One of the things I highly disagree with is the fact that the opposition conceded early in this election without ever questioning the validity of the election by virtue of the questionable practices of Comelec.
I mean, yes Atty. Barry Gutierrez questioned it, but coming from the opposition candidates themselves the least they could do is to push for an investigation.
Permit me to list down all the things the opposition should’ve raised below:
A. Only 39% of the entire voting population voted for Duterte last 2016, where did the other 61% went? Does it mean that all of them turned DDS (Die-Hard Duterte Supporter) in just three years?
B. Where did all the votes of VP Leni go? Did all of them became DDS as well?
C. How about all the questionable practices of Comelec? See below:
ELEKSYON DAYAAN 2019: HOW CHINA-DUTERTE STOLE OUR ELECTIONS
Niluto. Dinaya. Aside from looking at the clear anomalies yesterday, it’s also easier to understand how dirty and rigged the 2019 Senate Election vote count was when we compare it to the last similar race: the 2016 Senate Election.
1.) In 2016, results started at 5:10 PM, with updates as fast as every 10 minutes. In 2019, results were frozen while the server “malfunctioned” for 7 HOURS, from 6:15 PM until 1:19 PM, despite the COMELEC’s P10.16 billion budget.
2.) Smartmatic, the government’s digital contractor facilitating the elections, said that there were no reports of servers malfunctioning, and that systems were working fine. COMELEC claims that the servers “malfunctioned”, and could give NO proper explanation.
3.) In 2016, there was a clear progression of votes as results were transmitted from precincts nationwide. In 2019, there was NO PROGRESSION of votes: the displayed results suddenly jumped from 0.4% votes counted to more than 90%, with almost the SAME rankings. (except for 2 candidates, Binay starting at #10 and Pimentel at #11, before switching)
4.) 2016 was, aside from a Senate race, also a Presidential and Vice Presidential election, yet the COMELEC managed to provide constant updates. On the national level, 2019 only focused on the Senate race, but there was NO transparency.
5.) The first results were supposedly transmitted from Region 1, the Ilocos Region. Imee Marcos was only ranked #8, despite Region 1 being a consistent Marcos bailiwick (balwarte). By comparison, in 2016, Bongbong Marcos dominated the early VP count due to the “solid north” vote, until results from the rest of the country came in.
6.) In 2016, only 188 VCMs were reported to malfunction nationwide. In 2019, this number skyrocketed to 400-600 VCMs.
7.) Reports of election fraud have been coming in from all over the country, including names of administration candidates like Bong Go, Bato, etc. magically appearing on receipts of voters who did NOT vote for them.
China-Duterte will do everything to silence Filipinos, including intimidation on social media using armies of paid trolls, intimidation through physical violence and false legal charges, and now stealing the election. We need a MANUAL RECOUNT. #SuperficialGazette
D. The curious case of Akbayan – Akbayan has consistently placed highly on almost all elections but today the winners are the party lists of unheard of people connected to the Tulfo brothers and that sorry piece of excuse of a human being named Cardema of the National Youth Commission. See below:
MENSAHE muka kay Kasamang Congressman Tom Villarin sa mga kasapi, kahanay, alyado at volunteers ng Akbayan:
Warm hugs and a salute to all those who fought with and believe in Akbayan Party List!
The results of the unofficial count on the PL elections with 94.94% of results transmitted show that Akbayan party list garnering around 168,124 votes and ranks 54-55 out of 134 PLs participating. Only 61 seats are alloted to PLs in the House of Representatives with party list groups gaining more than 2 percent getting at least two seats. At present there are only 8 PLs guaranteed two seats or more. The result is very much less than what we got in 2016 which was around 605,000 votes.
The results are not what we expect as Akbayan has consistently landed among winning PL groups and we wage an electoral battle with our base from among the basic sectors and allied trade unions and mass movement formations. The results are highly disturbing and compelling for us to look into how it happened.
Akbayan party list is looking into reports of disenfranchisement of votes due to VCM failures, Comelec’s lack of a clear explanation as to the 7-hour gap in showing results of transmitted votes, non-inclusion of Akbayan in the ballot, among others. We are demanding answers from Comelec while expressing indignation in the overall conduct of the 2019 elections where massive vote-buying happened and even condoned by President Duterte as normal; the use of the police for partisan purposes against those perceived to be not with the administration; and major Comelec decisions that show bias to the administration like appointing an administration allied party as dominant minority party thereby effectively sidelining the opposition.
Akbayan party list expresses its indignation over the conduct of the 2019 elections. It is a fight for truth, fairness, transparency and justice that should not be swept aside as the usual complaints in elections.
In the meantime, we thank all our members, supporters, families and friends who went all out in this campaign. We hug and salute all of you with all the love and gratefulness that you poured into our campaign. It means a lot to Akbayan party list as we shall continue on the struggle full of hope, passion and perseverance. We owe it to our children and our children’s children to continue building a better society where truth, justice, compassion, and love permeates in each of us and our governance structures.
Muli maraming salamat sa inyong pakikiisa at tuloy-tuloy po ang ating laban! Tuloy po ang ating ugnayan at pakikipaglaban sa ating mga sektor! Mabuhay ang Akbayan, mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!
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With that being said, I find more than enough cause to question the entire election process handled by Comelec and therefore, the opposition candidates should’ve never conceded lest they legitimize the questionable results of Comelec.
E. Candidates who are kins of victims of Duterte’s drug war won in their local districts. This alone says a lot when it comes to what one would consider a conscience vote.
Featured Image from: My Sad Republic by BenCab