Preparen, Apunten, Fuego!

Commentary
By Ado Paglinawan

The more logical measure is not to abolish the SK and the barangays but abolish the Comelec.

Comelec has centralized the corruption of our electoral system.

What do we need a Comelec for when tallying the provincial inputs has only served as another step to dagdag-bawas from provincial to national? In fact during the last elections, the peoples votes were not counted. The Comelec merely pushed pre-programmed national election returns from as early as the municipalities.

In fact let us just decentralized the canvass to the precinct level where the people can immediately do a check and balance on the turnout of the votes.

From there, the tallied figures can be “deposited” in an automated system, say like using an existing trusted automated system to work its way up to municipal, district, provincial and national.

The existing facilities can be provided by the banking industry.

During the 1986 snap elections, I had access to the Operation Quick Count of the Cory Aquino for President Movement. We automated the process using the facilities of the Bank of Philippine Islands. We used the artificial intelligence that was already intrinsic in their ATM system.

Our central receiving server was located at the old Makati Stock Exchange building at the corner of Ayala and Makati avenues. Melvin Martin set it up.

In less than week, we already knew Marcos won the close national count. As a result, we were able to strategize our moves following the elections way ahead of the Comelec that was still massaging the results as they find their way up from the municipalities.

This assisted the putchists (Enrile and Ramos) to make up their minds to guide the defection of the military forces.

The rest was Godsent, and now part of our history. The revolution was just propaganda because what happened was just a simple power grab that convinced the Americans to shift their support from one power to another.

But without our OQC, the next organized count belonged to the Comelec that was clearly on the side of the incumbent president. Without our OQC, he would have been more steps ahead of us.

Informed way ahead, we were better equipped to flex strategies and make bold irreversible decisions.

Do you think Marcos would stonewall if he had the crucial information ahead? Do you think Enrile and Ramos would side with Cory Aquino, if Marcos offered them an olive leaf?

Isn’t it amazing to know that Marcos was beat by a ragtag army of techie prototypes powered only by common sense?

This, our present Comelec, from Chairman Brillantes to his cheating dilapidated machines, does not have.

And never can hubris, enabled by corruption, serve any common good.

Abolish the Comelec. Line up its officials against the wall.

Preparen. Apunten. Fuego!

Alas can true reform inhabit our electoral system!