We need evidence.

Although I was expecting by now that Canvassing would start by this week, the results of the recently-concluded elections are tainted with supposed cases of electoral fraud. Starting off with the appearance of “Koala Boy” (Not Koala Bear since a lot of people are insisting that Koalas are not bears but marsupials, but I do agree with that), numerous personalities have stood up and questioned about the elections. (And so far, most of these people complaining are those who lost in the elections, but like what Mat Defensor said, even some winner complained with the system in general)

Mat Defensor and Manoling Morato claimes that a group of people approached them, offering services of electoral manipulation through either guarding the votes to not be shaved or to shave the votes of their rivals. Although when asked to identify these people who approached them, Morato particularly declined to comment, saying that all he knows is the nicknames of 2 of the 7 men that approached him. Also, Morato insisted that he could not remember their faces, because he sees a lot of people everyday. (But like what Karen Davila asked him, I don’t think you would exactly forget someone’s face, especially if the guy is offering you billions in money)

In another case, Mary Ann Susano has in her hand Compactflash cards that is said to be used in manipulating the elections. however, these cards were failed to be tested at yesterday’s hearing as they did not have a computer (or should I say, a card reader). An interesting point of argument with Susano is on how come she has at hand these Compact flash cards, that were actually used with the PCOS machines(and to think no one has the right to have in acquisition these Compactflash cards … I find this strange)

And when we talk about the Poll automation, more problems arise, from the error in the time stamps and now, the miscalculation of the total number of registered voters (the total number of registered voters is supposed to be 51 million but the machines say 254 million voters … how on earth did the total number of voters multiplied five times?). Congress grilled Smartmatic and Comelec on a number of issues regarding poll automation (and to think Congress should actually be investigating anomalies with the poll automation MONTHS before the elections, and NOT when canvassing starts off)

However, although for the past months, it has been explained that there are a million ways of manipulating the automated elections (from switching the Compactflash cards to manipulating the source code such that it “selects” which votes are to be counted), as cited by numerous interviews. However, as Gus Lagman and Teddy Locsin would put it, people may complain and all, but what is still really important is that they at least present solid evidence pertaining to the accusations.

I’m not saying that the accusations are pointless, and must be disregarded, but I personally think that people should go out and just expose these supposed people involved in such acts. In short, the names should be exposed, and the evidences should be presented right away if their accusations are true.

Otherwise, their accusations are just nothing, and electoral fraud in this year’s elections will never be proven to be true.

Oh well it’s the Philippines and the mayhem called elections.

Teddy Boy’s my boy, among other things.

This is so expected to happen. After elections,when winners have been proclaimed already, these losers would come out and cry out that they have been heavily cheated by their opponents, citing electoral fraud as the cause. But as we all know, the elections were generally fine, and I can’t see the fraud being involved, well at least for the National elections.

And here comes my favorite legislator, Rep. Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin, who heads the committee on investigating the automated elections and its”possible” anomalies behind it. And boy, he’s a man of many quotable quotes. And I’ll cite some:

1) He called the whistleblower of an alleged electoral fraud case “koala bear” because of it’s looks.

2) While “koala bear“‘s video was being viewed, he said to cut off the tape, and that it was useless.

3) On “koala bear“‘s case, he said: “don’t bring me tears; give me evidence”, which I definitely agree since I really think “koala bear” is nothing but a product of black propaganda

4) “YOU, son of a bitch!”, he furiously said to Smartmatic upon reacting it’s failure to digitally trace poll fraud.

Now, that’s the kind of politician I like. Fighting for what is right, with a kick ass attitude.

Oh, and haven’t you notice those who are complaining of electoral fraud are either 1) Hopeless candidates who can’t stand against their opponents by a mile, or 2) Traditional Politicians (in short, TraPos) who can’t accept their defeat to their political opponents? Well it points us to one thing about Philippine Politics and the sad reality of it: If you win, you have cheated, and if you lose, you were cheated upon. Why can’t the losers simply shut up for once and accept who won (of which is the reason why I look up to Gordon, Teodoro, and even the evil Villar, for conceding and throwing their support for Aquino)

————

And guess what? Rep. Pacquiao (geez, now we will all start calling him that) will start taking crash courses on public legislation in UP. A crash course in Public Governance for a week? This I got to see. And he even plans to take the UPLAE as well. Now that brings me to this question: what would people say if he actually passes the UPLAE?

But on the other hand I do commend PacMan for acknowledging his need to learn at least the basics of legislation. Not bad for a people’s champ. At least he’s willing, and has this desire to learn more.

How I wish the other showbiz politicians like Estrada, Sotto, Revilla, AND Lapid would follow the initiative made by PacMan himself.

————-

How about the Mar-Jojo showdown?

For how many days, I am tired of hearing the same “Binay leads by 800k votes over Roxas”. HELLO COMELEC. I don’t think you are updating your vote count since last week. There should be at least some change to it, you know.

Oh, and speaking of the Mar-Jojo showdown, I am somewhat accepting the fact that Mar is going to lose this battle for the following reasons:

1) The Chiz Escudero effect: the Noy-Bi endorsement made by Chiz has persuaded people to go for such. Apparently, it seems like Chiz is an influential person.

