Unprecedented canvassing of presidential poll

It is ironic that the first days of Congress are devoted to getting started as the National Board of Canvassers for the presidential and vice presidential elections. One of the results is that we see senators debating with congressmen. The truth is that the public has already been conditioned to seeing both houses as investigating bodies rather than law-making institutions. The excuse, of course, is that the investigations are in aid of legislation. We don’t recall a time when mass media was totally focused on congress. It is the best coverage that they have ever enjoyed. And we can be assured that it will last till the presidential and vice-presidential winners in the May 10 elections are officially proclaimed.

In reality, it is all academic because everyone already knows that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro have respectively been elected as President and Vice President. What the official canvassing will recall is just by how many votes they won over their opponents.

There are still individuals in the National Board of Canvassers that are doing their utmost to delay the proceedings. Their goal is to prove that their candidate did not lose the elections. They were cheated. They are undoubtedly linked with the groups planning a post-election destabilization plot. In short, another EDSA Revolution.

Thanks to the alertness of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, such a plan cannot work. In all successful EDSA Revolutions, the deciding factor was the participation of a large segment of the army and the police that sided with the revolutionaries. In the current plot to undermine the GMA regime, the members of the armed forces who were approached by the conspirators were the very fist to expose the sinister plan. This means that the identity of the plotters is known by the police and they will be the very first to be arrested, imprisoned and prosecuted if the rebellious demonstration pushes through.

We have had peaceful elections. It will not be difficult to have peaceful post elections. To turn one’s back at the results of the election is to show that one does not believe in democracy. You cannot believe in a democracy only if your candidate wins. Participating in an election automatically means that one is willing to accept the results.

Going by the present situation, we believe that the great post-election responsibility rests with those who lost in the last elections.

They should set the example of accepting the election results. It will prove that they are statesmen and worthy to run again in another election. The worst thing that can happen to this country is to have no elections.

William H. Hastie was right when he said that democracy was "A process not a static condition. It is becoming, rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle." And he meant eternal struggle for freedom. Election results are the agreed compromise of the majority with the minority. This is all reflected in the ballot box. The life blood of democracy is citizenship participation and we certainly had that last May 10.

Let us have peace. If we have any complaints about the last elections, let us elevate it to the proper court where they can examine the evidence. A nation consists of three things: geography, people and laws. Its people must follow its laws.