THERE was a dark chapter in the history of the Philippines just a generation ago when the very institutions of government entrusted with the Constitutional mandate of protecting the integrity of our elections betrayed public trust.
Already on its 21st year, the claws of the Marcos regime continued its grip on power, condoned and enabled by co-conspirators in the three branches of government, and by Marcos cronies who benefitted from his corrupt government practices.
What started as the promising golden years of the Philippines in the mid-60s turned into a dictatorship that brainwashed people with lies about Martial law and the economy, destroyed institutions and businesses critical to Marcos, violated the human rights of those who dissented.
Lurking behind the facade of new infrastructure, buildings and edifices that give the perception of “progress” in the minds of the people was the shadow of the ballooning debt and deficit of the Philippines that started with the declaration of Martial Law.
The well-connected became rich; the rich became millionaires and billionaires; and the wallets of those in the complex labyrinth of systemic corruption became fatter as they profit from projects after projects.
With the decline in the Philippines’ credit rating came a tighter budget for the Philippine government. The first aspects to suffer were basic social services for the people as the rich and the powerful got to hide their ill-gotten wealth offshore like in the Swiss banks. The gap between the rich and the poor became wider.
Karmic boomerang finally caught up with Marcos when public awareness and dissatisfaction reached a tipping point with the assassination of Marcos’ most vocal and fierce critic, Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., in 1983.
Public pressure for Marcos to resign compelled the dictator to hold a snap election on February 7, 1986 — ahead of the 1987 schedule. Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino, served the purpose of uniting the opposition and became the candidate on the mission to defeat and unseat Marcos.
With Marcos’ hold in virtually all branches of government, he thought he had everything in the bag, and that the Snap Election was just a ploy to “legitimize” Marcos’ continued presidency.
BUT…on February 9, 1986, 35 computer programmers and technicians of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) walked out of the Batasang Pambansa during the canvassing of votes for the snap elections. They protested against massive poll fraud and rampant cheating they said was happening, supposedly at the behest of the dictator.
This was corroborated by my long-time friend Arlene Martin, who used to be married to the son of Col. Remigio Octavio, the man who engineered and executed the cheating following orders from Malacañang.
Arlene said “Papang” (Octavio) was loyal to Marcos until the very end.
“In our Iloilo ancestral house, he had a signed blow-up picture with him {Marcos}. I witnessed a lot of Papang’s corruption na parang normal way of life, she added.
Had it not been for the 35 brave truth-tellers from Comelec, Marcos’ dirty tactics to stay in power could have succeeded. But this act of radical love for the country and our democracy was among the confluence that empowered people to fight in EDSA and many parts of the Philippines through the bloodless People Power Revolution.
Ordinary people from all walks of life soldiered on, armed with only their rosaries, flowers, prayers, smiles and love they shared with the soldiers manning the tank that could have killed the people demonstrating against Marcos. Radical love for the country and our democracy.
Where are the heroes of Comelec in this generation, as our nation again faces crossroads?
The intervening reality this time is the use of fake news and malicious disinformation to erase the history of the Marcos family’s transgressions against the Philippines, and the strategic rebranding of the Marcos brand by hiring Cambridge Analytica.
This is part of the strategy to reclaim power, protect their family’s ill-gotten wealth, and save themselves from paying the price of their abuses, while at the same time, looking like they are the heroes and those who courageously fought to protect our democracy the villains.
The red flags are again up in the air, trying to reveal the truth to the Filipino people as the May 9, 2022 election draws near.
The Marcos family claims to “unite” the country by bringing together past and present leaders who have been convicted of crimes against the country, hiding the truth with their cloak of lies and deception.
The son of the dictator who is now running to be president has been deceiving the country and robbing the people of the truth that is important for the electorate to make an informed conscientious decision with his lies — shamelessly claiming again to have graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Oxford University and Wharton for postgraduate studies, declaring ownership of the Windmill project from conception to execution, bragging that he paid his taxes dutifully even when he had a conviction from the Regional Trial Court for tax evasion and should, in fact, have been imprisoned and banned from ever running for public office again — a law that his own father enacted.
Bongbong Marcos’ disqualification case had been brought up to the Comelec for a decision, and the outgoing Commissioner Rowena Guanzon had to make public her dissenting opinion to protect the integrity of our elections. True to what Guanzon warned the people about, the Comelec leadership was just waiting for her to retire on February 2 before releasing the majority decision to allow Marcos to run, disregarding her dissenting opinion.
The lesson from the Comelec decision? There is no moral turpitude when Bongbong failed to pay his taxes for years even when he was a sitting governor of Ilocos Norte. Is Bongbong Marcos above the law? So can we not pay taxes anymore, Filipino people?
Is it ok to misrepresent one’s qualifications and history to deceive people?
Is it ok for Bongbong Marcos to skip debates which should be an important tool for people to compare and contrast candidates and fact check them for lies and disinformation right there and then? What is Bongbong hiding?
Is it ok for Comelec to deny people of their right of expression in supporting Leni Robredo by demolishing and destroying their posters, billboards and tarps in their own private properties?
Is it ok for Comelec to favor one candidate over the others? Is that in the best interest of the Filipino people according to the spirit of the law in the Constitution?
Unfortunately, there are people in Comelec, as there had been a generation ago, who were tactically appointed to positions of leadership by the very people who wanted to continue to hold on to power, especially with the Duterte-Marcos unholy alliances, sealed by the running of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter Sara Duterte as Marcos’ running mate.
The Philippines’ democracy is at stake. What will happen to the integrity of our elections in May? Where are the heroes of Comelec?
The right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy. The sacred exercise of this right is how the citizens of the country claim their Constitutional power to decide the direction the country should be heading and to choose the Captain who will steer the country in the right direction.
It is therefore important that the government ensures the integrity of the elections so that they will truly reflect the will of the people. All the branches of government — the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary — should faithfully fulfill their Constitutional obligation of checks and balances to make sure that no individual or institution will abuse its power and betray the people’s trust to manipulate the electoral process and disregard the will of the people for their own personal evil agenda.
The Fourth Estate — the free, independent press — should serve its purpose to be the watchdog of the government without fear and intimidation from or connivance with government institutions, candidates, political parties or special interests that maliciously wants to rob the people of their power.
Finally, and most importantly, the citizens of the country should proactively and diligently guard, not only their sacred individual votes, but the whole election process itself. Regardless of their political affiliation or stance, they should demand transparency and accountability from government, especially from the Commission on Elections.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at [email protected], or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.
