30 days to E-Day: 'Counters, not votes determine poll victory'

In the Philippines, candidates running in elections must not only muster enough votes to win, a senior Catholic bishop lamented over the weekend. Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz said that while it is good for a candidate to have many voters, it is best for them to have “good counters." “At the end of the day, what will make them actually win or lose are the three following considerations: Who are their counters from the precinct to the Comelec levels? Which one of the two or three principals-in-charge of the counters have they contracted? How much are they willing to pay to all the counters for every thousand votes taken away from others and credited to their names instead?" he said. He said this is more effective than having political parties to proclaim their grand platforms and for their candidates to mount vigorous and unrelenting campaigns. It is even more effective than spending millions for tri-media advertisements, to shake millions of hands, smile left and right, and to convince people to vote for them, he added. Cruz said these things make recent Philippine history a standing witness that many elections in the Philippines are “anything but honest and credible." “The Philippines is not first in corruption all over the Asian continent—for nothing!" he said. Yet, he said the eventual and lasting results have become rather predictable. “There is division among the people. Public disgust and distrust continue to haunt the citizens. There is persistent socio-political instability productive of poverty and underemployment. Such public adversities adamantly refuse to disappear notwithstanding all glorious and repeated claims to the contrary by the present administration," he said. “In elections held in this country, it is not really the voters and the number of their votes that make political candidates win or lose. Rather, it is the counters of the votes who make candidates as winners or losers. In other words, it is good for a candidate to have many voters. It is however best for them to have good counters," he said. Golez rejoins Arroyo coalition After joining calls for her resignation and supporting bids to impeach President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, erstwhile independent Rep. Roilo Golez has rejoined the administration camp. Sun-Star Manila (www.sunstar.com.ph) reported Saturday that Golez will run for re-election in the second district of Parañaque City as a “guest candidate" of the Lakas-CMD. Lakas is the party of former president Fidel Ramos. It is in a coalition with President Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), at least at the national level. However, bets of Lakas have been noted to go up against bets from Kampi in the local levels, including in Arroyo’s home province of Pampanga. But Golez, who once served as Arroyo’s national security adviser, insisted he will maintain his “independence," and that he will still support the opposition senatorial slate. He said his alliance with Lakas would only be in the local arena and would not affect his “independent" stance in the Lower House and in other issues affecting the country. “I would like to emphasize that this is a local coalition. I am independent when I file my candidacy before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and God willing I will remain independent," he said. Golez said he “accepted" the invitation of Lakas so Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. can continue his projects for the city. He added he and Bernabe, along with Eduardo Zialcita, the city’s first district representative have no bad blood despite differences in opinion. Bernabe said Lakas, of which he is the local chairman, has not imposed any condition when they adopted Golez as a guest candidate. Zialcita, for his part, welcomed Golez’s decision and said it would ensure a “strong and dedicated team for the city residents." Female OFW from Palau is RP's 1st absentee voter A female overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from the island nation of Palau in Micronesia was the first absentee voter to cast her vote in the May 14 midterm elections, radio dzBB reported on Saturday. Nicanora Maglinis, 56, wrote her candidates on the ballot at about 8 a.m., Saturday at the Philippine Embassy in Koror, the state comprising the main commercial center of Palau, the report said. Maglinis has been an OFW for the last 18 years. She had worked in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia before she stayed in Palau for the last 10 years. DzBB said Maglinis "stay tuned" on the political and electoral events in the Philippines through the television. Meanwhile, GMA's Flash Report quoted Commission on Elections Commissioner Florentino Tuazon as saying that the first day of absentee voting turned out fine. He said 55 Filipinos voted in Hong Kong. He said second to Maglinis was 40-year old Rowena Dela Cruz who is an OFW from Hong Kong. The Comelec expects that the May 2007 elections will either equal or surpass the 65 percent voter turnout recorded during the May 2004 elections. Rafael Seguis, Foreign Affairs undersecretary for special concerns and chairman of the overseas absentee voting secretariat, said on Friday that Philippine embassies and consulates across the globe are now ready to accommodate early absentee voters. Seguis called on the 504,110 registered OAVs to exercise their right to vote. It will be the second time in the country’s political history that Filipino citizens overseas are allowed to participate in electing national leaders. However, it will be different from the first OAV in 2004 in the sense that it is a mid-term or non-presidential election that overseas voters will participate in. Overseas voters are eligible to vote for 12 senators and one party-list organization that will be represented by one to three nominees at the House of Representatives. Seguis