The Sun: Voters in last-minute surge in HK, GO still tops exit poll

HONG KONG - Last-minute campaigning to get Filipino voters to cast theiallots in the ongoing overseas absentee voting at Bayanihan Centre seems to have paid off, with nearly 4,000 people turning up to vote on May 6, a Sunday. The record figure appears to have been due largely to group voting by members of the Jesus is Lord religious movement. With only one Sunday to go, latest figures from the Consulate show a total turnout of more than 13,000 as of May 11. The JIL vote also helped strengthen the dominant position of the senatorial bets of the Genuine Opposition, with seven of them being endorsed by the religious group. They are: Alan Peter Cayetano, Manuel Villar, Ping Lacson, Francis Escudero, Aquilino Pimentel, Marcelo Simeon Aquino, and Loren Legarda. Only one other candidate, independent Francis Pangilinan, received JIL's blessing. In the latest exit-poll by >The Sun, GO has retained nine of the 12 seats at stake in the Senate, with only two for the administration's Team Unity (TU) ticket, and one for an independent candidate. GO's Legarda is still the runaway favorite, with 529 of nearly 900 votes polled during the April 29 and May 6 surveys. Cayetano (GO) was second with 381 votes; and Pangilinan, (Indep) third, with 368 votes. The others in the list are: Panfilo Lacson (GO), 4th, with 268 votes; Benigno Simeon Aquino (GO), 5th, with 265 votes; Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. (GO), 6th, with 262 votes; Francis Joseph Escudero (GO), 7th, with 244 votes; Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., (GO), 9th, with 230 votes; Sonia Roco (GO), 10th, with 209 votes; and Anna Dominique Coseteng (GO), 12th, with 171 votes. The only TU candidates who made it to the magic circle were Recto, who was in 8th place with 235 votes; and Angara, who was 11th with 196 votes. In the party-list survey, Gabriela was still tops, although there was a marked increase in the number of people voting for the JIL-endorsed Citizens' Battle Against Crime (CIBAC). CIBAC got 10 votes on Apr. 29 and 189 votes on May 6; while Gabriela garnered 190 and 179 votes, respectively. The other party-lists that received votes were: Ahon Pinoy with 17 votes; Partido ng mga Manggagawa, 7; An-Waray, 6, and Abante Ilonggo, Inc and Akbayan!Citizen's Action Party, 4 votes each. Surprisingly, Migrante Sectoral Party, which ran but failed to secure a single seat in the 2004 election, received three votes. Other party-lists with at least a vote each are BATAS, AGHAM, KALAHI, Anak Pawis, KABATAAN, BUTIL, APO!, Veterans Freedom Party, Abanse!Pinay, Biyaheng Pinoy, Anak Mindanao, AGBIAG, People's Movement Against Poverty, and BANAT. The surge in the number of voters was not unexpected, with Comelec (Commission on Election) commissioner Florentino Tuason, Jr. himself warning of the so-called "last-minute syndrome" during a recent visit to HK. But this is not the case, at least as far as the JIL is concerned, according to Pastor Edgar Robles. He said JIL just got busy preparing for its day-long 22nd anniversary show at Chater Road on Labor Day so the members were only able to vote the next Sunday. He added that the group expects CIBAC to receive more than 10,000 votes, given the group's campaign. There are about 9,000 to 10,000 JIL members all over Hong Kong, who are mostly registered voters according to JIL's own survey, he said. But with only one more Sunday to go, this optimistic outlook by the JIL does not seem realizable. In the four Sundays of exit poll conducted by The Sun among roughly 1,500 voters, Gabriela garnered three times as many votes as CIBAC. Gabriela has a total of 609 votes while CIBAC has 220. In the senatorial race, Legarda is the runaway leader with 956 votes, followed by Pangilinan with 678 votes, then Cayetano with 674. Villar came in 4th with 552, Aquino in 5th with 523 while Lacson placed 6th with 500. Recto was in 7th place with 497; Escudero, 9th, with 433; Angara, 10th, with 401; Roco, 11th, with 396; and Coseteng in the 12th spot with 339 votes. The influx of voters could also be a result of the community-wide effort to try to get more people to vote. Most of the voters arrived at Bayanihan aboard free buses, and were greeted with flyers, sample ballots, and other campaign paraphernalia when they alighted. The May 6 turnout was enough to generate queues within Bayanihan, especially at the sports ground where volunteers first check against the computer whether a voter is registered or not, and which precinct he or she is assigned to. Even the three-man medical team who gives free blood pressure check to the voters had a queue. "I left at 5.00 p.m. and there were already around 600 who had their b.ps checked," said Adelaida Mogol, who runs the free service, along with fellow member at the Marinduque Migrant Workers Association, and Yolly Saway of the Integrated Midwives Association of the Philippines The medical team has been tapped by the Consulate to address any medical problems that might arise during the election. In the first OAV in 2004, one of the volunteers suffered a mild stroke from the exhaustion caused by counting and tabulating