Jail electoral saboteurs, ‘Inshallah’
Observing due process, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) targets to prosecute and convict the first-ever electoral sabotage case before our country holds the next presidential election in May 2028. The Comelec, headed by Chairman George Erwin Garcia, vowed to do this in a bid to send a chilling effect and deterrence to those who are already planning this early how to thwart the will of the people in the next elections.
In particular, the Comelec has been working on the electoral sabotage case from the just concluded Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary elections, Garcia announced.
Garcia previously declared the entire BARMM Parliamentary elections held last Sept.14 generally successful and peaceful. The maiden BARMM Parliamentary elections were done and completed at the five BARMM provinces, namely Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi, and at the three chartered cities of Lamitan (Basilan), Marawi (Lanao del Sur) and Cotabato City (Cotabato).
Admittedly, the Comelec chairman reiterated, the BARMM Parliament elections were “not perfect.” There were shooting incidents and an improvised explosive device blast in Cotabato City that left three people dead and at least 15 others wounded. But Garcia insisted these were “isolated” incidents only. And an election cheating attempt that the Comelec was able to stop from taking place in the coastal municipality of Maluso in Basilan, Garcia conceded.
These prompted the Comelec en banc decision to place the two areas under the poll body’s control on election day itself. Nonetheless, Garcia underscored these unwanted events did not cause failure of elections in any area in the BARMM.
Two weeks later, Garcia reported to us at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum that as many as 16 government officials involved in the pre-shading of ballots in Maluso are currently under investigation at the Intramuros head office of the Comelec. He refused to identify them as of now while the case still remains under investigation. Once completed, he reassured us, charges will be filed directly in the courts.
Garcia merely described the accused individuals as mostly Comelec officials from the regional down to the municipal level and their counterparts in the local government unit and police force, and they are being made to submit their explanations at this stage.
The act was flagged as a severe election offense, potentially rising to the level of electoral sabotage. Electoral sabotage is a very serious criminal offense punishable by the maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted. Under Section 24 (d) of the 1987 Omnibus Election Code, Garcia cited, tampering with the Comelec’s official ballots is one of the “prohibited acts.” It is also punishable with perpetual disqualification from holding public office in appointive and elective positions and a fine, the amount of which will be set by the court.
“Within a year, there is already a determination of who will be charged (for electoral sabotage),” Garcia vowed.
Garcia narrated he and the six other Comelec commissioners were all in Cotabato City to supervise the BARMM elections when they received a field report early night of Sept.13 from one of the composite Special Task Forces organized by the Comelec for the BARMM Parliament polls. With police and military personnel as members of the task force, they were tipped off about unusual activities and presence of suspicious-looking people. That Sunday night on the eve of the BARMM elections, the Comelec special task force swooped down and raided the municipal building of Maluso where pre-shaded ballots were discovered.
Unfortunately, Garcia noted, the raid of the task force was pre-empted when the suspects directly involved in the “pre-shading” were able to scamper away. Apparently also tipped off about the raid, no one was caught in the act but the raiding team was able to recover official Comelec ballots that were already “pre-shaded,” allegedly in favor of certain candidates in the BARMM Parliamentary polls.
Based on documentation and the chain of custody, the Comelec chairman noted that the ballots were kept in the local government’s treasurer’s office before being distributed to the polling precincts. “That’s an election offense, at the same time we will look into whether we can classify what happened as electoral sabotage, which is a non-bailable offense,” Garcia stressed.
“As to who did the pre-shading we already know as well as the details,” Garcia cryptically pointed out. A constitutional law professor and a former College of Law dean, Garcia did not discount the possibility the Comelec might be able to establish a “conspiracy” indirectly or directly of those involved in this electoral sabotage case.
The Comelec determined as many as 36 of the 68 precincts in Maluso were “compromised.” Garcia immediately halted the use of about 16,563 ballots already pre-shaded before they could be distributed to voters. Approved by the Comelec en banc, he ordered an “emergency reprinting” of ballots in Maluso and asked the National Printing Office for its delivery within 24 hours.
Although it delayed the voting in the affected areas in Maluso, Garcia heaved a sigh of relief that it was only for a few hours. Voting was suspended until replacement ballots were airlifted, verified by the Comelec and delivered safely to all the 36 affected polling precincts in Maluso.
To those who were involved in the pre-shading of the ballots, the Comelec chief sternly warned, “We will not forgive you regardless of your position.”
By God’s grace, our Comelec will finally send to jail electoral saboteurs who try to mangle our right of suffrage to vote for our chosen political candidates. As many politicians love to quote the Latin phrase vox populi, vox Dei – the voice of the people is the voice of God.
Our Muslim brothers and sisters often invoke the words of the prophet Mohammad: “Inshallah.” Or literally translated, “If God wills” or “God willing.”
For now, we will hold our breath until such time when the Comelec finally is able to jail election saboteurs.
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