Magnanimous in victory, gracious in defeat

Now that the Filipino people have spoken and the winning candidates proclaimed, will the losers cry foul? Will they be sore losers again and claim that they were cheated?  We will never grow out of this “touchy” feeling until the day comes that everyone is confident about the election system in this country.

The Philippine elections have never been known with a good and peaceful ending.  I remember last November when Obama won over Romney, in a matter of seconds after President Obama was proclaimed winner, Romney conceded and wished him well.  In our country, instead of accepting the winners proclaimed by the COMELEC, losers create a fight and file a case against the winner. Susmariosep!

Our election can never be complete without an aftermath that includes insults, protests and worse violence. What is even more disheartening to note is the fact that the same old problems and issues mar every election in our country.

Early police reports showed a total of 51 people killed and 63 others wounded in 81 poll-related incidents since the start of the election period. Data also showed that the number of fatalities was slightly lower than the 56 recorded in the same period in 2007 and 54 in 2010. The same goes for the number of people wounded. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr. said that the 2013 election was more peaceful.  It was safer and less bloody than the previous polls. That is good news.  I hope no ‘bloody’ incident ever happens.

I would like to congratulate COMELEC Chairman Sixto Brillantes for putting sincere efforts in making this election a better one compared to the ones in the past. Only about 200 PCOS machines malfunctioned this year, lower than the 400 in 2010. But even if this election seemed a lot better, the voters and even the BEIs (Board of Election Inspectors) have their stories to tell which can help improve the next “big” one.

So here goes my list of election glitches that COMELEC can use for evaluation purposes: In some precincts, voting did not start on time; voters had difficulty in finding their precincts (a more thorough list of voters with precinct numbers must be prepared, dead people should be removed from the list); BEIs obviously lack knowledge and training on the operation of the PCOS machines (even dealing with simple paper jams and ballots rejected must be learned); no consistent presence of COMELEC and Smartmatic representatives in every precinct thus causing delays in addressing problems on the PCOS machines or election related concerns; COMELEC service provider was so slow in sending election data; problem with modems aggravated by having no signals resulted to BEIs waiting for 2 hours to complete the transmission; precincts too hot and too crowded; some voting precincts were not accessible to the senior citizens and pregnant women because they were situated either on the second or third floors of the building; inconsistencies in the implementation of the voting guidelines in all the precincts as in the case of those voters who had the BEIs place their ballots into the PCOS machine instead of doing it themselves as stated in the guidelines; some BEIs were already too old to even just stand and be on hand to assist the voters; security was also a concern in some polling places; and there was no system in lining up of voters and person in charge of keeping the lines in order.

One experience shared with me by a voter happened in one of the major cities in Metro Manila. This voter went to the polling place all eager and excited to cast his vote but came out of it totally exhausted and disappointed. He was all set to vote, carrying his ‘list’ of candidates. As he presented his ID to the BEI who checked the list, he was told that he had already voted. He saw the signature of a person who signed on his name.  He was appalled. The signature on his ID did not even match the signature on the voting registration sheet. No one seemed to know what to do with the situation. Not even the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). The BEIs just shrugged it off when questioned by the PPCRV representative. Even the COMELEC was not able to address the problem. He was just told to tell the BEIs to note this incident in their minutes to prevent it from happening again. Despite neighbors attesting his identity, in the end, he was still not able to vote.

Yes, this is sad but I’m pretty sure this type of “cheating: is happening in remote areas of our archipelago where we have more illiterate voters.  If it can happen in Metro Manila where there are so many poll watchers what more in other isolated areas.  The sad part is that this man who was excited to vote and ready to vote for that matter was robbed off of his right to vote. And the people in the polling place allowed the ‘thief’ to get away with it. Sanamagan!

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With the election over and done with, even when maybe up to this time there are still official results coming in and need to be announced due to delayed transmissions in some areas, the COMELEC has to evaluate the areas that need improvement in preparation for 2016 and ensure that the same problems will not happen again.

The following recommendations from the voting public should be given immediate attention by all organizations and officers involved in the electoral process: there should be a more thorough training of BEIs so that they can have ample knowledge in the operation of the PCOS machines and on the election guidelines; consider having a separate and more accessible precinct for senior citizens, handicapped and pregnant women; must have a better and organized system in lining up the voters especially in the more crowded sections of society; ensure that poll watchers come on time; consider the number of voters in the area vis-à-vis the number of voting precincts to avoid congestion and have a smooth flow of the process;  COMELEC should ensure the reliability of the PCOS machines; consider having more than 1 PCOS machine in every precinct;  technical support in every precinct; ask computer schools to send technical representatives to help; and create a valid voter’s ID system (like using SSS card, a government identity card). 

Anyway, at the end of the day we ask ourselves, “who did our country vote for?” Let’s hope that our new officials will bring about some changes this time.  I know it will take a miracle for this to happen but who knows – God is good!