Election protests and being ‘robbed’

FORMER Cebu City mayor Michael Rama said that like Bongbong Marcos, he was "robbed" of the 2016 election.

The subject has surfaced again with the reported threat of Mayor Tomas Osmeña to seek the recall of Team Rama councilors if they'd block the lots-swap deal between the city and Capitol.

Team Rama controls the City Council and may block Tomas's proposals, just as BOPK barred Mike's projects when BOPK controlled the council during his 2013-2016 term.

Robbing an election conjures a massive operation of fraud more widespread and intricate than just stealing an election.

That may be true about Bongbong's protest against Vice President Leni Robredo. Can it be said of Mike's protest too?

Compare not the complaints' size or volume: Bongbong's 1,000 pages, 20,000 annexes; Mike's 20 pages, unspecified number of annexes.

Compare for now two arguments that each complainant pushed more vigorously in public debate:

-- Mike talked of "statistical improbability," having lost while most of his Team Rama mates won.

-- Bongbong dwelt on "vulnerabilities" of the machine count, carping on the introduction of a new hash code, which he suspected benefited Robredo.

Black op

Mike argues he couldn't have lost while his teammates won, which independent observers knock down with a plain theory: voters dropped him at the last minute. Mike, the explanation runs, was "out-bought" in a "black op" that targeted only him.

Bongbong argues, in two of a three-pronged assault on Leni, the machines failed and were tampered with. What may befuddle the public mind is how a system could work for Duterte but not for Bongbong.

Protests involve a long, arduous wait for Bongbong and Mike. The public is so used to the slow pace that talk of the protest being resolved soon has also sparked suspicion of a thievery, or robbery, in the offing.

If it could happen in the election, it also could be pulled off in the protest.