Batas Mauricio .
I CAN understand and relate with the expressed hesitation of the Commission on Elections (or Comelec) to run after and hold accountable the senatorial and party-list (and even local) candidates in the May 2019 elections who have put up campaign posters even before the official start of the campaign period.
And I can only agree, as stated by Comelec spokesman, Director James Jimenez, that no good nor benefit will be given the poll body if they decide to still pursue the candidates who engaged on premature campaigning with their very visible posters and tarpaulin signs.
What is even more undeniable is the fact that the Comelec really has no ability to scour the whole country for these violations by national and local candidates. Indeed, this will only give rise to the bigger problem of more erring politicians being enticed to violate campaign rules even more, as they now know they can’t be held accountable anyway, because of Comelec’s lack of capability to pursue them.
The Comelec should leave no stone unturned in ensuring clean and honest elections, where the results will reflect the true will of the people who expressed their choice through the ballot.
As of now, many have adopted the thought that Comelec itself is the ultimate source and a fertile breeding ground for dishonest elections. Yes, we can no longer fault our people for thinking that cheating occurs because, somehow, anomalies in the electoral process have either the blessings or the direct participation of the Comelec.
Many are in fact saying that the machines that are being used, or have been used in the computerized voting in the country, can truly manipulate the results to favor candidates who are in the good side of those who are in control of those machines.
That is why many are asking that the computerized voting in the May 2019 elections be shelved because, they say, the company that ran the previous elections with its computers has yet to clear itself over accusations of cheating. Many have even come to thinking that there are quarters in the Duterte government which want to use computerized voting machines even now, because they themselves want to benefit from it.
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It is true that if Leni Robredo will remain as vice president until 2022, the Liberal Party (LP) will have no other choice but to field her as its candidate for president during that year’s presidential elections.
As the highest ranking LP member, Robredo will surely find herself being pushed by her allies to aspire for the presidency.
The best example of this is then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Because she was the vice president when former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada was ousted, Gloria was installed as president of the country. Because she was the highestanking member of the party then, they pushed for her candidacy in 2004.
In the 2022 presidential elections, however, we expect other big names who are newbies in politics but who already have a huge following to emerge as presidential contenders, such as Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio. It cannot be denied that as early as now, these new politicians are now preparing for the presidency, just like what Leni Robredo and the LP are doing. I hope that God’s chosen candidate will prevail!
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