(Note: VERA Files website is down.While it is being restored, the stories will be posted here.)
By MARK JOSEPH UBALDE
VERA Files
In a press conference held at Club Filipino Sunday, leaders of concerned groups that include the Makati Business Club and Philippine Bar Association read their open letter to the Comelec, saying the decision on their proposal cannot be delayed beyond April 29 or else the parallel manual count won’t be doable.
“If the Comelec decides after April 29, then we are afraid and gravely concerned that the May 10 elections would remain extremely vulnerable to manipulation and fraud,” they said in the letter that will be given to Comelec on Monday when the poll commissioners meet en banc.
Augusto Lagman, an IT specialist and convenor of TransparentElections.Org, said,“It would only take two to four days to ready the system. The Comelec should ensure accuracy than speed of the results.”
Lagman, who is pushing for a manual counting of the votes for president, vice president and mayor, said it would only take an average of three hours to manually count the votes in 600 ballots provided that there is an 80-percent turnout in voters for the precinct.
“We included the mayoralty post since based on our study, people guarding the precincts are more interested in the result of the mayoralty race than the national elections,” he said.
Makati Business Club executive director Alberto Lim said the groups have been telling the Comelec since November to consider manual counting of votes to go hand-in-hand with the automated polls.
“We are not saying that there will be a failure of elections. But there might be a failure of automation,” he said.
Lim said six presidential candidates—Sen. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III, former president Joseph Estrada, JC de los Reyes, Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Nicanor Perlas, and Eddie Villanueva— have so far expressed support for their call.
MBC chair Ramon del Rosario said businessmen are banking on this year’s elections for genuine reforms in the government. He reported that the business sector is in a “positive mood” about the upcoming elections but only if it is “conducted in a credible way.”
Del Rosario said their groups is willing to put behind some lapses of the Comelec in the conduct of this year’s polls and work for a credible result in the polls.
Lagman added, “If our elections are rigged that will impact on at least 90 million people for the next six years. I don’t know why the Comelec is so cavalier about this?”
The Comelec has yet to regain the trust of the people after a number of their personnel led by no less than a commissioner, Virgilio Garcillano, was an active participant in the tampering of election results in the 2004 elections.
Farmers won’t be used again
Ernesto Ordonez, chair of the Alyansa Agrikultura, a farmer-fisherfolk coalition composed of 42 federations, said they have been pushing for a manual count with the Comelec for the past seven months.
“Why do they say it is only now that we are saying this when we have been telling them to have manual counting from the very beginning?” he said.
The agricultural sector comprises 16 million or 40 percent of the entire electorate.
“We don’t want to be exploited again. We will no longer tolerate this,” said apparently referring to the “fertilizer fund scam,” where former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante used hundred of million of pesos intended for assistance to the farmers for their fertilizer needs for the campaign of Arroyo in the 2004 elections.
Ordonez warned that the farmers and fisherfolk will launch “a massive action” against the Comelec should they go through the elections without the parallel manual count.
Hii… to all bloggers dito sa Ellenville
Bakit ngayon lang ninyo naisip yan ilang araw na lang butohan na huli na yan hindi manyayari yan hay naku.Ang magada dyan meron kayong mga pera ang yayaman ninyo mag lagay kayo ng mga tao sa lahat ng precint sa araw ng botohan at pakatapos ng bilangan hanggan sa paglipat nang mga balota huli na ang ang prescon niyo paano titino ang Pilipinas ngayon lang ninyo naisip yan. Ang halalayan yan ay may daya 100% percent alam ba ninyo kung bakit ang source code ay nay butas walang nakakita kundi comelec pa mga bayaran ang mga yan sariling interes lang ang kanila
iniisip hindi ang mamayan. di ako magtataka kung ang sabihin nang Comelec na ang partylist na ANG GALING ni Mikey
Arroyo ay pumasok sa list nag comelec.
MGA WALANG KAYONG PUSO AT KALULUWA
Hii… to all bloggers dito sa Ellenville
Bakit ngayon lang ninyo naisip yan ilang araw na lang butohan na huli na yan hindi manyayari yan hay naku.Ang magada dyan meron kayong mga pera ang yayaman ninyo mag lagay kayo ng mga tao sa lahat ng precint sa araw ng botohan at pakatapos ng bilangan hanggan sa paglipat nang mga balota huli na ang ang prescon niyo paano titino ang Pilipinas ngayon lang ninyo naisip yan. Ang halalayan yan ay may daya 100% percent alam ba ninyo kung bakit ang source code ay nay butas walang nakakita kundi comelec pa mga bayaran ang mga yan sariling interes lang ang kanila
iniisip hindi ang mamayan. di ako magtataka kung ang sabihin nang Comelec na ang partylist na ANG GALING ni Mikey
Arroyo ay pumasok sa list nag comelec.
