Avoid much further delay in poll protest

THERE has been considerable speculation about the election protest filed by former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo in the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) composed of all the members of the Supreme Court.

There are reports that a draft resolution has been prepared by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa dismissing the Marcos protest on the basis of the recount of the votes cast in the three pilot provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Camarines Sur, chosen by Marcos.

During the recount, there was a dispute over the matter of shading of the ovals opposite the candidates’ names. The PET wanted to count votes where at least 50 percent of the ovals had been marked by the voters. But it yielded to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) position that for the 2016 elections, it had allowed 25 percent marking of the ovals, and so the vote-counting machines proceeded accordingly.

The recount upheld the victory of Robredo. Justice Caguioa duly prepared a draft resolution dismissing the Marcos petition, ”without further proceedings for lack of merit.” But some justices call for the continued pursuit of the case for the determination of fraud. The PET will thus meet on October 8 when it will decide on this issue.

It is possible, some say, that somewhere along the way in the continuing pursuit of this case, the very essence of our automated election system will again be raised. Many losing candidates in the past along with many critics of automated elections have questioned automated election results, claimng these are easily manipulated.

The Comelec’s technology provider, Smartmatic, may yet find itself involved in the MarcosRobredo dispute as it is its numbers that were counted by Comelec and then recounted by PET. Smartmatic also provides election technology for many countries in Europe and the Americas but its record in these countries has not been as disputed as it has been in the Philippines. Since the start of automated elections here in 2010, the Comelec has never reversed any results as all recounts in electoral protests have matched so far.

In any case, we hope the whole question of who won the vice-presidential election of 2016 will soon be resolved. The PET will meet on October 8 to resolve the issue of whether to accept the findings of the recount which upheld Robredo’s election, or further pursue the case for determination of fraud. There should be no further delay after this crucial vote, for this will only fuel speculation and endanger the creditability of our elections in general.