hundreds of ballots, and had to be rushed to hospital. Another was diagnosed with hypertension, while a few simply collapsed or walked out due to lack of sleep and exhaustion. That time, the total turnout was a record-breaking 65,000, and each three-man special board of election inspectors was forced to count and tabulate up to 800 ballots for three straight days. Election laws in the Philippines provide for only 200 ballots to each SBEI, members are forbidden from leaving their precinct until after the tabulation results are completed. With the expected turnout this time around of below 20,000, the pressure is not as great on the volunteers. But the Consulate and Bayanihan are not taking any chances, and have asked a medical team from St. John's ambulance group to be on standby until all the results are tabulated after voting ends on May 14. Concern over turnout Commissioner Florentino Tuason, Jr. of the Commission on Elections flew into Hong Kong on May 4 to express concern about the low turnout of voters in the overseas absentee voting underway in Hong Kong and other Philippine posts abroad. He called on community leaders to help boost the voter turnout, and warned of a possible "suspension" of OAV if the turnout remained low. "Some legislators may contemplate suspending the OAV. I don't want that to happen because I have been campaigning for a long time to get as many Filipino overseas to vote as possible," said Tuason. "So I am quite disappointed with the low turnout now." But during one of two meetings he held at the Consulate with community leaders, Tuason was reminded that the right of suffrage is mandated under the Philippine Constitution. Thus, legislators do not have the right, nor the authority to withhold it. Neither should they use this as a threat to coerce overseas Filipinos to vote. Tuason hastened to clarify: "Legislators are not dangling this as a threat, but because of the (huge) cost involved, they may consider this option. Other leaders were blunt about their assessment of what was making many voters shy away from the polls. Eman Villanueva, secretary general of United Filipinos in HK, said there is a general sentiment of mistrust towards those administering the vote. "Marami ang nagsasabing dadayain lang naman kami," he said. Another reason, according to him, was the failure of election officials to build up the same kind of enthusiasm generated for the first OAV, by failing to provide enough information and hold consultations. "Kailangang may nararamdaman ang mga tao na eleksiyon na pala, katulad noong 2004," he said. Another speaker, Pastor Edgar Robles of the Jesus Is Lord, said that "in fairness, we (community leaders) have been doing our part. But what has the Comelec done to address issues about its credibility?" Robles cited the case of the "Hello Garci" tapes, in which former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano's telephone conversations with various officials, including no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo about rigging the 2004 presidential election were allegedly recorded. In response, Tuason said: `Yung ginawa ng isang tao allegedly, noong 2004, should not be attributed to the Comelec." He added that Garcillano was a personal friend, but that they did not agree on certain matters of principle. During the off-the-cuff exchange, Tuason was also called upon to address other controversial issues involving Comelec, including its refusal to divulge the names of partylist nominees, which the Supreme Court recently ruled as illegal; and the spurious awarding of the contract for poll automation in 2004. In a separate meeting with OFW leaders, Tuason announced that there will be a review of the OAV system after this year's national and local elections in the Philippines. One of such innovations, he said, is internet voting. He said there will be a pilot testing of internet voting in Singapore on July 10, during which local as well as international hackers will be invited to test the system. If everything goes well, Tuason said Comelec will provide the Consulate with 20 monitors with internet access for use by voters. But others may be able to access the site elsewhere. He also said that the modified voting by mail is under consideration for HK, but that it will have be "selective." But at least one leader said that it's not the system that needs improvement, but the credibility of elections in the Philippines. Albert Laconsay of Filipino Migrants Workers Union said that the disappointing poll turnout is more a reflection of voters' belief that the election will not help bring about changes in the country' s political system. "Ang common reaction ng mga voters ay ayaw na nilang bomoto dahil wala rin mangyayari." said Laconsay. Tuason promised to relay the sentiment to the proper authorities. OAV desk to boost turnout An information and assistance desk on Chater Road was set up starting Apr 29, as part of concerted efforts agreed upon by a core group of community leaders and Consulate officers to get more Filipinos to vote. Voters who approached the desk, set up by various groups including The Sun Organization, Mission for Migrant