“A FIRST: COMELEC DISCARDS 6M BALLOTS COSTING P132M” – Inquirer HEADLINE. This is obviously an unforgiveable waste of money by Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia and his fellow commissioners.
The amount could have been used to build so many classrooms, to assist students in need, to provide healthcare to the poor and marginalized, to give cash assistance to underpaid laborers, farmers and fisherfolks as they struggle to buy a kilogram of rice costing P53 or more, helplessly waiting for the past 9 months, that promised P20/kg of rice, and affordable fish, meat and vegetables.
What made the Comelec decide on printing the ballots so soon without due diligence, despite knowing that a number of candidates were questioning their disqualifications before the Supreme Court? The Comelec felt its decision was fine, when it was aware of many issues hanging over their actuations, since its questionable handling with Smartmatic of the May 9, 2022 elections.
The public has been aware of the TNT trio’s professional scientific analysis of the vote counts, alleging that 20 million votes for Bongbong Marcos were publicly announced prematurely by 7pm, which was the official closing of voting nationwide.
And despite requests by the TNT Trio for the poll body to explain its questionable count, no satisfactory reply has been given to the TNT trio and the public as well. This was deceitful of Comelec not to give the public a viable explanation on the question raised since June 2022.
For reasons of transparency and honesty, Comelec owes the voters and the Filipino as a whole an explanation. Has Comelec been hiding the truth until now? – a natural question that the Filipino people cannot help raising in their minds.
There was also a request for Comelec to show the transmission logs for the TNT trio and other experts to check and see the validity of the vote counts, but Comelec instead gave the reception logs.
Comelec initially made an En Banc resolution to have the ballot boxes of the TNT trio’s choices opened for scrutiny. But after Ret. Gen. Eliseo Rio, Jr. chose the ballot boxes in Sto. Tomas, Batangas for the TNT trio’s opening for investigation, the Comelec backtracked, withdrawing their original En Banc resolution.
What is Comelec afraid of, if it has been confident that it has done no wrong in their management of the May 9, 2022 elections? Or, is Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia and his fellow commissioners hiding something from the Filipino people about how they and Smartmatic handled the May 9, 2022 elections?
The people, especially the voters who expected a clean, fair, transparent and credible election, have the right to know the truth from Comelec. Given Comelec’s wishy washy behavior (or, deceitful actions) in response to the honest-to-goodness questions and requests made by the Filipino people, Comelec has the mandated obligation to come clean about its management of the 2022 elections.
Comelec cannot blame the people for their disappointment, or righteous indignation with the loss of P132 million for its bungling stupid decision-making on the printing of official ballots. The Filipino people cannot but be really wary with how Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia and his team will be handling the 2025 elections.
It is quite understandable if many people are thinking of getting them impeached.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #OpinYonColumn #PoliticsIsLife