Protecting the integrity of elections

TWO significant events happened last Feb. 2 involving the Commission on Elections (Comelec). First was the turnover ceremony at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) where ranking Comelec officials deposited the source codes of the automated election system for the May 9 national and local polls. Second was the retirement ceremony for three Comelec commissioners at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

These ceremonies were preceded by the signing of an escrow agreement last Jan. 31 between the BSP and the Comelec guaranteeing that the BSP’s vault assigned to the two security boxes containing the source codes is secured by a series of metal locks and combination codes. Meanwhile, the keys to the locks as well as the combination codes are under the sole custody of Comelec officials.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said this is the fifth election since 2010 that the source codes are being kept by the central bank. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez explained that the turnover was a key element in protecting the integrity and credibility of the 2022 elections, which are being questioned amid a bitter feud between two Comelec commissioners that exploded last week.

I’m referring to the intramurals within the Comelec’s First Division regarding the disqualification cases against presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. A week before her retirement, then presiding Commissioner Rowena Guanzon disclosed that she voted to approve the petitions seeking to disqualify Mr. Marcos. She alleged that a Senator has been interfering with the release of Commissioner Aimee Ferolino’s resolution of the consolidated Marcos cases.

Ms. Guanzon is now retired along with Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas and Commissioner Antonio Kho, Jr. There were no fireworks during the solemn ceremony despite the presence of both feuding officials. In her speech, Ms. Ferolino reportedly thanked the three senior commissioners for their service to the public.

But the electorate is uneasy over the unresolved cases that pose doubts on the outcome of the most crucial presidential contest since the snap election of 1986. Over the past few days, this has been the subject of speculation in the business community as gleaned from conversations in Viber chat groups and during Zoom meetings. Next week will be the start of the official campaign period for all national elective positions and the political temperature is expected to heat up further.

On the local front, another disqualification case was filed against former Pasig City Mayor Maria Belen Andaya-Eusebio, who is running again for a congressional post in Camarines Sur (CamSur) even though she is not a resident of that province. In 2019, the Comelec rejected her request for the transfer of her voter registration from Pasig to the municipality of Libmanan on the ground of misrepresentation, thus preventing her candidacy for CamSur’s third legislative district.

This time, she wants to represent the first legislative district of CamSur by transferring her registration record from Pasig City to the municipality of Ragay. It was granted by the Comelec’s Election Registration Board, which enabled her to file a certificate of candidacy (COC) last Nov. 15 – way beyond the COC filing deadline on Oct. 8.

One of her relatives, Anthony Horibata, petitioned the Comelec to cancel Ms. Eusebio’s COC in which she declared that she has been a resident of Ragay in the last 27 years. Given the indisputable fact that she held the mayoralty post in Pasig from 2013 to 2016, this was clearly not possible unless she possesses the gift of teleportation.

Under the Constitution, one of the provisions pertaining to eligibility for congressional district representatives is that the candidate must be a resident of such district for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the elections.

Mr. Horibata pointed out that Ms. Eusebio has been living in Pasig City with her husband, former Mayor Robert Eusebio, through all these years. He even cited her recent social media posts showing her being administered COVID-19 vaccines in Pasig as well as her relief operations and gift-giving programs in that city. How was she able to register as a voter in CamSur?

As with the Marcos cases, such a disqualification issue must be resolved immediately by the Comelec if it is truly committed to its mandate of ensuring fair and credible elections. So much is at stake in the May 2022 polls, and with three months to go, businessmen are anxiously waiting for the results that will definitely make a great impact on the economy in the next six years.

J. Albert Gamboa is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and chairman of the FINEX Media Affairs Committee. The opinion expressed herein does not necessarily reflect the views of these institutions and BusinessWorld. #FinexPhils www.finex.org.ph