Workers, Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants, Movers and Pinay Justice, were given all sorts of election-related information, from how and where to vote, to who are the candidates in the elections, and why it is necessary to cast their ballot. But the main task that evolved for the desk was to help those who had registered but were not in the certified list of overseas absentee voters (CLOAV), from being disenfranchised. At least three of those whose names were not in the official list of voters were still able to vote after the desk checked with the OAV secretariat at the Bayanihan, and found out that their names were in another list. Vice Consul Alnee Arugay had said during an initial briefing for those manning the desk that there had been instances where voter's names were found in the list for seamen. "So kung wala kayo sa CLOAV, i-check nyo pa rin," she encouraged. She also said that an acknowledgement slip issued at the time of registration should be the best proof of one's ability to vote. But for at least one Filipina who approached the desk, the assurance proved to be not of much help. Susan Rodriguez Caballero told the desk that her name did not appear in the CLOAV despite taking part in a field registration of voters last year. She presented two acknowledgement slips signed by two Consulate officials as proof of her registration. However, despite checks with the OAV secretariat, which in turn consulted with the Comelec, Caballero's name was not found. Other discrepancies in the listing of voters were reported to the desk, including the case of one whose name was not in the CLOAV downloaded from the internet by the desk, but was in the printed list supplied to Gabriela partylist by the Consulate. Conversely, one had her name in the downloaded list, but was not in the written version. Another did not find her name in either of the two lists, but was certified as a voter by the OAV secretariat. Others who approached the desk complained in erroneous entries in their voters' IDs, or of not having received the ID at all. One of the desk's mainstays, Ester Bangcawayan of APMM, said a report will be sent to the Comelec and the Consulate on the queries and complaints that have been brought to their attention. Outside the Bayanihan Centre, there were several others who were not able to vote for various reasons. Emma Fernandez registered during the first OAV in Hong Kong, but asked for her name to be transferred to her locality in the Philippines, where she managed to vote in 2004. She came back in August last year but was unable to have her registration moved back to HK. When she tried to vote at Bayanihan on May 6, the note "transfer to local" was written across her name. She was told to wait for the OAV secretariat's call, or return to Bayanihan on May 13 to see if she could vote. "Sana naman makaboto pa ako. Sayang naman iyon," she said. Carmencita Cepada is also waiting for the secretariat to call her. She said she was able to vote in the 2004 OAV, but for unknown reason, her name had since been taken out of the CLOAV. She said she was promised a call, after the secretariat had clarified her status with Comelec. Bumpy ride for free bus advocates The free bus rides to voters may have helped much to swell the voter turnout at Bayanihan, It took a humble apology from no less than Consul General Al Vicente to set things right, and get the ride going again. The conflict arose after the main proponent of the project, the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil) was unceremoniously booted out of its role as bus coordinator. Unifil's Eman Villanueva learned about this only via email, in which his group's "alleged campaigning" aboard the buses was cited as reason. The email, dated May 2, was circulated by vice consul Alnee Arugay in her capacity as moderator of the core group formed to come up with measures to push up the voter turnout. Arugay cited "observations and comments" from financing company, Prime Credit, which paid for the free buses. An angry Villanueva fired back an email, accusing Arugay of "arrogance and high-handedness." He denied accusations of campaigning by Unifil on the buses, saying their coordinators were given explicit instructions to just do voter's education. He also said the accusation was most unfair to Unifil volunteers who woke up early in the morning to be at the designated pickup points on time, and made sure the voters were ready to ride the buses as soon as they arrived. In a bid to halt the tension, Congen Vicente decided to meet the issue head-on during the next core group meeting at the Consulate on May 4. He asked Villanueva to air his side, and also called on Prime Credit representative Scylla Kwong, to explain what had happened on the buses. In response, Kwong clarified that Unifil was not campaigning for any particular candidate or party, but was making anti-government remarks during the voters' education campaign inside the buses. She said she was concerned because she had assured her bosses that the service was non-partisan in nature, and was being carried out in support of the Consulate. In a move that surprised many people at the meeting, Congen Vicente then extended an apology