MGA WALANG KAYONG PUSO AT KALULUWA
Automated or manual vote counting does not make any difference. Comelec never learn how to count right. They spent 10+ billions pesos for automated elections have gone to waste. They just are doing mouth service without concrete action to have 2010 credible election. Everybody knows that Comelec commissionaires are Gloria Arroyo’s lapdogs. Gusto lang kumita ang mga g*go.
BAkit nga ba nila papayagan ang parallel manual counting? E di nawalan sila ng kikitain sa dayaan.
Sa mga may alam. Paki paliwanag naman ang flow sa bilangan ngayon at computerized na. Yung dati ang alam ko, counting sa prescint level tapos canvassing sa munisipyo. Proclaimed ang local officials na highest sa canvassing then transmittal ng cetificate of canvass sa Congress para sa national officials. Paano na ngayong computerized na?
Villar and Teodoro are not interested in a clean and honest election.
I think Gibo knows he’s not gonna win this contest anymore. In fact, he is supporting Duterte of Davao who’s supporting his cousin Noynoy. Inaasar nalang niya si Nograles.
gibo with 6% rating is a sure loser, the only thing gibo is relying on now was the promise by ronnie puno that they will cheat for him, giba is relying on a promise by a member of judas incorporated
vote buying is going on in slum areas by candidates losing in surveys, voters were being asked to sign a document and place their thumb mark in exchange for money
Computer or manual counting walang kwenta basta ginamit ang modern version o kahit traditional gimiks ni Garci.
isa lang masasabi ko failure ang election. si aling gloria pa rin ang magtatagumpay sa tulong ng mga militar at pulis plus politikong kakampi. ang kakapal ng mga mukha sobrang kababuyan.
GMA cannot afford to have a failure of election scenario, especially now that all eyes are on her (both here and abroad). I also have more faith in our military since I believe there are many who are loyal to the people, not to an almost-has been president who’s done nothing but bring shame to the once honorable office of the presidency.
The military has no choice but to side with the people in this election because Gloria has to go, or else she’ll be in danger from the pinoys themselves and Uncle Sam. The unana has no more clout left in her power, the AFP knows this. In fact she is already powerless that not even the position of speakership is guaranteed to be hers in case she wins as Pampanga’s representathief.
Kaya nga mabait na ng konti si Bangit e. lol.
Ano ba ang pinoprotektahan ng Makati Business Club?
Ang interest ng bansa at kapakanan ng mamamayan? O ang seguridad ng kanilang mga negosyo at puhunan?
They should take side and not just play hard to get sa mga kandidato ganun din sa kanilang posisyon katulad nitong kinasasangkutan ng Commolect.
Gusto nila ng malinis na eleksiyon (daw)? Bakit?
‘Yun ngang walanghiyang timawa sa palasyong malakanya kahit ano’ng gawin nakapikit ang mga mata nila, eh.
Para silang mga obispo. Walang tibay na maaasahan!
RE: Ano ba ang pinoprotektahan ng Makati Business Club?
Malaki ang atraso ng MBC sa Masang Pilipino…Igan MPR, isa sila sa pasimuno kaya si Gloria e 10-years na naghari-harian sa Pinas.
Mahirap kalumutan ang EDSA DOS kaya magbagong-anyo man sila e hapdi’t kirot ang sugat na ginawa nila sa taong bayan.
Ang MBC e ang iniisip lamang e kumita ng limpak na salipi at maprotektahan ang kanilang mga negosyo. Kaya kung saan sila makikinabang e doon sila.
Alam mo kahit na singkong duleng e wala silang dadalhin sa langit pero yaong milyong kaluluwa na naghirap at naghihirap sa 10-years na pamumuno ni Gloria e di kayang bayaran ng anumang halaga.
May araw din sila sa Panginoon!
Akala ko bumisita si Mugabe sa Malakanyang.
Iyon pala, iyong bagong USA ambassador.