2) Mar’s wife. Yes, I’m referring to Korina Sanchez here. A lot of people don’t exactly like her, and Mar’s marriage to her somewhat pulled him down. Add also the sudden resurfacing of Korina’s former maid, who accused Korina of beating her up.

3) The Chiz logic. Well although I think of Chiz as a sly bastard for that Noy-Bi endorsement, I think his reason for such endorsement makes sense: 2 economists would not work well in politics; what is needed is an economist and a developer, hence the Noy-Bi tandem

4) Kamag-Anak, Inc. part 2? Yes I’m also speculating that since Binay is close to Aquino’s family, the Cojuangcos, maybe someone from the Cojuangco did made some manipulations in the elections in order to make Binay win. After all, there may be some electoral fraud involved, but let’s rest the case with Comelec for now.

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And when it comes to showbiz, looks like Mr. douchebag Willie Revillame is shifting sides to TV5. Now look at who’s the sore loser who can’t accept critics.

Let's get logical (Part 1)

I know that by now, Filipinos are starting to rant off about the outcome of our elections with Aquino, Estrada, and Villar on the lead for the Presidential Race and Binay, Roxas, Legarda leading in the Vice Presidential race.

Personally speaking, I am quite disappointed with the results for the presidential and vice presidential race, but after asking other people and some pondering on the electoral results, I have found some logical reasons for such outcomes.

Let’s start first with the presidential race.

Apparently, a number of Filipinos still voted for former president Joseph Estrada, despite that constitutionally speaking he is NOT legal to be seeking for reelection. Although I am quite happy that Noynoy Aquino is dominating the race, but it is still a surprise that Erap manages to place second (where I was expecting someone like Gibo Teodoro to go head-to-head with Noynoy).

The analysis? Well it is still true that Erap still has a stronghold with the masses even after he was ousted in 2001. But why still him despite the 2001 event? Well if you would compare the two People Power Revolutions, they have worked in a different context.

People Power 1 in 1986 was led by a majority, with one goal in mind: to overthrow the Marcos Dictatorship and restoring democracy, through thr leadership of Cory Aquino. So with that in mind, People Power 1 was a LEGIT revolution led by the majority of the Filipino people for a LEGIT cause.

But how about People Power 2? Was it LEGIT. My further analysis would sa it’s NOT. No I have no intentions of distoring your knowledge, but mind you, People Power 2 was led only by the elites coming from Luzon. Try asking people from Mindanao about People Power 2 and they would not associate their participation with it. And yes, the masses DID NOT went for People Power 2. That explains why there are people who would still vote for Erap. The impeachment of Erap? It was NOT legit, if you would speak of the voice of the majority. Erap was impeached by the minority (businessmen, elites). With this in mind, the REAL majority now thinks that GMA is not the legit president, hence they give their votes back to Erap, who they believe is the legit president.

How did he manage to surpass the likes of Teodoro and Gordon? Again, it’s the votes of the masses who still believe in Erap’s leadership. It’s the choice of the masses, so you cannot blame that. I do agree that both Teodoro and Gordon have a really good profile in their experience as public servants, complete with a multitude of awards and recognitions at their stake. But aside from the popularity vote, what killed them? For Gordon, it is his attitude that promoted negativity among voters that cost him his bet, plus the fact that he was not showing his cool upon realizing that he has been lagging behind, as per survey polls. How about Teodoro? What hit Teodoro so hard was that he was at the wrong party, at the wrong time. Sure he was running under the administration ticket, but the legitimacy of Arroyo, and the fact that other LAKAS members left Teodoro cost him very dearly in the elections. In short, Teodoro could have done well, if he had good and reliable allies.

But how about Villar?

Well there are many reasons for Erap surpassing Villar, but the ultimate game changer(s) to this are 1) When Erap criticized Villar on using his mother as being part of his multibillion advertisements, 2) When Erap and Enrile hit Villar on the case of the PSE stock manipulation, and 3) When Risa Hontiveros filed a plunder case against Villar on the land properties in Bulacan.

And with this in mind, why Noynoy?

Well like Erap, he had the popularity vote of the masses, then add to the fact of the lineage of his parents. Although tagged as incompetent with his performance as a senator, the people believe in the potential of his leadership nonetheless, and that his platform has convinced quite well to the people.

Now if you would say that “Noynoy should not win because he is a retard blah blah” well think again. The way Noynoy reacted to accusations of him being mentally ill, depressed, and all, can be considered a factor on his rates being on top. By not reacting to these accusations and by keeping mum about them, with involved organizations and people denying such reports, he managed to get out clean from the evils of black propaganda. By proving them wrong, he managed to convince most people of his integrity, which hence, led to being the front runner for president.

Another factor of focus with Noynoy’s win is media influence. ABS-CBN’s bias over him (and yes, I’m saying this even if I am for Noynoy AND even if I’m volunteering for the said network), and the fact that his sister Kris is a media powerhouse also pushed him further to being the front runner of this electoral race.

