Miriam warns of poll fraud

MANILA, Philippines - Presidential candidate Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago aired fears of electoral fraud on May 9.

Speaking yesterday before students at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Santiago said that she doubts the accuracy of the vote counting machines and that massive vote buying will result in a “winner” who is not the true choice of voters.

“The most notorious distortion of the people’s choice is electoral corruption,” she said.

“There are still scientific doubts on the accuracy of the voting machines that we will be using this coming election.”

In her speech, “How Elections Fail the Philippines,”  Santiago said the worst problem is vote buying. “Rich candidates buy, and the uneducated masses are willing to sell, their votes,” she said.

“This is said to have recently evolved to mass vote-buying. Candidates now promise to shower barangays with projects as long as the barangay assures them of victory in the voting precincts.” 

Santiago asked the youth to campaign for their friends, relatives and neighbors not to sell their votes, and instead vote wisely.

“I call on the youth to do something about it,” she said.

“Open the eyes of your neighbors, urge them to look ahead. Admonish them to vote not only for themselves but also for their children and grandchildren.  

“It is our duty to think about tomorrow. It is our duty to decide this country’s fate.”

Santiago thanked the UST students for having chosen her as the “most competent among presidentiables in handling most of the issues affecting the country.”

UST’s Thomasian Initiatives for Good Election Results had conducted a poll where Santiago, who has been a consistent topnotcher in mock polls in campuses all over the country, had ranked first in terms of her platform on taxes, high prices, wages for workers and professionals, population growth, mass transport and LGBT rights. 

Marcos to join Duterte in Panatag

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will join Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in planting the Philippine flag on Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea if they are elected president and vice president.

“If he says that he wants me to go with him, I would,” Marcos said when asked if he would join Duterte if they both win.

“Whoever will be elected as president, I will support in every way I can. Because that is what the people are asking for – that the government work together for the betterment of the country, to move the country forward.” 

However, Marcos was quick to explain that the next administration should first draft its defense and foreign policies, especially on the issue of the West Philippine Sea.

“We have to first form a foreign policy,” he said.

“Right now, we have no foreign policy. We have no policies for anything in this administration. There is no direction, there are no plans. There are no visions.” 

The next administration must choose the right people to do the job and discuss the agenda to solve the conflict in the West Philippine Sea, Marcos said. 

During the last presidential debate in Pangasinan, Duterte said he would ride a jet ski alone and go to Panatag Shoal to plant the Philippine flag. 

He would not want to risk the lives of the military so he will go alone, and face his fate, he added. 

It will be up to the Filipino people to “mourn” if his move costs him his life, Duterte said.

China has been claiming Panatag Shoal, which many experts say is strategic for defense. 

If China builds facilities on Panatag similar to those built in other reefs in the Spratlys, then China’s defense capabilities will be strengthened, making the Philippines and other bases vulnerable, experts claim.

LDP backs Marcos

The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino endorsed yesterday the vice presidential quest of Marcos.

In a statement emailed to reporters, former senator and LDP chairman Edgardo Angara said his group is supporting Marcos “in an effort to put an end to the politics of vengeance and start a genuine process to heal and unify the country.”

He said the son of the late President Marcos “can inspire, unite and lead our nation to a sustainable and progressive development.”

“Advocating a positive and inclusive policy, the LDP supports new leaders who will and can unify and heal a divided nation,” he said.

Angara served as president of the state-owned University of the Philippines during the Marcos regime. He was a post-Marcos-era senator for many years. –With , Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz, Perseus Echeminada