Winning candidates urged: Hold the parties

Candidates in Monday’s national and local elections must await their formal proclamation before holding any victory party, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

Lawyer Esmeralda Ladra, Comelec director for the National Capital Region, said the canvassing of votes is just starting in some parts of the country, three days after the elections.

"Sana hintayin na lang kung ano ba talaga ang resulta ng canvassing," she said. "It would also be unfair sa ibang mga kandidato na gusto rin mag-victory party and claim they are the winners."

On Tuesday night, the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) launched a rally at Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas in Makati City to protest alleged cheating in Monday’s presidential elections.

KNP standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. lamented to reporters about the Arroyo administration’s alleged scheme to cheat him of victory.

Poe, also called "Da King" of Philippine movies, expressed surprise he was trailing Mrs. Arroyo by eight percentage points in Metro Manila, where 5.5 million voters make up 13 percent of the national total.

"We are leading in the counting, but the opposite is coming out (in the media)," Poe said, assuring his "supporters, volunteers and the Filipino people that in this fight, I’m with you all the way."

Poe called on his supporters to monitor the canvassing of ballots.

"The government should not resort to using money and threats against the people because what we are doing is for the country," he said.

Poe also appealed to the media that "for the sake of our country, for once and for all, please report the truth." Poe said reports of an 80 percent voter turnout were not true since many registered voters were unable to vote. He did not elaborate.

Police were caught off-guard as some 7,000 of Poe’s supporters, mostly from the urban poor, gathered at Makati’s central business district.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, KNP campaign manager, said the rally was more of a "thanksgiving" for those who supported Poe in the elections. "We believe that FPJ is the winner," he said.

Binay asked the police not to disperse the crowd at the rally as he gave them up to 12 midnight.

Some 500 policemen and 150 troops were deployed to ensure peace and order.

Makati police commander Senior Superintendent Jovito Gutierrez said they "only learned about this event early this (Tuesday) afternoon."

Traffic enforcers were forced to close a stretch of Ayala Avenue to traffic, from Makati Avenue to Herrera street.

Don Remo, who heads KNP’s national coordination center for volunteers, said the rally was organized by volunteers through text messaging early Tuesday afternoon.

Remo said the rally was organized to condemn the alleged massive cheating of the administration in different parts of the country.

"This is too much," he told reporters. "Their way of cheating has been very obvious. There has been massive disenfranchisement of voters in highly depressed areas, which are known bailiwicks of Poe."

It would be worse if "we don’t make noise now" and allow massive cheating to rule us, he added.