Comments of our Kababayans in the US on the May elections

Empowering the Filipino People
by Former president FIDEL V. RAMOS
from Manila Bulletin

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/259682/comments-our-kababayans-us-may-elections

Both chambers of Congress, acting as the National Board of Canvassers, continue to wrestle with the authenticity of the 278 certificates of canvass (CoC) from our provinces and chartered cities. In their joint session started last May 25, the Senate under its President, Juan Ponce Enrile, and the House of Representatives under Speaker Prospero Nograles approved the rules for the official canvassing of votes as a prelude to the final proclamation of the country’s next President and Vice President, presumably not later than June 15.

That first joint session, however, was punctuated by a multitude of questions on “authenticity” which called for the comparison of printed CoCs and electronically transmitted CoCs. The final ruling thereon would be determined by the joint Congressional Committee organized for that purpose. This, as the public is now witnessing on live TV, in addition to various complaints re alleged manual and/or electronic rigging, could lead to prolonged delays, particularly on the CoCs for Vice President, which position is being closely contested by Sen. Mar Roxas and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

At this juncture, with public and media attentionfocused on Congress while it proceeds with the much-debated national canvass, it is useful to report on the feelings of our Kababayans in the US – both Filipino voters living there and Filipino–Americans who are equally interested in the outcome of our new automated election system (AES) because they still consider the Philippines as their “Motherland.”

Cause for optimism

While on a 10-day trip to New York–New Jersey, Atlanta, and San Francisco last May 16-25 to attend the 60th Anniversary of my graduation from the US Military Academy (West Point Class of 1950), I had the opportunity to feel the pulse of US-based compatriots about our recently-concluded elections.

In media interviews and dialogues with Fil-Am groups, I expressed high hopes for RP’s future, citing two reasons: “First, we had a generally peaceful and credible elections; and second, the Philippines being at a very low level in terms of national performance – 105th out of 185 countries in the 2009 UN Human Development Index – the change in government leadership, under incoming President-elect Benigno Aquino III, is cause for optimism.”

Overall, there was general acclamation for the newly-introduced automated system. The New Jersey-based Filipino Times and Asian Review headed by Jack Senay, Managing Editor, headlined the 10 May elections as the “Dawn of a New Era” (May 15-22). Perry Diaz, star journalist of the Fil-Am community, was quoted in the same FTAR issue:

“Amidst all the black propaganda thrown at Noynoy Aquino, the specter of a failure of elections, and the rumored plan to cheat him and deny him the presidency, people were expecting the worst to happen. But that didn’t hinder their resolve to do their part. Instead, the looming chaos brought out the best in the Filipino people. It didn’t stop them from patiently waiting for hours at the precincts to cast their vote. And it didn’t dampen their spirits to overcome all imaginable obstacles to prevent them from exercising their constitutional right. Long lines, broken precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, brownouts, boiling summer heat, violence, vote-buying, harassment, you name it – they faced them all, unwilling to give up their sovereign right. . . In the end, the people prevailed. Their collective voice was heard loud and clear, and their steel-willed determination was felt: they want CHANGE. And CHANGE they will get. ”

Still manualized: Overseas absenteeAsian Journal, based in Los Angeles and headed by Roger Oriel as Publisher/Board chairman, editorialized: “Unlike the swift counting of votes in the first automated elections in the Philippines, tallying of Overseas Absentee Voter (OAV) ballots in the US lagged far behind… At the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, tallying of OAV votes in its jurisdiction was not completed until three days after the elections,” (May 14-20). Another article from the same publication reported: “The grueling marathon count of OAV ballots lasted for 15 hours at the Philippine Consulate General in New York City.” In the same issue, LA Vice Consul John Reyes, supervisor of OAV balloting in Southwest US, was quoted:

“We had the best of both worlds but, we were like in the twilight zone. Here was the new design and we were stuck doing the old design.”

Our voters, DFA personnel/election inspectors, and journalists based in America were hopeful that the manual system of counting votes to which our overseas electorate was subjected will be replaced by the more modern “touch-screen” system next time around.

Except for some nearby DFA offices like our Singapore Embassy and Consulate General in Hongkong, which are within small, compact and well-connected territories, our embassy and consular missions still had to perform their election functions for OFWs and Filipino expatriates on the basis of the laborious manualized system. In the US, as in most voting cluster where our OFWs are presently deployed in some 160 countries, Comelec had decided not to use automated machines due to the lack of time to install the PCOS units and train their operators.

New Beginnings (Panibagong Simula)Last May21, in Atlanta at a post-election reunion of the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, the same spirit of new optimism and upbeat hope pervaded. Present were some 120 community leaders under the leadership of our Philippine Honorary Consul Raoul “Ray” Donato who covers the Southeast US. The theme in Atlanta was: “Panibagong Simula (New Beginnings): The Philippines After the 2010 Elections.”

Indeed, the speeches, dialogues and interactions that took place manifested rising expectations. These came from a significant slice of our OFW and Fil-Am constituency in the US that had long been pummeled by lost jobs, foreclosed homes, immigration hardships, veterans’ woes, dollar depreciation, and lowered morale due to happenings at home under the PGMA Administration, and the global recession. Officers of the Atlanta Bar Association (which was the main sponsor of the PACCGA event) hailed, thru Atty. Bryan Ramos, “the impact that incoming President Benigno Aquino III will have on the Philippines, on Asia, and on RP-US bilateral relations.”

As the main speaker, I emphasized: “We have to reform many structures in the Philippine system, education for instance. There should be new jobs for workers to reduce the number of OFWs and thereby lessen the unhappiness in many Filipino families. We must look forward to seeing the Philippines in a place of respect and dignity in the community of nations.”

Philippines-US rapport

The certainty of improved Philippines-US rapport was signalled last week by US Ambassador Harry Thomas who paid a courtesy call on President-elect Benigno Aquino III at his residence on Times Street, Quezon City. Commenting on that personal visit, Director Walter Lohman of Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center said: “Incoming Philippine President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III and US President Barack Obama will have a chance to move bilateral relations a ‘notch higher. ’ The meeting was organized by Nick Zahn, director of the Washington Roundtable for the Asia-Pacific Press, the largest organization of the Asian media in the US… Lohman told Filipino journalists that Aquino and Obama have at least two important things in common: First, Aquino and Obama won clear mandates on the promise of change which sparked tremendous popular support, particularly among young voters; and second, both are 50 years-old and belong to the same new breed of leaders, which would make it easy for them to connect and foster the long-standing special relations between their two countries. ” (FilAm Star, San Francisco, May 21-27).

The assignment of US Ambassador Harry Thomas to the Philippines is, in itself, a clear indication of forthcoming warmer bilateral ties. Thomas is a savvy and senior career diplomat who has the ear of both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He was quick and smart to visit President-elect Aquino III soon after the COMELEC’s declaration of Aquino’s having been elected with a margin of about five million votes over his nearest opponent.

Wanted: A healing President

Even as Aquino III is being congratulated, many are calling on him to become a “healing President” who will unite the Filipinos so that we can expect faster growth for our country.

Said the Philippines Today, Northern California in its recent editorial (May 19-25): “We take it as a good sign for the sake of the nation. We will take it as a good gesture that the next President would be a healing and uniting President, and we pray that he be a listening President. ”

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