EDITORIAL – Power failure, election failure

Here’s another reason to improve protection of power transmission lines in Mindanao: concern has been raised that regular blackouts can lead to failure of elections.

Blackouts have plagued Mindanao for several years now, but these have worsened since groups believed to be engaged in extortion intensified bomb attacks on the transmission towers of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. The latest to be hit was a tower of the NGCP’s Agus 2-Kibawe line in Lanao del Sur.

Politicians from Mindanao have expressed concern that the worsening blackouts could lead to glitches that would lead to a failure of elections. Yesterday Commission on Elections officials expressed similar concerns as they prepared to meet with NGCP executives.

The general elections in May will again be fully automated so a steady power supply is crucial. The Comelec has reassured the public that there are power reserves to keep the automated voting machines running for up to 15 hours even without regular electricity service. Standby power, however, can also be hit by glitches.

The regular prolonged outages are occurring in a region where the worst poll cheating scandals in the past 12 years have been reported. The accusations of poll fraud against former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol have yet to be resolved conclusively.

In the country’s election hotspots, ballot boxes have been snatched and the contents replaced, and deadly violence has become a favored mode of settling political rivalries. Violence and other ways of undermining a free vote are helped along by the lack of electricity.

The government must ensure a steady power supply in Mindanao and the rest of the country, not only on election day but also on its eve and during the canvassing of votes. Reliable electricity is a critical component of peaceful and orderly elections. Stopping the bombing of transmission towers is an urgent task.