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Basic to a democratic country is the principle of people's
direct participation in the political life of the nation,
particularly in the choice of men and women to manage the
affairs of government. Toward this end, democratic governments
have always put up as part of their institution-building a
specific agency that assumes the responsibility of insuring
the people's participation in activities that require their
involvement. In our case, as with the United States, the agency
so saddled is called the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Through
the years, since the time we were made a Commonwealth in 1935
preparatory to becoming an independent republic in July 4,
1946, the Comelec was formed by the then National Assembly
as a constitutional body in accordance with the provision
of the Commonwealth Constitution. The same agency was maintained
when the Philippines became independent and republican in
1946. It was entrusted by constitutional fiat, with the responsibility
of managing national elections, and enfranchising Filipinos
as voters.
The
Comelec has always been a respected agency that governs the
conduct of elections in the Philippines. During the Commonwealth
years, there were hardly any heated controversies as we have
now among the national and local candidates.
Although results of national elections suffered from lack
of faster means of communication than the telegraph offices
that sent messages through "dots and dashes", the
local ones were almost always known by dawn the next day,
with the losing ones conceding immediately.
I
remember waking up at dawn to the raucous shouts of the followers
of the winning mayoral candidate riding in cargo trucks and
going round and round the town proclaiming the victory of
their candidates. The fight of the "anti" and "pro"
over the Tydings-Mcduffie independence law that President
Manuel Quezon and company brought back to the Philippines
in exchange for the Hare-Hawes-Cutting law that Vice President
Sergio Osmeña's mission to the US brought back, became
the bone of contention of that fight.
Of
course, there was practically no difference in the two laws,
except that the one by Osmeña would have made the latter
a strong presidential candidate against Quezon in the 1939
elections, getting the credit for eliciting the law that envisions
granting the Filipinos their independence in 1946. The Quezon
law authored by United States Senators Tydings and Mcduffie
carried the same provisions, but perhaps worded only in different
ways. That Osmeña lost in the encounter, was an early
clue of Imperial Manila's slyness.
But
we are again digressing from our main subject-the Comelec.
There is really much to be desired-and to be reformed-of the
present commission that is overseeing the elections on May
14. Perhaps, the problem is in the quality of the persons
put in as commissioners by the immediate past president and
the current one we have. Or it could be the way the last Congress
treated it, delaying the release of funds for its modernization,
and for its preparation for the recent elections.
Whatever
it was, the fact is that the canvassing of votes cast by the
people the other Monday, is still going on in many areas of
the country, including here in Cebu itself. The reason may
not be entirely the fault of the Comelec. The candidates and
their followers may have to share with the problem that led
to the delay. Whatever it is, though, the fact remains that
had the Comelec computerized as was envisioned right after
the 1998 elections was over, present delays would not have
happened.
That
there is an imperative need to revamp the Comelec and to undertake
changes in some aspects of our election laws has become a
given that the coming Congress must look into with urgency.
With the 2004 elections being a presidential one, it becomes
even more important to have dependable election facilities,
and with the commission manned by truly able and committed
officials. Perhaps, that would be the day when this country
will be able to regain the prestige it has lost in the international
community.
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