For calling poll body unprepared: Comelec lashes at foreign observers

The team of foreign observers monitoring the conduct of last Monday’s midterm elections did not have any accreditation from the local Comelec to go around and observe the polls.

This was revealed yesterday by Comelec regional director Ray Rene Buac who lashed out at the members of the International Observers Mission for saying that the regional poll body was not prepared to hold the elections.

“ Hambog ra kaayo sila ( they are so arrogant ). They do not have any business at all in our region. They should have instead minded the election process in their own countries. It’s better for them to mind their own business, “ Buac told The Freeman in a telephone interview.

Buac took umbrage at the comments made by the foreign observers that the Comelec was unprepared for the elections. 

Fr. Diony Cabillas, head of the secretariat of the IOM, called a press conference last Wednesday to say that the goal of having an honest, orderly and peaceful election “ is stil to be achieved. “

Cabillas issued the statement after monitoring the conduct of the elections in Toledo City and the towns of Asturias and Tuburan.

Citing delays in the canvassing, he accused the Comelec of being “ obviously not prepared. “     Cabillas also flogged the “ snail-paced movement “ and the “ cramped and disorganized situation “ in some polling precincts in counting of votes.

Given such conditions in the conduct of the canvassing, Cabillas said poll fraud is likely to have occurred.

Minerva Gutierrez, another foreign observer and member of Quebec Solidaire, complained of alleged rampant vote-buying done even in public places.

But the foreign observers, other than claiming alleged irregularities in the conduct of the elections such as open vote-buying, presented no photographic or other evidence at the presscon.

This angered Buac all the more.

“ If their intention was really to help us achieve our goal to have an honest, peaceful and credible election, they should have directly gone to the Comelec office and relay their observations to us after their mission.  But they didn’t. Instead, they decided to hold a press conference and announced their observations about the elections in our region to the media, “ Buac said.

He said that if the foreign observers discovered any irregularities during the conduct of the elections they should have directly informed the appropriate government agency that could provide a remedy to such concern.

Buac added that the foreign observers did not have any accreditation to go around and observe the polls because his office did not issue them any.

He said the foreign observers tried to request for accreditation but he refused due to time constraints. “ They should have been thankful to the Comelec in Cebu for allowing them to conduct their mission here even if they had no accreditation, “ Buac said. ( Gerome Dalipe/NLQ )