Kontra-Daya slams Comelec, Arroyo
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The presence of several watchdogs in this year’s elections is an offshoot of the fraudulent 2004 elections.
It is a reflection of the Filipino people’s belief in elections as a means of effective and democratic change in the country’s leadership.
In its post-election report, Kontra- Daya one of the non-government watchdogs this election, says the Commission on Elections and Gloria Arroyo are both liable for the questionable reports of the May 14 elections.
Among those who are active in Kontra-Daya are Josie Lichauco, former secretary of Transportation and Communications; Gen. (ret.) Gerry Cunanan and activist Carol Araullo.
Kontra-Daya said the performance of Armed Forces of the Philippines this election was worse than its anomalous role in 2004 as exposed in the Hello Garci tapes.
Kontra-Daya’s take on the military: "The elections in 2007 are far, far worse than that of 2004 with regard to the AFP’s uncalled for and illegitimate involvement. The People’s International Observers Mission (PIOM), Task Force Poll Watch and Kontra Daya’s own election monitoring showed unacceptable patterns of intervention coming from military units and their officials. If in 2004 only some generals were involved in fraud (as revealed by the "Garci tapes"), in 2007 we can say that the entire chain of command was being used and manipulated for the purposes of fraud and violence.
"The Comelec has failed to stop the AFP from engaging in partisan political activities. Two of the most glaring examples are the AFP’s vilification campaign against militant party list groups and the AFP’s all-out support for administration bets and party list groups. The AFP in Metro Manila also attempted to clothe its smear campaign in the guise of a ‘voters’ education program,’ a move immediately unmasked and opposed by various citizens’ groups.
"There are persistent reports that high-ranking officials of the military are using the chain of command to force soldiers to vote for administration bets and party list groups. Fact-finding bodies like the PIOM noted that in Nueva Ecija, soldiers coerced people to vote for the Bantay party list of Gen. Jovito Palparan. Media reports, on the other hand, also say that local absentee voting for soldiers was conducted under questionable conditions. Despite all these issues, the Comelec has turned a blind eye to the blatant partisanship exhibited by the AFP and its officials."
Kontra-Daya continues to monitor the canvassing of election results by the Comelec. Here are excerpts from its initial conclusions:
"The 2007 elections are compromised by the Comelec’s failure to ensure the credibility of the polls. At the least, it failed to dismantle the structural systems and conditions encouraging wholesale fraud. At most, it showed complicity with blatant acts of fraud and other violations of the Election Code. Even the traditional watchdog groups such as Namfrel and PPCRV, that are official citizens’ arms of the Comelec, have carefully refrained from issuing statements absolving the Comelec of election negligence, mismanagement or sabotage.
"Kontra Daya raises these general statements on the 2007 elections:
1. There are initial indications that the Arroyo administration is engaged in large-scale electoral fraud in an attempt to secure favorable results for its candidates in the national elections (senatorial and party-list).
a. Throughout the campaign period and right up to Election Day, Malacanang led and directed a massive campaign of vote-buying for its candidates.
b. Malacanang has made partisan use of the military to campaign for administration candidates and against opposition groups especially the militant party lists.
c. In the ongoing period of counting and canvassing of votes, efforts to directly manipulate the election results in favor of Malacanang’s candidates and against the administration’s opponents (senatorial candidates and party-list groups) are underway.
2. Comelec is directly complicit with the Arroyo administration in perpetrating the ongoing electoral fraud.
a. At its highest level, the Comelec issued statements, policies, and resolutions that were in accordance with the interests of Malacanang particularly in the Cayetano case, the Robredo disqualification, and the "Malacañang party list" issue.
b. The Comelec laid the groundwork for electoral fraud which include among others the private printing of election forms, padded voters’ list, selective implementation of laws and the last-minute appointment of BEIs.
c. The Comelec also aided and abetted fraud through its inaction on numerous blatant violations of election laws from the shameless vote-buying by administration officials to the blatant partisanship of the AFP.
d. The presence and promotion of election officers previously linked to fraud in Mindanao also shows complicity to commit fraud on the part of the Comelec.
e. Comelec chairman Abalos in particular makes it a point to rationalize if not cover up election-related anomalies which have come to light. He too is in a state of almost total denial when it comes to election fraud.
The full report can be accessed at www.kontradaya.wordpress.com
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