Comelec: We are preparing for May 9 as well as we can

MANILA, Philippines – Like a father waiting for his first child to be born.

That is how Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres Bautista summed up the mood for the May 9 national and local elections. Filipinos will elect a new president and 18,082 other new leaders in tomorrow’s polls.

“We are preparing as well as we can. What I hope to happen is whoever wins will be acceptable and respected by the people,” said Bautista.

Tomorrow’s polls will give one seat each for president and vice president; 12 for senators; 59 for party-list; 238 for members of the House of Representatives; 81 each for governors and vice governors; 776 for members of Sangguniang Panlalawigan; 1,634 each for mayor and vice mayor; 13,540 for Sangguniang Panlungsod/Pambayan; one each for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor and vice governor; and 24 for ARMM regional assemblymen. 

The Comelec said there are 44,872 candidates vying for these positions, while the number of registered voters reached 54.3 million.

Bautista noted that with the polls two days away, he feels like a father waiting for his first born to be delivered. “All I hope for is for the delivery to be fast and smooth.”

Very close contest

Mass murder advocate Rodrigo Duterte heads into tomorrow’s elections as the shock favorite, but with rivals still having a chance to counter his profanity-laced populist tirades.

Duterte, a pugnacious 71-year-old, has rocked the political establishment with cuss-filled vows to kill tens of thousands of criminals, threats to establish one-man rule if lawmakers disobey him and promises to embrace communist rebels.

He has also caused disgust in international diplomatic circles with a joke that he wanted to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary who was killed in a 1989 Philippine prison riot, and boasted repeatedly on the campaign trail about his Viagra-fueled affairs.

President Aquino, whose mother led the democracy movement that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago, has warned the nation is at risk of succumbing to another dictatorship.

But Duterte’s anti-establishment rhetoric and promises of quick fixes to deep-rooted problems have proved hypnotic for millions of Filipinos, and he heads into tomorrow’s election with an 11-percentage-point lead over his rivals, according to the latest survey.

Sen. Grace Poe, the adopted daughter of a late movie star, and establishment bedrock Mar Roxas are tied in second place. Vice President Jejomar Binay, the early favorite, has fallen to fourth place under the weight of a barrage of corruption allegations.

While Duterte, the long-time mayor of Davao City, is undeniably the favorite, he lacks the sophisticated political machinery of some of his rivals and is not guaranteed victory, according to Manila-based political analyst Earl Parreno.

Roxas, a US-educated investment banker who served as interior and transport secretaries in Aquino’s administration, is in the strongest position to challenge, Parreno, from the Institute of Political and Electoral Reforms, told AFP.

Roxas can expect a boost of about five percentage points from the machinery of the Liberal Party, which can use its money and influence to get people into voting booths, according to Parreno.

“We also still have the undecided. It’s going to be a very, very close fight, a neck and neck fight, between Duterte and Roxas,” Parreno said.

No to partisan politics 

Comelec chairman Bautista as well as Philippine National Police chief Director General Ricardo Marquez and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Of Staff Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda also reiterated their commitment not to engage in partisan politics.

Marquez told a press briefing that they have trained policemen to substitute for teachers as Board of Election Inspectors in case the teachers refuse to render poll duties because of the dangerous conditions in their respective localities.

“We have prepared long and hard for this election... We are aiming for credible elections and a smooth transition of power,” Marquez added.

On accusations that the election results might be rigged, Bautista said the Comelec has already restored all the four security features of the system.

“We have supplemented all the safeguards that are provided for under Republic Act 8436 as amended by Republic A9369, including the ultraviolet lamps, digital signatures, source code review and the vote verifiable audit trail,” he added.

Former Comelec commissioner Rene Sarmiento also noted that Monday’s elections will be one of the most highly contested presidential derbies such that the winner might end up being a minority president.

“This is a very tight contest and that adds excitement to the forthcoming elections,” he said.

Sarmiento recalled that when former Pres. Fidel Ramos won the presidential race in 1992, he garnered only 20 percent of votes, edging out firebrand candidate Miriam Defensor-Santiago with less than one million votes.

“He just won by a plurality. It was also a tight contest. And if you are a minority president, you have a lot of work to do to win allies and friends,” he added.