COMELEC declared Failure of Election in Maguindanao this Wednesday, June 6 while it proclaimed 10 out of 12 winning senatorial candidates.
The Maguindanao votes are very controversial because they can make a difference in who will be the 12th winning senatorial candidate – GO’s Koko Pimentel or TU’s Migz Zubiri.
According to COMELEC, there is a failure of election because there are no municipal certificates of canvass and statements of votes.
Pimentel wants the Maguindanao votes to be excluded from the count while Zubiri claims that that would effectively disenfranchise the people of Maguindanao.
The COMELEC’s action is very problematical. How can there be a failure of election when the COMELEC had already proclaimed Maguindanao’s governor, congressman, mayors and other local officials?
It is indeed illogical that the province’s election results for governor, congressman, mayors, etc. are valid yet the results for the Senate are not. (Actually, in practice, this is very possible; but, in theory, it is not logical.)
Since COMELEC cannot “un-proclaim” the local candidates, it should not be able to call the May 14 election in the province a failure.
Surely, there are ways to ascertain the real votes other than from the certificates of canvass. There are the Election Returns or PPCRV’s certificates of votes. Failing that, one can always go back to the real McCoy – the ballots themselves. A ballot recount for one province cannot be that expensive or difficult. It is easier and cheaper and more logical than holding another election.
In the Gore-Bush presidential elections, there was a ballot recount in some districts in Florida.
Whatever happens, the culprit here are the COMELEC and the GOVERNMENT. It is incumbent upon the government to FIRE all those responsible – the municipal, district and provincial boards of canvassers; namely, the election supervisors or registrars, the fiscals and the schools superintendents. These people should be dismissed from government service on the grounds of corruption, negligence of duty, incompetence, etc. And most importantly, COMELEC should admit culpability and urge the Commissioner in charge of Maguindanao to resign immediately.
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OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
December 3, 1985
ARTICLE I.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 6. Failure of election. - If, on account of force majeure, violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes the election in any polling place has not been held on the date fixed, or had been suspended before the hour fixed by law for the closing of the voting, or after the voting and during the preparation and the transmission of the election returns or in the custody or canvass thereof, such election results in a failure to elect, and in any of such cases the failure or suspension of election would affect the result of the election, the Commission shall, on the basis of a verified petition by any interested party and after due notice and hearing, call for the holding or continuation of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect on a date reasonably close to the date of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect but not later than thirty days after the cessation of the cause of such postponement or suspension of the election or failure to elect.
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