When it comes to political issues, as my posts indicate I'm usually rather opinionated. But in the case of outgoing Philippines President Gloria Arroyo's last-minute naming the Renato Corona as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court I can see both sides of the argument as to whether or not President-elect Benigno Aquino should recognize this "midnight appointment."
Granted that there is controversy in the Supreme Court's decision in favor of Arroyo's claim that it's her right as president to proceed with this appointment and that it's proper for Corona to accept it But based on his own record is there any reason to doubt that Corona will be his own man as he professes and that he will not serve honorably? Based on this criteria, is there any cause to be skeptical that he will not simply be Arroyo's insurance policy to block legal action against her for her misdeeds that she committed while in office--or in order to achieve that office? If not then perhaps Aquino should be a bigger person than Arroyo (no pun intended) and drop the matter for the sake of continuity and the good of the country rather than provoke a constitutional crisis. He will have enough on his hands putting his policies into place without having this issue as a distraction.
Yet it must be acknowledged that Corona is not Arroyo's only appointee to the Supreme Court. That branch is packed with justices whom she placed there. And after all, an overwhelming majority of them did recently vote to reverse the decision that had initially blocked Arroyo from being allowed to fill any vacant government positions, which according to the Philippine Constitution the President may not do in his/her final days in office.
In America we also know what a biased Supreme Court can do. Recall the 2000 U.S. Presidential elections when the Republican dominated Court ordered Florida to stop the ballot recount that probably would have tipped the election in favor of Al Gore. What a different history America would likely have had without George Bush as President, especially considering that his first term for that office may have been bogus.
Then there is the possible scenario as painted by one newspaper columnist: Suppose the Supreme Court justices rise above their political debt to Arroyo and instead live up to their mandate of impartiality. In doing so, further suppose that they find the Ampatuan clan guilty as charged for the hideous massacre of 57 journalists and others last November. In response to this verdict the leaders of that family may take their revenge by spilling their guts and revealing everything about their erstwhile beneficiary, Arroyo, for whom they delivered votes in their locale by hook or by crook in exchange for free reign and full control of their province, and confirm that she in fact was guilty among other crimes of fraudulently securing the office of the presidency in 2004. In turn this would call into question the not only her legitimacy as President (like Bush?) but of all her appointments including that of Corona.
Yet if Aquino somehow manages to successfully challenge Corona's position as SC Chief Justice, would that in itself necessarily stop the Ampatuans from singing like canaries if finally convicted?. And in that case, what about Arroyo's other Supreme Court justice appointments for whom there was no midnight appointment controversy. Wouldn't they still be tainted by the her guilt? In fact wouldn't every law that Arroyo signed and every policy that she enacted since "assuming" office be up for the question of legitimacy?
If Aquino sincerely believes that in order to uphold the honor of his office and of the Philippines as a whole he has no choice but to press for Corona's dismissal, then it's understandable that he must pursue this campaign to the bitter end. Yet, on the other hand, by vigorously protesting Corona's appointment as he has already done, Aquino has made his point. Now maybe it's time for him to strike some kind of compromise and and move on.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
A Milestone In Phlippine History
Probably the best way to describe this week's elections in the Philippines and the country's first experience in electronic voting is to quote Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times".
It was the best of times in that despite glitches with some of the machines, voters for the most part were able to complete and register their ballots. At this writing about 90% of these ballots have been relayed, and counted and a winner of the presidential race declared. What a difference between this and previous elections under the manual system when it took days or even weeks to tally the results. Automation also prevented such forms as cheating that were common in bygone days as stuffed, lost, and stolen ballot boxes. It also reduced the incidence of "flying voters", i.e. those who submit ballots at multiple precincts.
It was the worst of time in that Comelec (Commission on Elections) when redirecting the precincts into fewer polling centers failed to plan and coordinate for such a large turnout of voters, many of whom waited in long queues under a wilting tropical sun to cast their ballots. One candidate--and winner in the presidential race-- Benigno Aquino III stood in line for four hours to cast his vote. Congratulations on his victory and hats off to him for not insisting on special treatment while voting as did most other candidates..
