Immediately after the May 2010 automated elections, protests were made by an accredited group of election observers composed of overseas Filipino professionals.
The Philippine Computer Society and other concerned citizens’ groups filed cases against the Commission on Elections for violation of the Automation Law by not implementing the necessary safeguards in the conduct of the automated elections and citing all kinds of excuses. Can we now violate laws as long as we can offer an excuse for doing so?
And because the cases are pending to this day and no one has been punished with the full force of the law, Comelec is doing it again.
It had three years to work on the implementation of the safeguards for the 2013 elections, as required by law. What happened to the rule of law under an administration that demands that everyone take the “daang matuwid”? If we don’t make a stand now, we will be doomed to have illegitimate elections foisted on us by an unrepentant and emboldened Comelec.
I am afraid that people are hesitant to face this issue because it resulted in the election of a popular President—the fruit of a poisoned tree. Are we now willing to accept a grave wrong because we like its fruit? What happens when, in future elections, we don’t like the fruits?
Remember that without the safeguards, an automated election will be vulnerable to fraud.
Unscrupulous candidates will exploit its vulnerability and get elected into office. These will be the officials who will run our country henceforth if we do nothing now.
—TERESITA D. BALTAZAR,
executive director,
Konsyensyang Pilipino