Bro Eddie: Create elections truth commission

MANILA, Philippines – Defeated senatorial candidate Eddie Villanueva has asked the Aquino government to create an “elections truth commission” to investigate reported irregularities in the recently-concluded automated polls.

In a statement released on Wednesday, May 22, Villanueva said that this commission will probe the automated election system, which he said was “plagued by numerous technical glitches and might have disenfranchised millions of voters.”

“A truth commission is the perfect venue to let the truth about the errors and the glitches in the last elections come out. The hallmark of a strong democracy is clean, fair and, most of all, error-free elections that reflect and not subvert the will of the people,” Villanueva said.

Among the concerns raised after the May 13 polls was the slow transmission of results. Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr admitted that some “technical problems” have hampered the transmission of results, but he refused to disclose these problems to avoid blowing these out of proportion. 

Watchdogs, like the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections, said this opened windowns to tampering compact flash (CF) cards to cheat. 

Brillantes also admitted they found some CF cards that were damaged, and the poll body wasn’t sure if these were “naturally corrupt or deliberately corrupted.”

He explained that truth commissions were utilized by some nations to investigate the wrongdoings of previous governments and to resolve conflicts. It could serve the same purpose here, he said.

“Comelec must ensure these glitches do not occur in the next elections, since the 2016 elections are presidential elections. The country’s future is at stake,” said Villanueva.

Villanueva clarified that he is not anymore interested in contesting the results of the elections. In the official canvass of votes, Villanueva obtained 6,868,774 votes, which put him in 19th place. – Rappler.com