Trust Comelec

“Someone who thinks the world is always cheating him is right. He is missing that wonderful feeling of trust in someone or something.”

—Eric Hoffer

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF we don’t know how to trust the Commission on Elections (Comelec), we have no business participating in the normal electoral process, especially if our primary motive is to cast aspersions on this major state institution even before the election.  

It’s healthy to doubt and question something that demands logical explanation, but, sometimes, the only way to make something trustworthy is to trust it first.  

Like any other government offices, Comelec isn’t perfect. 

It has its own share of shortcomings and faults. 

If we inject malice in anything the Comelec does, including its mistakes, we will end up suspicious and cynical about everything that it does even if it is orderly and above board.

Even if Comelec will do its job well, it can still suffer from a negative public perception if we treat it as an adversary rather than a reliable agency empowered by law to safeguard our votes and ensure the holding of a peaceful and honest election.

 

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Comelec’s reputation and integrity will depend primarily on its performance and transparency, or how it exercises its power to supervise a nationwide election without being stymied by pressures and controversies. 

How damaging are the accusations of irregularity and criticisms leveled against the poll body, however unverified and unproven, also matters.

If Comelec is the most powerful agency during the election period, it is also the most favorite whipping boy by cynical voters and other Doubting Thomases.

Even if some political parties have become disillusioned and pessimistic, it is important that we continue to uphold and respect the majesty of Comelec’s authority, and have faith in its capability as a chief pillar of democracy during the election period. 

 

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As the election day approaches in the Philippines, there has been noticeably a sudden mushrooming in the social media of spliced Tiktok videos containing a compilation of hilarious scenes mostly involving presidential candidates, Senator Manny Pacquiao and Vice President Leni Robredo.

The intention of those who uploaded the videos was obviously to ridicule and humiliate Pacquiao and Robredo as part of the black propaganda campaign related to the May 9 election.

Did it come from their rivals? 

If yes, then why was Pacquiao, who has not been doing well in the surveys, targeted?

It’s understandable if Robredo would be targeted by the dirty tricks department as she has been one of the two leading presidential candidates who might even pull a major surprise on the day of reckoning.

But why include Pacquiao? What will the authors of those waggish and comical Tiktok videos get if they further embarrass and humiliate the former boxing champion? 

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vexation for Iloilo RTC judge applicants

“Anybody can become angry--that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way--that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.”
--ARISTOTLE

By Alex P. Vidal

ANY lawyer from Iloilo aspiring to become a regional trial court (RTC) judge today must have felt alluded to when disqualified Duterte Youth party-list nominee Ronaldo Cardema recently accused Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon of extortion and of demanding the appointment of a lawyer as RTC judge in Iloilo.
We know that desperate Cardema’s wild charges are nothing but a hogwash, but his allegations are unfair to all lawyers who happen to have pending applications for RTC judge in Iloilo.
Guanzon, 61, a former Cadiz City mayor, is from Negros Occidental, not Iloilo.
And granting, for the sake of argument, that Guanzon is really pushing for a certain lawyer to become RTC judge in Iloilo, why would she genuflect with a former National Youth Commission (NYC) chairman, who is only a Duterte fanatic and not even a lawyer or someone with connections with the Department of Justice or with the President?
Where is the common sense?
Guanzon might as well go directly to President Duterte.

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If a lawyer is appointed as RTC judge in Iloilo tomorrow or any day, which only coincides with Cardema’s ongoing revulsion toward Guanzon, some people will suspect that the new judge must have connections with the brave lady poll commissioner.
Even if Guanzon doesn’t know the newly appointed judge from Adam, for instance, she will still nevertheless get a credit for the appointment, in one way or the other.
Even if the appointment as RTC judge is valid and had undergone the normal process and has nothing to do whatsoever with the Cardema-Guanzon skirmish, some people will start to speculate maliciously once they remember Cardema’s allegations against Guanzon.
People, of course, aren’t stupid to believe that Cardema is responsible for the appointment since, in the first place, he has no power to facilitate or even recommend for higher positions in the judiciary unless he is the President.

