almost casually announced there was a threat to his life from some unnamed quarters supposedly to restore the rule of graft and corruption.

The announcement raised eyebrows all over. No details were given. None of the officials who surround the President seemed willing to talk at further length about the matter. No specific accusations were made and the nature of the threat was not detailed.

Even the usually loquacious Presidential Spokesman did not utter a word about the claim. Now that is truly odd.

The next day, the AFP, in a most respectful and almost innocuous way, informed the public that the organization did not have any report of any threat to the President’s life. Surely this professional organization would have no reason to conceal such a report if they had one.

So where did the President get the idea of a threat to his life which he announced in all casualness? We hope that, unlike some of the congressmen, he has not also been receiving vital information from small ladies and fairies.

Another version

Last week, we reported in this space about the difficulty encountered by the Comelec in acquiring the ballot boxes from Taguig City for purposes of a recount. The recount arises from an electoral protest filed by retired justice Dante O. Tinga against sitting Mayor Laarni Cayetano.

Now we have another version of the increasingly tense situation pertaining in this rapidly emerging city.

The side of Mayor Cayetano insists her rival enjoys unfair advantage as far as the Comelec is concerned. Sixto Brilliantes, now Comelec chairman, used to be lawyering for the Tingas. Another commissioner, Lucenito Tagle, used to be a law partner of Dante O. Tinga. Although both commissioners have inhibited themselves from the present case pending at the poll body, Cayetano is convinced they continue to influence decisions taken by the commission.

The evidence offered for this is the priority accorded the electoral protest filed by Tinga. Although the Taguig protest was 44th in the Comelec’s docket, it was subsequently moved to 2nd. In addition, motions filed by the Tinga camp were readily granted while those filed by the Cayetano camp were usually denied if they were even acted on.

The Cayetano camp maintains that Comelec must first retrieve the 373 compact flash cards of the PCOS machines used in the city during the last elections. These cards ought to be subjected to a technical examination to establish if they were pre-programmed to favor Cayetano over Tinga. This is the basic element of Tinga’s complaint, says Cayetano. Only after such technical examination should the actual ballots be examined.

This is the reason the Cayetano camp repeatedly objected to the retrieval of the ballots. They fear the ballots might have been tampered with. They point to the fact that the acting city treasurer, who had custody of the ballots immediately after the elections was Teresita Elias. She happens to be the wife of George Elias, who was vice mayor when Freddie Tinga used to be mayor of the city.

Mayor Cayetano says the retrieval of ballots ordered by the Comelec needed to be reset a number of times because she filed motions for reconsideration. According to the Comelec’s own rules, she enjoyed the right to do so. She will continue filing those motions until the pending issues regarding the compact flash cards are duly resolved.

From the looks of it, it seems this case will drag on for much longer. Electoral protests, as a matter of historic record, are usually protracted. At Taguig, the nature of the rivalry and the parties to the case all indicate that this matter will not defy the historic record.

The Comelec is caught right smack between an irresistible force and an immovable object. The least we can hope for is that this post-electoral fight will impair neither the governance of the city nor the credibility of the poll body.

ulty encountered by the Comelec in acquiring the ballot boxes from Taguig City for purposes of a recount. The recount arises from an electoral protest filed by retired justice Dante O. Tinga against sitting Mayor Laarni Cayetano.

Now we have another version of the increasingly tense situation pertaining in this rapidly emerging city.

The side of Mayor Cayetano insists her rival enjoys unfair advantage as far as the Comelec is concerned. Sixto Brilliantes, now Comelec chairman, used to be lawyering for the Tingas. Another commissioner, Lucenito Tagle, used to be a law partner of Dante O. Tinga. Although both commissioners have inhibited themselves from the present case pending at the poll body, Cayetano is convinced they continue to influence decisions taken by the commission.

The evidence offered for this is the priority accorded the electoral protest filed by Tinga. Although the Taguig protest was 44th in the Comelec’s docket, it was subsequently moved to 2nd. In addition, motions filed by the Tinga camp were readily granted while those filed by the Cayetano camp were usually denied if they were even acted on.

The Cayetano camp maintains that Comelec must first retrieve the 373 compact flash cards of the PCOS machines used in the city during the last elections. These cards ought to be subjected to a technical examination to establish if they were pre-programmed to favor Cayetano over Tinga. This is the basic element of Tinga’s complaint, says Cayetano. Only after such technical examination should the actual ballots be examined.

This is the reason the Cayetano camp repeatedly objected to the retrieval of the ballots. They fear the ballots might have been tampered with. They point to the fact that the acting city treasurer, who had custody of the ballots immediately after the elections was Teresita Elias. She happens to be the wife of George Elias, who was vice mayor when Freddie Tinga used to be mayor of the city.

Mayor Cayetano says the retrieval of ballots ordered by the Comelec needed to be reset a number of times because she filed motions for reconsideration. According to the Comelec’s own rules, she enjoyed the right to do so. She will continue filing those motions until the pending issues regarding the compact flash cards are duly resolved.

From the looks of it, it seems this case will drag on for much longer. Electoral protests, as a matter of historic record, are usually protracted. At Taguig, the nature of the rivalry and the parties to the case all indicate that this matter will not defy the historic record.

The Comelec is caught right smack between an irresistible force and an immovable object. The least we can hope for is that this post-electoral fight will impair neither the governance of the city nor the credibility of the poll body.