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Failing the People
Quezon City (May 21, 2019) - – Social movements against Charter Change are
deeply alarmed that winners are declared for senator and partylist despite many
irregularities documented in the 2019 midterm elections, including in vote
counting and canvassing.
COMELEC
has been amiss in explaining these irregularities in full detail and with
transparency, and has not directly challenged overt vote-buying nor the
President’s public statement that coax the Filipino masses to accept
vote-buying as the norm during elections.
As
a result, we believe that the way this election was conducted has tarnished the
integrity and credibility of this democratic process. The election is a pivotal
exercise that determines the direction and mode of political and economic development
in our country. This newly-elected set
of national legislators and local officials will be critical in advancing the
shift to a federal form of government by the Duterte administration through
Charter Change (ChaCha).
Given
the pronouncements during the campaign period of the declared winners, the
overwhelming majority of them favor the shift to a federal constitution,
clearly prioritizing the interests of foreign investors and the elite over the
oppressed majority. They sing the same tune as former President Gloria Arroyo,
who only yesterday was asking the Senate to fast-track ChaCha. Given the track record of Hugpong ng
Pagbabago senators, including the co-ownership of mining companies by Senator
Cynthia Villar’s family, the brokering by Angara family of economic zone
accused of land-grabbing by farmers and indigenous peoples, they will not
hesitate to remove the 40% limit to foreign ownership of corporations
undertaking exploration of our natural resources.
Most
likely, this incoming Congress will also
support the Duterte administration’s kill policies – the death penalty,
lowering of the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility, extension and expansion
of Martial Law and the continuation of the war on drugs. KALIPUNAN resolves to fight and reject these
anti-poor and anti-people policies.
As
this electoral process is crucial, and hands the future of the most
marginalized among us in the hands of winning politicians leaning towards
Charter Change and kill policies, the electoral process must first be beyond
reproach.
The
COMELEC must investigate and explain the irregularities that happened surrounding
the elections, including evidences of pre-shading of ballots, intimidation of
local governments, uncounted votes of partylists in numerous precincts, the
lack of transparency, the failure of Voting Registration Machines (VRMs), the
conking out of Vote Counting Machines (VCMs), the lack of ballot marking pens
that are used to blot the ballot, rendering these as spoiled votes. Other
issues are still being elevated to the court such as the choice of a
Duterte-allied party to be the dominant minority party for monitoring.
We
support the call of the Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting (PPCRV)
and the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), for the COMELEC to open all
recording devices related to the Transparency Server to all stakeholders. We also share the belief that involving as
many stakeholders as possible to observe the transparency server can only
enhance the integrity of this election. COMELEC
must act immediately, and must not allow itself to be abused by fascist
tendencies of an administration that plans to install a constitutional
dictatorship. (By Jean Enrique)
In
Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement
Kalipunan
ng mga Kilusang Masa
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