Kontra Daya and HALAL out to stop electoral fraud!

Here are 3 Tally sites for updates on National results:

Inquirer Election 2007 Tally, click on reload to get the latest uploaded data. Local tally in PDF format, also updated on regular basis.

Zamboanga Namfrel national and local tally.

ABS-CBN Halalan 2007 Tally site.

This is one site where one can see the actual number of registered voters per province broken down to cities and municipalities courtesy of Inquirer.

Never have I seen a proliferation of vigilant groups with numbing numbers of volunteers who will risk life and limbs to guard, protect and monitor the outcome of the election. Rightly so it just makes sense that there will be organizations that will mushroom out of this when you are in an environment where mistrust seems to be the order of the day. I will take this anytime than those apathetic segments that has been numbed and so used to fraudulence that it has become an accepted practice than an aberration.

I am reminded of an article by Roberto Verzola of Halalan Marangal titled Punish the Cheats. In said article he specifically debunked the technological backwardness of the manual method employed that is not the problem or computerization as a solution in the electoral fraud because it was clearly a moral problem. A moral degeneration with equally immoral justice system that refuses to prosecute the culprits and until the scalawags are punished sent to jail and barred from holding elective or appointed positions we will be in a vicious cycle. How else can you explain a party list headed by a rapist or a garci running for a tongressional seat wherein his first order of business was to assail those “behind” or responsible for the scandal he brought himself through the libel immune privilege spits errrr speech.

All indications seems to point to a massive fraud with Kalahi a party list whose nominee is the son of Davao political mob boss errr kingpin reportedly distributing insurance cards signed by no less than the President and despicable errr speaker of the house is just so revolting. Hopefully this new evidence (above picture) from Bayan Muna in Davao will prosper in a case that will be lodge against the culprits of these unethical practice.

What about USEC. Ed Soliman, Asec Batarra, and Director Melvin Mitra identified as the fixers in the “Party-list for Sale?” you tube video? We have never heard any investigation or inquiry if ever the allegations raised against them were true or not. Something is really wrong with our “authorities” who seems so busy opening their loud mouth at offering nothing but rationalization and praise releases that you don’t even know if they are conducting any investigations at all.

With all these shenanigans going on we should be glad we have organization like Kontra Daya and HALAL willing to slug it out amidst a very risky and dangerous environment monitoring fraud in fraudulent prone electoral process. Kontra Daya has come up with the following plan of action:

· EXPOSE ELECTION FAUD and VIOLENCE through KONTRA DAYA HOTLINE @ 442-0940 & 0927-906-0693 or email at kontradaya2007@yahoo.com.

· KONTRA DAYA’S RUNNING ACCOUNT AND ELECTION MONITOR

· Monitor election conduct (fraud and violence)

· Monitor Comelec and Namfrel,

· Dispatch a team for the International Observers Mission in Makati

· Post regular updates or running accounts on its Kontra Daya blog

· Give media briefings on urgent cases of fraud

· Dispatch quick reaction teams to areas of fraud and violence

· Issue initial statement 24 hours after start of elections

· Issue initial post-election report 48 hours after May 14.

Meanwhile, HALAL (Halalang Marangal) a non-profit, non-partisan consortium of groups and individuals with convenors former Senator Wigberto Tañada, General Francisco Gudani (ret.), former COMELEC Commissioner Mehol Sadain, former St. Scholastica's College president Sr. Mary John Manansan, 2004 TOYM awardee Atty. Ma. Paz Luna, PRRM senior vice-president Isagani Serrano, and Philippine Greens Institute Executive Director Roberto Verzola has come up with a database. Inspired by MobileActive a global network of activists and campaigners using mobile phones for civic action and engagement they have created and set up a site for downloadable database. The Philippines has a big number of cell phone users and this can be a potent tool to achieve transparency in our electoral process using SMS/Text Messaging in conjunction with the database they have set up will hopefully help in having a transparent electoral process. The key to their success will rely on the number of election watchers they can field at the precint level to conduct a citizens' audit of Philippine election. To test the validity of the outcome of the vote tallies they will need their members and organizational partners spreading out on a precint level.

These watchers will observe the precint canvassing and send the results by text/SMS to HALAL’s database of precint results. This database will be made accessible to the public by text/SMS (individual precinct results) and by download over the Internet (precinct results or the entire database). This is very encouraging if used properly will, and with people cooperating and learning how to work as a team has a better chance of thwarting those who will subvert the will of the people. Technology at work and utilizing them to the fullest will truly make a dent in this fraudulent prone electoral contest. The database will help and enable properly equipped citizens to conduct an on the spot audit by comparing what they physically see on the tally board comparing them with downloaded precinct level database results and computing the total votes per candidate themselves. Using HALAL’s database and what they physically tallied citizens can audit the official results at the municipal, provincial and national levels.

It was evident that voting wisely is not enough if we based it on our last scandal marred election where La Gloria is heard like a “supervisor” (micromanaging is giving her too much credit for an act that is wantonly wrong from all angles) with Garci. Vigilance is a must but it becomes an empty rhetoric if there is not sensible plan action or where there are no specific roles assigned to monitors and volunteers. HALAL’s approach which unfortunately was not accredited by the Comelec does not really come as a surprise owing to the commisioners questionable or poor judgment on obvious issues such as the ridiculous non disclosure of party list nominees. HALAL's approach are measurable and verifiable with a good number of volunteers having the proper equipment will give us a much clearer picture on how this election will come down to...... a repeat of the last 2004 election that will mark the lowest of the low or a start of a new beginning on how a vigilant technological savvy people can thwart fraudulent and cheating scums of the earth.