Overall for the presidential race? The surveys said it well, and I am not surprised with the results.

UP NEXT: An analysis on what happened to the vice presidential race.

A response to "critics".

*I decided to write this post after a number of these “critics” have bashed Patricia Evangelista’s column on Dick Gordon. Prior to her article, the media has been bashed for a number of times for various reasons such as being bias, being “not credible”, and for bringing false information.

Just 7 days towards the National elections, the fight trickles down this time to not just the candidates themselves, but to their respective supporters themselves.

Frankly speaking, upon reading Patricia Evangelista’s post entitled “Right to Reply”, which contains the responses she received for posting her column on Dick Gordon, I am nothing but amazed on how these supporters would bash a well-acclaimed writer of this generation. Seriously, these critics need to understand a few things about Ms. Evangelista’s column:

1) IT IS AN OPINION COLUMN. Unlike other sections of the newspaper, opinion columns are meant to address the opinion writer’s stands regarding certain issues, so you expect such columns to be very biased. Opinion columns are not like news reports that have to be as neutral as possible.

2) STOP ACTING LIKE HYPOCRITES. In analyzing every candidate, one should see two sides: that is the good side AND the bad side of a candidate. The critics seem to fail to acknowledge the fact that Evangelista DID cite the good points about Dick Gordon (such as his accomplishments as a law student, as a mayor of Olongapo, and as a senator). In fact, I still find her column even-minded, showing the good side and the bad side of Dick Gordon, in which she was able to justify why would she not vote for Gordon.

3) DON’T ACT LIKE YOU KNOW MORE THAN HER. And this one irritates me the most. Being an aspiring journalist and writer myself, I am saddened at the fact that these critics would say that Evangelista “has become a bad writer” because of such a column. Mind you guys of her past achievements, okay? And if ever you are better than her (which I would assume is VERY impossible), then don’t bash her like you are good writers yourselves. Like what the elders would say, “marami ka pang bigas na kakainin”.

4) THE FACTS ARE TRUE AND VERIFIED. Unlike some opinion writers who have evidence based on hearsay *yes I’m referring to a certain writer here*, Evangelista has her sources right, and on the spot. Add to that, her sources are not mere hearsay, mind you, but are solid evidences that attest to Gordon’s reputation and attitude.

Sometimes, people have to think twice as they react to such columns. And to the critics: I have nothing against Gordon (nor other candidates as well); I’m just stating the good AND bad points of each candidate.

*more entries to come*

The Art of Black Propaganda.

Gossips and rumors from “haters”: CHECK.

Re-exploring the past: CHECK.

Re-opening old controversies: CHECK.

Extracting seemingly real documents: CHECK.

Tarnishing someone’s reputation: CHECK.

Welcome to the world of black propaganda. In this quest for power, people will always find means to get hold of that power. To be specific, the power to take part in one of the most highest positions in the Philippines. Yes, I am talking about the 2010 elections here in the Philippines.

As of this writing, we have just 8 days left before the automated elections, a first in a developing country like the Philippines. Frankly speaking, an immediate shift towards poll automation is a bold move made by our country. Yet, old electoral issues such as Black Propaganda still remain even with the new electoral scheme.

New systems, old policies and issues. That’s the ball game I see with the upcoming elections.

Black propaganda has been a powerful tool towards the mudslinging of opposing parties for the past few years. They have proven to discredit people running for government posts, hitting them with their past records and fabricated documents made by rivals.

And this art has been dealt with on a new level, with its new best friend: Social Media.

Yes, those Tweets you make, those Facebook wall posts you place on each other, those Livejournal / Blogspot / wordpress entries you make are breeding grounds for Black Propaganda to become stronger as it is supposed to be.

Here’s a quick rundown on some of the many Black Propaganda that has been spreading since the start of this year (sourced from an article I made a couple of days ago).

It would be remembered that a photo of a posh mansion in Salt Lake City made the rounds on social networks and email groups — and even newsdesks — early this year.

The sender alleged that Nacionalista Party standard bearer Manuel “Manny” Villar owned the said property, but it was later confirmed that the same photo was allegedly used to blackmail Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.

Weeks later, a fake document made its way on the web, alleging that Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III had been treated for a psychiatric ailment. Aquino and Fr. Carmelo “Tito” Caluag, a supposed signatory in the document, have denied the validity of the psychiatric report.

And it doesn’t stop there. Just recently, there’s the sudden appearance of Korina Sanchez’ ex-house help, who claimed that she was maltreated and deprived of wages way back in 2002. Bad words about Sanchez, wife of LP vice presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, spread through chains of email messages.

And that was just a couple of days ago. As of this writing, I have received several Blackmail messages on both my cellphone and Facebook, involving several ways of political mudslinging.

The power of the Social Media, with its ability to reach out to a lot of people, has been put into use by the makers of Black Propaganda, persuading people to vote (or not vote) for a particular candidate.

With this in mind, the art of Black Propaganda has evolved … to a more dangerous, more persuasive state.

Better watch out with your Facebook and Twitter accounts.