Bulacan Governor Jonjon Mendoza and President Arroyo during happier times. Photo courtesy of PIA.
Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganan is the duly-elected governor of Bulacan, according to the Commission on Elections, a decision that took almost the entire term of office he supposedly won in 2007 . In so doing, the Comelec unseated Governor Jonjon Mendoza, younger brother of Pagdanganan’s successor, Josie Mendoza dela Cruz.
The supreme irony is not lost on us, especially the voters in Bulacan. We only knew the winner in the eve of the next elections.
Comelec also recently decided other cases involving disputed election results and unseated Governors Grace Padaca and Ed Panlilio of Isabela and Pampanga, respectively.
The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal also recently proclaimed Jett Reyes, son of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, as the duly-elected congressman of Taguig’s second district and unseated office holder Jun Duenas.
In the partylist elections, it took a Supreme Court decision for scores of representatives to lay claim to seats they won in 2007
Whether the automated elections could prevent similar incidents from recurring, the sight of voters discovering “winners” and “losers” three years late and just two months before the next elections, is another matter altogether. Even if we assume that the automated elections would go on with nary a glitch, we have a well-grounded fear of the capability of political candidates and parties, whatever actions more powerful persons may take (i.e. the President), and the competence of the Comelec.
As they say, there are no losers in Philippine elections, only acts of widespread cheating that deny the electorate the knowledge of the true winners in the polls. This cynical view has some truth in it. It is truly tiring to see traditional politicians quarrel over themselves on the outcome of the elections, and it is compounded by slow, inaccurate vote counts, problems with the Comelec, and endless litigation by all parties. Perhaps at the bottom of all these is the desperation to hold office and with it obtain the powers and prerogatives that go with it.
The situation exposes yet another feature of our electoral system: It is prone to serious errors that prejudice the will of the people expressed in elections. It is a playground of elite, rich politicians who have big budgets to hire lawyers who specialize in election cases. In the case of Mrs. Arroyo, it is to her credit that, as far as I know, she is the lone Philippine president to hire an election lawyer from 2004 to 2010 to fend off lingering claims that she cheated in the polls and stole the presidency from its rightful winner.
This feature is not often discussed openly but it harms in the long-term whatever prospects ordinary folk have in contesting local or national positions. What could a professional, an ordinary house-husband, a worker or a farmer who wishes to join the elections to try to inject changes in the system do when faced with rivals who could hire a battallion of lawyers who in turn could drag poll cases until the eve of the next elections?
But even if we the people themselves do not join the so-called democratic process as candidates, the Comelec and the entire state have the solemn duty to immediately and without delay proclaim the real winners. Yes, delayed decisions are injurious to the aggrieved candidates – but it is more harmful to the so-called democratic process and the people who cast their votes.
Yes, change must come to the Philippines. Change must also come to how to appreciate and count the votes, and how we settle whatever disputes that arise from the elections.