said all foreign service personnel are under strict orders to maintain impartiality at all times. “The OAV Secretariat and all our Foreign Posts share our people’s aspiration for clean, honest and credible elections," Seguis stressed. Vigilance Votes cast by Filipinos overseas can make a real difference in the forthcoming elections, the official said as he also called for vigilance. “Their active interest and vigilance in monitoring the OAV exercise will also help safeguard the credibility of this year’s polls," he said. “We assure our people that after months of extensive preparations in partnership and support of the Commission on Elections, the Foreign Service is ready to serve overseas Filipinos in the conduct of these mid-term elections," Seguis said in a press statement issued Friday. “We have a higher rate of qualified voters – a total of 504, 110 registrants in 156 countries involving 88 Foreign Service Posts, compared to 361, 446 registered for the 2004 elections," Seguis noted. Of the new registrants, 55,742 registered abroad; 39,223 registered at the POEA; and 47,669 registered at NAIA while preparing for their flights to foreign destinations. Voting procedures “This year, 61 countries will vote by mail compared to the 2004 elections wherein only three countries were allowed to vote by mail. The intention in expanding voting by mail is to make the election as convenient as possible for our citizens overseas," Seguis said. For this year’s elections,174, 832 voters are entitled to receive and mail back their ballots through the postal system; 329,278 will cast their ballots personally at the embassies and consulates. In Vietnam, there will be field voting in Ho Chi Minh City under the supervision of the Consulate General. During the 2004 elections, the rate of participation among qualified overseas Filipino voters was 65%. Seguis said the DFA “aim(s) to have at least the same level of participation, or hopefully a higher turnout depending on the response of our registered voters." Absentee voters are advised to check their names on the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters (CLOAV) posted on http://www.comelec.gov.ph, the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) official website. Philippine Ambassador to Canada Jose S. Brillantes reported to the DFA that the embassy and the Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver are also ready to accept votes cast by mail from registered Filipino absentee voters. Brillantes said he has been urging registered absentee voters in Canada to mail their ballots early to the Embassy or the Consulates where they are registered. The Embassy will also accept seafarers who are registered as voters between April 14 and May 14. But she said the seafarers should personally appear before the Post. Personnel of the Embassy as well as the Consulates in Toronto and Vancouver who were deputized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to serve as election officers have been faithfully fulfilling their duties to ensure the peaceful and orderly conduct of overseas absentee voting in their respective precincts, Brillantes assured. Brunei voters In Brunei, Philippine Ambassador Virginia Benavidez said the postal voting system is in place. Under the system, voters will receive their ballots through mail. The accomplished ballots can then be mailed or personally delivered to the embassy. A collection booth will be set up at the embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan where voters can drop their accomplished ballots. It will be open from Mondays to Saturdays from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and 1.30-5.30 pm, and on Sundays from 9 am to noon and 2-5 pm. No ballots will be accepted after 3 pm on May 14. The ambassador also said to facilitate the voting, the embassy will schedule the collection of accomplished ballots in Kuala Belait, Tutong and Temburong Districts as well as in areas with a large number of Filipinos. To ensure that the ballots will not be invalidated, she reminded Filipino voters to read the instructions carefully. For assistance, the embassy can be reached at 224 1465 or 224 1466. Those who have not received their ballots through mail should notify the embassy immediately as it could be due to changes in the voter's residential address. The ambassador also called on all registered voters form the Filipino community in the country to take advantage of the valuable opportunity to exercise their right to suffrage as voting by mail becomes more convenient and practical to Filipino voters whose workplaces or residences are far from the embassy. In the Commonwealth on the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), overseas absentee voting will be held from April 14 to May 14, 2007, at the Filipino Workers Resource Center at the Ground Floor, Marianas Business Plaza (formerly the Nauru Bldg.), Susupe, Saipan. Vote early At the United Arab Emirates, Philippine Consul General Antonio Curameng advised the 16, 856 registered voters in Abu Dhabi and 18,448 in Dubai to cast their votes early and not to wait for the last day. “Everything is set for the elections. We have set up five temporary voting booths within the consulate’s premises and members of the electoral board have been briefed of their assignments," Curameng said in a report in Khaleej Times. The list of registered absentee voters had been posted on the consulate’s bulletin board to guide the voters where to cast their ballots. Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates can only vote at the Philippine Consulate in Al Ghusais. Curameng advised Filipinos in the UAE to check their names on the Certified List of Overseas Absentee Voters (CLOAV) posted on http://www.comelec.gov.ph, the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) official website, before going to the consulate. “Unfortunately, the consulate does not have its own website dedicated to the OAV activities in the UAE but voters can log on to the Comelec site to see if their names are registered. They are advised to do this as soon as possible so that if their names are not listed, we would still have enough time to appeal their case with the Comelec in Manila," he said. In Abu Dhabi, two voting booths were reported to have been set up in the Philippine Embassy and another two at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) for Filipinos residing in the capital and Al Ain. Both the Embassy and the Consulate will accept voters from 12 noon to 8pm on weekdays and weekends starting April 14 until May 14. At the last day of the OAV on May 14, which will coincide with the actual national polls in the Philippines, the missions will be open as early as 3am until 11 am. In Israel, Charge d’Affaires Gilberto Asuque reported to the DFA that the officers and staff of the embassy were ready to take on their responsibilities as chair and members of the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI), Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) and the Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC) for the absentee balloting. Asuque assured that the embassy personnel were committed to the conduct of a clean, orderly, honest and transparent election. Seafarers For the 18,404 registered seafarers as absentee voters, 16 ports around the globe had been designated for the dropping of their ballots. These ports are in Venezuela; Antwerp, Belgium; Ottawa (Montreal and Quebec), and Vancouver in Canada; Hamburg, Germany; Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands; Aucland, New Zealand; Gothenburg, Sweden; Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; London, UK; Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, and San Francisco, USA; and, Muara Port in Brunei. To encourage a high voter turnout among seamen, the overseas absentee voting committee of the Comelec has also allowed them to vote in countries where personal voting is taking place, such as Greece, Hong Kong, China, and most countries in the Middle East. Out of 88 diplomatic posts, 54 will be implementing voting by mail. These are: Abuja, Agana, Ankara, Baghdad, Bangkok, Berlin, Berne, Bonn, Brasilia, Brunei, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Canberra, Caracas, Chicago, Dhaka, Dili, Hamburg, Havana, Honolulu, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Manado, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Mexico, Moscow, New York, Osaka, Ottawa, Paris, Prague, Pretoria, San Francisco, Santiago, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tel Aviv, The Hague, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna, Washington, and Wellington. The 27 posts where voters will have to appear to cast their ballots are: Abu Dhabi, Amman, Athens, Beijing, Beirut, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Koror, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Nairobi, New Delhi, Al-Khobar, Macau, Port Moresby, Riyadh, Saipan, Shanghai, Tripoli, Vientiane, Xiamen, and Yangon. There are also seven posts where modified voting by mail will be done: Geneva, Holy See, Milan, Phnom Penh, Rome, Seoul, and Tehran. In voting by mail, ballots are mailed from the Commission on Elections to the voters’ addresses. In modified voting by mail, the ballots are mailed from the embassy, consulate, labor office or economic office to the voters. In both cases, the voters mail their accomplished ballots to the Philippine posts, where these will be counted and canvassed. Although more posts will oversee voting by mail, more than a third of the 504,110 total registered overseas voters will still be casting their ballots in person. Earlier, Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason, chairman of the OAV committee, said around 100,000 registered absentee voters may no longer cast their votes because they have either returned home upon expiration of their contract or moved to another country. Many Philippine embassies and consulates abroad have tapped Filipino organizations as volunteers to augment the limited government personnel to man the voting precincts. Tragic day for bets, campaign aides A vice mayoral candidate in Sorsogon died when he fell into a deep well from where he rescued his aides, police reported on Saturday. Bulan Police Chief Inspector Jose Gerero identified the victim as Tobias Dulay, 45, who was a resident of Fabrica village and a vice mayoral candidate in Matnog town. Gerero said that at first, Dulay tried to save his aide, Manuel Delos Santo, 51, who fell in an eight-meter well inside the vice mayoral candidate’s residential compound in Bulan town. Delos Santos of San Joaquin village, was cleaning the well at about 9:35 when he accidentally fell into it. Dulay’s two other aides - Jonel Megolania and Joel Delavin – also came into the rescue but also fell in to the well. Dulay was able to rescue the two but he himself fell into the well with Delos Santos after saving his two other aides. Dulay died inside the well with de los Santos while Megolania and Delavin were rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, a member of the campaign staff of Team Unity senatorial bet Michael "Mike" Defensor died, while 27 others were hurt on a road mishap in Quezon province, radio dzBB reported on Saturday. Police Chief Supt. Joselito Conti identified the fatality as Jenny Yumul, 18, who died on the spot. She was a resident of Pampanga province, the report said. Quoting Conti, dzBB said the victims were on board two vehicles parked on New Diversion Road at Silangan-Malicboy village in Pagbilao town when a bus rammed through the vehicles. Investigators said the driver of JVH bus, with plate number EVR 295, lost control of the brakes. The campaigners were supposed to put Defensor's posters near the highway when the incident happened. The injured victims were brought to the nearby Jane County Hospital for treatment. - GMANews.TV