And hats off to the Philippine people for their tenacity and determination to vote, despite doubts by many skeptics, myself included, against a successful election. It was really touch and go almost up to the last minute as to whether the machines would function properly. And then there was the attendant violence in some locales that always accompany elections in the Philippines. That's something that even computerized elections can't prevent. Nevertheless, the success of this election may be an incentive to institute further reforms in the electoral process and in the government itself.
For further details and reflections about this historical event, please see these two great articles, "Philippine Election Update: Results Reported in Record Time, Largely Peaceful, Now What?" and "Philippine Election Results Updated: May 13, 2010".
It was the best of times in that despite glitches with some of the machines, voters for the most part were able to complete and register their ballots. At this writing about 90% of these ballots have been relayed, and counted and a winner of the presidential race declared. What a difference between this and previous elections under the manual system when it took days or even weeks to tally the results. Automation also prevented such forms as cheating that were common in bygone days as stuffed, lost, and stolen ballot boxes. It also reduced the incidence of "flying voters", i.e. those who submit ballots at multiple precincts.
It was the worst of time in that Comelec (Commission on Elections) when redirecting the precincts into fewer polling centers failed to plan and coordinate for such a large turnout of voters, many of whom waited in long queues under a wilting tropical sun to cast their ballots. One candidate--and winner in the presidential race-- Benigno Aquino III stood in line for four hours to cast his vote. Congratulations on his victory and hats off to him for not insisting on special treatment while voting as did most other candidates..
And hats off to the Philippine people for their tenacity and determination to vote, despite doubts by many skeptics, myself included, against a successful election. It was really touch and go almost up to the last minute as to whether the machines would function properly. And then there was the attendant violence in some locales that always accompany elections in the Philippines. That's something that even computerized elections can't prevent. Nevertheless, the success of this election may be an incentive to institute further reforms in the electoral process and in the government itself.
For further details and reflections about this historical event, please see these two great articles, "Philippine Election Update: Results Reported in Record Time, Largely Peaceful, Now What?" and "Philippine Election Results Updated: May 13, 2010".
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Cliffhanger
The old Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times" is certainly ringing true in the Philippines these days. As national election day draws near (Monday, May 10) several factors come into play that make this occasion one of the most significant such events in the nation's history.
One is that this election will be the first in this country to use automated vote counting. On the face of it, electronic ballots could reduce if not eliminate the rampant cheating that accompanies elections here, not to mention an improved efficiency and time in tabulating the ballots. But in order for all that to happen, the voting machines have to work properly. And that isn't happening. In a recent trial run, they malfunctioned.
In addition, the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who allegedly cheated her way into office in 2004 may be using the error-prone voting machines as an excuse to postpone elections and hold on to her power, which many people feared she would do. All she needed was a pretext, and she may have found it. If she does take advantage of this situation, it could result in "no-el" (no election).
At this time there is an ongoing attempt to repair the problem that caused the trial run glitch in the machines (replacement of faulty compact flash memory cards) but it seems questionable that they will be up and properly running in time for Monday as there are 76,000 computers affected. But even if the replacement is completed on time and Comelec (Commission on Elections) proceeds with the balloting that then misfires during the voting-or if other unforeseen problems crop up on election day, that could lead to another scenario: failure of election. This would also occur if the voters cast their ballots but the devices break down in the process of counting the votes themselves.
And of course it's way too late to fall back on a manual vote.
In the unlikely the event that the election does come off without a hitch, in my opinion the winner will be Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino,who among the numerous candidates is the apparent front runner. Aquino is the son of the beloved late former President of the Philippines, Corazon"Cory" Aquino and the martyred Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. who was assassinated during the martial law era of President Ferdinand Marcos, possibly at the latter's behest.
But a clean election even if automated is not a slam dunk if the computers accept the ballots but aren't tamper proof. Skullduggery and dirty tricks run rampant in political campaigning here. Rumors and gossip likewise flourish. One such story that I heard today is that there is supposedly a plot afoot by Arroyo and her allies including the head of the Department of National Defense and a former President to sabotage the election with the assistance of a computer expert who will hack the voting computer system in favor of Aquino's rival, Manny Villar. One thing about innuendo and rumors in the Philippines like this one is that they are often so outlandish that they could very well be true.