to Unifil, saying he understood Villanueva's feelings. He followed this up with an email to the core group the next day, reiterating the apology, and calling on everyone to continue working together to enjoin more Filipinos to exercise their right to vote. The humble gesture was enough to thaw the ice. Unifil and its supporters were one in thanking Congen Vicente for acknowledging the mistake, before urging the group to move on. The free bus service continued for the next three Sundays and the statutory holiday on May 1, with church leaders and Prime Credit staff taking over the job Unifil decided to give up. Residents may vote without fear Filipinos who are permanent residents of Hong Kong need no longer fear persecution for failing to return to the Philippines after voting abroad. The exemption from the so-called "affidavit of intent" was announced by Comelec (Commission on Elections) Commission Florentino Tuason, Jr. during a meeting of community leaders at the Consulate on May 4. He said, "We recommended that this section (sec. 5(b) of the Overseas Absentee Voting Law) be deleted." Under that section, OAV registrants abroad pledged to return to the Philippines one year before an election, or face permanent disqualification from voting, and even prosecution. Comelec had insisted previously on registrants signing the affidavit, saying they were also "regular voters" who had to meet the residency requirements under the Philippine Constitution. As a result, many Filipinos abroad, especially those residing in the United States, declined to register for the first OAV. But following a court challenge filed by Loida Nicolas Lewis and others, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled in August last year that Filipinos need not physically reside in the Philippines before they can vote abroad. In line with this ruling, the Comelec directed that dual citizens (or Filipinos who have a second passport) need no longer sign the Affidavit of Intent. But its subsequent directive that "permanent residents" are not covered by the exemption again raised doubts. Tuason hastened to qualify that HK permanent residents are not in the same situation as those in other countries like the United States, where their status is determined by a fixed term. Thus, he said they are considered to have the same status as dual passport holders, meaning, they no longer have to sign the declaration of intent. Gabriela protests `irregularities' The Gabriela Women's Party in Hong Kong has asked the Consulate to look into reported election irregularities at the Bayanihan, including an incident where a voter reportedly discovered someone else had apparently voted under her name. In a letter dated May 9 addressed to Vice Consul and OAV secretariat head Alnee Arugay, Gabriela-HK chairperson Cynthia Tellez identified the voter as Jahnelyn Menia. The voter reportedly told Gabriela that she found that someone else had affixed a signature and thumbmark on the space opposite her name in the voters' list. Menia was still allowed to cast her vote, but was asked to sign and affix her thumbprint on a separate sheet of paper. In a separate case, another voter, Cecilia Matias, reportedly complained that the special board of election inspectors (SBEI) had peeked into what was written on her ballot. Tellez also mentioned several instances where SBEI members reportedly abandoned their posts or were using cellphones inside the precincts, in violation of set rules. She also complained of "unlawful prohibitions" by SBEIs, including forbidding Gabriela poll watchers from displaying their IDs and prohibiting voters from bringing in slips of paper where they had written the names of their chosen candidates. In her letter, Tellez also expressed serious concern about the new rule that mandates the SBEI chair to drop the ballot, instead of the voter. "We would like to reiterate and put on record our opposition to this new procedure,' said Tellez. "Once the voter has cast his/her vote, nobody has the right to touch the ballot but the voter himself/herself until the ballot box is opened for counting." During a recent visit to HK, Commission on Election official Florentino Tuason, Jr. said the reason for the new rule was that voters were confused as to which of the two slots in the box they should drop their ballot into. But Tellez insisted this was not reason enough. "The duty of the SBEI to ensure that the voter puts the ballot on the correct slot can be done by properly guiding the voters on the procedure," she asserted. Even before the Consulate could respond to the initial complaint,, Tellez again wrote a letter, this time to Consul General Al Vicente, claiming that OAV secretariat members had treated their "observations and reports" with ill-concealed hostility. In particular, she cited an incident where the secretariat's Anjhie Aguilar reportedly said "Ganyan naman sila" which the poll watchers took to mean that they were always looking for faults and scores to settle. Tellez said Aguilar should be asked to explain what she meant by the statement which she reportedly uttered while looking into one of Gabriela's complaints. - with a report from Gina N. Ordona, The Sun