Palace warns vs trouble

Malacañang warned opposition parties yesterday against stirring up trouble to protest alleged cheating and fraud in last Monday’s elections.

The Palace made the statement even as President Arroyo defended the conduct of the May 10 elections, saying that "election violence has been relatively isolated and has not affected the generally peaceful and credible character of the polls."

Although Mrs. Arroyo acknowledged that there were problems in the conduct of the elections, she said it is very disappointing for opposition leaders to use claims of cheating and engage "in the use of force to get their way."

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the police and military are ready to employ full force against those who will initiate protest actions.

"We will apply the full force of the law against those who undermine our electoral process or the political order," Bunye said.

"We will exercise maximum tolerance against protest actions but we shall move quickly and decisively against any attempts to undermine public order," he said.

Bunye made the warning at the heels of increasing incidents of post-election violence being reported across the country.

Most of the incidents stemmed from claims of supporters of losing local candidates that they have been cheated in the counting of ballots.

There have also been calls for street demonstrations amid accusations that the administration employed massive cheating and fraud.

Thousands of supporters of opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. marched in Makati City last Tuesday to denounce alleged cheating but the protest ended peacefully.

Bunye said police and the military are poised to crack down on any actions initiated by the opposition to protest alleged cheating.

"The Filipino people have cast their vote, and their will shall prevail and must be protected," he said.

Bunye said the government would not stifle any criticisms from the opposition provided public order and safety is not compromised.

"Definitely, we will respect freedom of expression... But we have to draw a line between disorderly conduct which would disturb our peace and order situation," he said.

Good Conduct

Bunye echoed anew the President’s calls for unity and sobriety directed toward the political opposition.

"And we are glad that some responsible members of the opposition have not joined the others in these protest actions which could only worsen the situation," he said.

Bunye cited in particular the statements made by independent opposition presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who called on his fellow challengers to focus their efforts on guarding their votes instead of rallying their supporters to take to the streets to protest poll fraud.

He also reiterated Palace commendations to outgoing Parañaque City Mayor Joey Marquez who conceded defeat to his rival, former national security adviser Roilo Golez, in the race to represent the city’s second congressional district in Congress.

"We are glad that some responsible members of the opposition do not want to get involved in issues that will further muddle our situation," Bunye said.

"And I think as the political temperature gets lower, it would provide a good climate for our desired unity and reconciliation right after the election," he said.

On the other hand, lawmakers said Poe and his supporters should wait until the counting is over.

Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles and Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas said the opposition should allow Comelec and the independent poll watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) to wrap up their counting instead of applying threats and intimidation to speed up the tabulation process.

"The opposition’s threat of mass actions and holding of premature victory march earlier have been the opposition’s way of taking hostage the election results to suit their desire," Nograles said.

Cagas, for his part, warned the opposition against pressuring Comelec and Namfrel to speed up their counting to come out with favorable results.

"They (opposition) are proving to be forces for evil and divisive politics," Cagas said.

"By resorting to mob rule, the opposition is doing a disservice to the nation as they want to put pressure on the poll results," he said.

Cagas said threats of mass actions by the opposition have alarmed religious and civic groups who have sought an end to "bullying tactics of the opposition."

Aside from allegations of cheating, opposition leaders claimed the administration is using the media and unofficial surveys and vote counts to put out misleading results to make it look like Mrs. Arroyo was already the winner.

Opposition leaders say their followers are gathering sworn statements from people who were not allowed to vote, to be used in filing election protests.

The results of the laborious, hand counting of the votes are expected to take weeks but an exit poll by the independent Social Weather Stations (SWS) predicted Mrs. Arroyo would win 41 percent of the vote compared to 32 percent for Poe. - With AFP