REGARDLESS of how we assess the results of the elections, especially to those who lost or bore the brunt of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) vigilance, the men and women behind the poll body deserve commendation.
The Comelec did a good job ensuring that the elections were orderly and smooth-sailing despite some reports of counting machines conking out and accusations of “dagdag-bawas” or vote-shaving.
The poll body went gung-ho against candidates flouting election laws by dishing out a raft of show-cause orders and disqualification cases.
It filed at least 20 disqualification cases against candidates suspected of vote-buying and 50 more for allegedly violating the law on campaign posters and materials.
At least 158 complaints were received by the election body involving alleged vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources.
‘Amid all these robust ‘resibo’ or proofs of how the Comelec performed its duties while delivering on its constitutional mandate – a mandate that costs us some P35.47 billion in the form of their budget – the recent elections were their finest hour.’
In the maiden launch of its “Task Force Baklas,” the Comelec displayed tenacity in calling out candidates whose campaign posters were deemed illegal and were not in the right places.
Comelec Resolution 11111 explicitly bans the posting of campaign materials or election propaganda on plants, trees, flowering plants, and shrubs in public spaces such as roads, plazas, parks and school premises.
All the illegal campaign materials that were removed from the hapless trees will be donated for recycling, according to the poll body.
Candidates who misbehaved and uttered inappropriate remarks also did not escape the “wrath” of Comelec.
Even before the first vote was cast, the Comelec disqualified a Pasig congressional bet for his sexually-charged joke on single mothers and alleged body-shaming of a former aide.
In Misamis Oriental, a re-electionist governor was issued a show cause order for announcing that the capitol’s nursing scholarship will be limited to “beautiful women” only because male patients could not bear the sight of ugly nurses.
The same candidate had also slurred Maranao candidates for allegedly being troublemakers, therefore, they should not be voted into office.
A day after the elections, the Comelec en banc ordered the suspension of the proclamation of 19 candidates due to their pending cases.
The Comelec also created a Committee on Kontra Bigay to track incidents of vote-buying.
The Kontra Bigay team, on the weekend following last Monday’s voting, received over 600 cases of vote buying and abuse of state resources.
The poll body has until June 30 to resolve disqualification petitions and could suspend the proclamation of winning candidates with pending cases regardless of the grounds.
Amid all these robust “resibo” or proofs of how the Comelec performed its duties while delivering on its constitutional mandate – a mandate that costs us some P35.47 billion in the form of their budget – the recent elections were their finest hour.
