MANILA, Philippines – United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) campaign manager Toby Tiangco on Tuesday, May 14, urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explain why election results for this year are coming in more slowly than in 2010.

In a press conference, he said the turnout percentage they are getting a day after the May 13 elections is the same as what Rappler has in its mirror server, a number comparatively lower than the percentage already available by midnight during the 2010 presidential elections.

Other than Rappler, dominant minority UNA is also connected to the Comelec server, along with the dominant majority (Liberal Party) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

He wanted the electoral body to answer to two concerns.

“First, I think what Comelec has to do is to at least give a statement from James Jimenez on why we are slower this time. Isn’t it normal that if it’s the second time you’ve done [something], you must be faster? So why did we slow down now? How are they going to do the 48-hour proclamation if we’re slow?” Tiangco said in Filipino.

Comelec, he added, should also explain where the 30% that has yet to be transmitted is.

Read: Coincidence? Transmission glitches in Garci boys’ areas

“We don’t want to speculate, that’s why being transparent is the best thing,” Tiangco said. He added that while a delay of results should demand an explanation, being too fast is not good either, referring to PPCRV’s mistake yesterday.

Read: PPCRV blames ‘scripting error’ for bloated initial count

In a press conference, Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes Jr attributed the transmission delays to poor signals.

He also said it will take longer for the Comelec to finalize its official count, because it follows a “ladderized” system. Under this system, election results will pass through two servers – the city or municipal canvassing server and the provincial canvassing server – before it reaches the national board of canvassers. (Watch more in the video below.)

Only the national board, composed of the Comelec en banc, can finalize the tallies for senators and party-list groups.  

‘No planning until official results’

Nancy Binay, who is placing 5th in the partial unofficial results, said she wants to wait for official results from the Comelec before really planning her next move.

But she said her solid placing in the senatorial race is a validation of the voters’ appreciation of the Binay family’s public service.

“I guess my service should be the same brand — or more — as my father’s. Tuloy-tuloy lang ‘yung serbisyong Binay (The Binay kind of service will continue).”

If proclaimed senator, she plans to focus on children’s welfare and housing. “I would focus more on children’s welfare — I will prioritize it. Of course, housing too, as it is also close to my heart because when my father won [as Vice President] I tagged along whenever he’d work,” she said in Filipino.

More attacks until 2016

All throughout her campaign period, Binay was subjected to public scrutiny, even over social media, because of her track record and skin color, among others. Binay, however, said this is just the beginning.

“I expect it [to continue] ‘til 2016. This is just the beginning, and I am preparing for more attacks — not just on me but also on my family,” she said.

Tiangco also defended her. “She has been compared to other candidates [who have] relatives in politics. But she showed her platform and what she can do. She campaigned really hard.”

“She wouldn’t be as high as number 5 if it were purely on the popularity and trust-rating of the Vice President because it is not [him] that is a candidate,” he added.

‘Binay is the next President’

Tiangco and Binay agreed that UNA campaigned as a team more than Team PNoy did, and that the bond among the UNA bets during the 90-day campaign period will go beyond the elections.

They are hopeful that the 9-3 status is not yet final. For Vice President Binay, the number of UNA bets in the top 12 could still go as high as 6, while Tiangco and Nancy hope for 5 and 4, respectively.

Tiangco dismissed projections that this election is a prelude to 2016. “The Vice President is not running against [PNoy] and the President is not running against the Vice President.”

He also explained that whoever the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party may be, people will not base their voting on how many senatorial bets in a political party made it to the top 12, but on what the candidates can do to help the common man.

When asked if the Vice President is someone to watch for in 2016, Tiangco said, “He is not a strong contender [in the 2016 elections] — he is the next President of the Philippines.” – Rappler.com

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Feeling nostalgic? Watch how the May 13 elections unfold through Rappler’s hourly #PHvote livestreams:

• PHvote | May 13, 2013 (6am-12nn)
• PHvote | May 13, 2013 (12nn-6pm)