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AS the legal battle between Panay Electric Company (PECO) and MORE Electric and Power Corp. prolongs, many Iloilo City consumers have become skeptical as to which firm will eventually remain and which will fold up.
The consumers don’t have the patience to follow the high-strung telenovela, much less take sides.
They listen to the news, but aren’t interested in the nitty-gritty of the legal dispute.
They are aware that what’s going on is a game of the generals and whoever will capitulate and victorious, is none of their business as tiny grasses.
As long as they are assured of a steady and sufficient power supply, the monthly bills aren’t astronomical, the services aren’t lousy, and they have the money to pay for the monthly bills, the consumers won’t give a hoot if the litigation between the two elephants will extend beyond the Age of Aquarius.

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THE Spaniards have colonized us and taught us how to become religious and hypocrites.
The Americans have colonized us, gave us education, and taught us to patronize Hollywood movies.
Will the Chinese colonize us next and teach us how to get rich through business and how to build more infrastructure and bridges from one island to another for future global trade route?
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Law allows ‘jokers’ to run

“I'm looking for the best person irregardless of political party, of race or religion, or color of their skin. Those things don't matter to me. I want someone who's qualified, who has a qualification to character and the integrity to do the things that have to be done to save this world.”
--Edward Brooke

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- When we laugh at the list of “nuisance” candidates (only the Commission on Elections can determine whether they are nuisance or not) who have filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) for the May 2019 Philippine elections, we actually ridicule our own law.
No matter how we treat their COCs with derision, mock them, and call them names, these “nuisance” candidates will continue to persevere knowing fully well that “the law is also on our side.”
They have the right to assert, “Hey, this election process is not only for the scholarly, the mighty, and the omnipotent. This is for us, too, the undervalued, the spurned, and the tossed aside aspirants for a public office.”
In a democratic country like the Philippines, everyone is free to dream and fail and fail to dream.

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Whether these “nuisance” bets are real-life insane or erudite punks is beside the point once the Comelec has accepted their COCs.
In the first place, “nuisance” candidates can be expunged only from the electoral race during the Comelec deliberation process for their inability to mount a serious campaign, or for lack of a registered political party, among other primordial reasons, not because they weren’t qualified to run.
Under the law or An Act Governing the Elections of Local Government Officials, these “nuisance” candidates are very much allowed to run as long as they meet the qualifications prescribed by law for public elective positions in the Philippines.
For local positions the qualifications are “mere” the following:
1. citizen of the Philippines;
2. on the day of election at least 23 years old for Governor, Vice-Governor, member of sangguniang panlalawigan, mayor, vice-mayor, sangguniang panglungsod in highly urbanized cities; while at least 21 years old for the said officials in component cities and municipalities; at least 18 years old for members of the sangguniang panglungsod, sangguniang bayan and sangguniang barangay and punong barangay; at least 15 years old and not more than 21 years of age for Sangguniang kabataan;
3. able to read and write Filipino or any other local language or dialect;
4. registered voter in the constituency in the locality;
5. resident thereof for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election.

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Since 2009 when I started posting my photos on social media, a lot of my friends have noticed and mentioned to me that in almost 90 percent of my photos, my ears were always covered with either earphones or headphones.
I noticed this, too, but most of those photos weren’t prearranged. They were natural.
I use the earphones or headphones now especially when I travel far via the New York City subway.
I suspect I have Claustrophobia, or the fear of having no escape, and being closed into a small space.
It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder and often times results in a rather severe panic attack.
It is also confused sometimes with Cleithrophobia (the fear of being trapped).
I learned that Claustrophobia could be related to dysfunction of the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that controls how we process fear.
The phobia can also be caused by a traumatic event, such as: being stuck in a tight or crowded space for an extended period of time, experiencing turbulence when flying.
With the help of earphones or headphones, my attention is diverted into the music and “I won’t feel something” as I close my eyes when the fully packed train would sometimes be stuck in the tunnel (the Dekalb in Brooklyn to Canal in Manhattan area) for six to 10 minutes (the longest I have experienced, so far).