Of course as an alien, I can't vote. So why should I care about any of this? Because the implications of a botched election are considerable for everybody living in this country, citizen or otherwise. The scenarios are almost endless, including civil unrest, instability and / or the possibility of a military takeover. In turn the accompanying fallout for the public could range from minor inconvenience to complete chaos.
There will be foreign observers on hand to monitor the election proceedings, but in the end I don't think that they can second-guess the ingenious tactics that seen and unseen forces may well use to manipulate this event. That degree of awareness takes a deep understanding of the Philippine culture and mindset that these poll watchers may not possess.
At any rate, right now life goes on. And if somehow, the election goes smoothly, there will be a new leader but probably little social and political change at least for now. However, an uneventful election itself in the Philippines would be a watershed event and maybe even the beginning of a transformation towards a better society.
But if things don't go well on Monday, then fasten your seat belts. It's likely to be a long, bumpy ride.
One is that this election will be the first in this country to use automated vote counting. On the face of it, electronic ballots could reduce if not eliminate the rampant cheating that accompanies elections here, not to mention an improved efficiency and time in tabulating the ballots. But in order for all that to happen, the voting machines have to work properly. And that isn't happening. In a recent trial run, they malfunctioned.
In addition, the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who allegedly cheated her way into office in 2004 may be using the error-prone voting machines as an excuse to postpone elections and hold on to her power, which many people feared she would do. All she needed was a pretext, and she may have found it. If she does take advantage of this situation, it could result in "no-el" (no election).
At this time there is an ongoing attempt to repair the problem that caused the trial run glitch in the machines (replacement of faulty compact flash memory cards) but it seems questionable that they will be up and properly running in time for Monday as there are 76,000 computers affected. But even if the replacement is completed on time and Comelec (Commission on Elections) proceeds with the balloting that then misfires during the voting-or if other unforeseen problems crop up on election day, that could lead to another scenario: failure of election. This would also occur if the voters cast their ballots but the devices break down in the process of counting the votes themselves.
And of course it's way too late to fall back on a manual vote.
In the unlikely the event that the election does come off without a hitch, in my opinion the winner will be Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino,who among the numerous candidates is the apparent front runner. Aquino is the son of the beloved late former President of the Philippines, Corazon"Cory" Aquino and the martyred Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. who was assassinated during the martial law era of President Ferdinand Marcos, possibly at the latter's behest.
But a clean election even if automated is not a slam dunk if the computers accept the ballots but aren't tamper proof. Skullduggery and dirty tricks run rampant in political campaigning here. Rumors and gossip likewise flourish. One such story that I heard today is that there is supposedly a plot afoot by Arroyo and her allies including the head of the Department of National Defense and a former President to sabotage the election with the assistance of a computer expert who will hack the voting computer system in favor of Aquino's rival, Manny Villar. One thing about innuendo and rumors in the Philippines like this one is that they are often so outlandish that they could very well be true.
Of course as an alien, I can't vote. So why should I care about any of this? Because the implications of a botched election are considerable for everybody living in this country, citizen or otherwise. The scenarios are almost endless, including civil unrest, instability and / or the possibility of a military takeover. In turn the accompanying fallout for the public could range from minor inconvenience to complete chaos.
There will be foreign observers on hand to monitor the election proceedings, but in the end I don't think that they can second-guess the ingenious tactics that seen and unseen forces may well use to manipulate this event. That degree of awareness takes a deep understanding of the Philippine culture and mindset that these poll watchers may not possess.
At any rate, right now life goes on. And if somehow, the election goes smoothly, there will be a new leader but probably little social and political change at least for now. However, an uneventful election itself in the Philippines would be a watershed event and maybe even the beginning of a transformation towards a better society.
But if things don't go well on Monday, then fasten your seat belts. It's likely to be a long, bumpy ride.
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