Prayer, as the people go to the polls

For the past several weeks there's a prayer offered every after Eucharistic celebration imploring God to save us from El Niño and from chaos and violence that are likely to arise during this election. This prayer is not only timely, it is an urgent one.

The reality is that every national election in this country is like a powder keg that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of its social order. It is a highly divisive event in which contending groups are ranged against each other as they maneuver for acceptance and support. And when the electoral process is perceived as faulty and unfair the tendency towards social upheavals is not far behind.

This was the underpinning of Edsa I, after the martial law leadership tinkered with the outcome of the snap election. This was the kindling that sent thousands to the street after the Hello Garci exposé, an event which almost toppled PGMA's administration.

In the May 10 polls current circumstances seem ripe for a repeat performance, God forbid, of such social disturbances.

Consider this: The LP standard bearer has publicly declared that a people power could erupt if cheating would happen at the polls. What he meant could be that if he loses, he would sound the call for mass actions. But how sure is he that he would get the mandate? Poll surveys are poll surveys and these are of course no guarantee that the votes counted would dovetail with survey findings.

Crazy, crazy, says a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He meant of course that the threat was farfetch considering that the present situation is different from that which caused Edsa I. But to many people the word "crazy" might as well refer to the candidate himself.

Such perception is not baseless. The fact is, the mental state of this candidate has been suspected to be questionable. That's why he has been challenged by his rivals to undergo a psychiatric test. Black propaganda! was his party's reply. But whether the suspicion holds water or not the uncertainty on the psychological health of this candidate hangs like a dark cloud above the Philippine landscape, especially if he gets elected.

Consider this too: The May 10 poll is the first automotive election in the country. Electronic counting being lightning fast is believed to be fault proof. But in the cyberspace world it's garbage in, garbage out. Wrong inputs, whether intentional or accidental are still possible. And right now it's possible too that some bright guys are cracking out their heads on how to make the machines spit out figures favorable to their group.

But assuming no such plan is afoot - which is assuming our politicians have suddenly turned angelic in intentions - the machines themselves could turn berserk and yield wrong figures. This happened in the trial run few days ago, as a result of which the call for a parallel manual count has become louder. There's also a clamor for postponement of the polls premised on Comelec's alleged unpreparedness.

What really is in store for the country in these elections? Will there be chaos and mayhem? Or will there be peace and an orderly regime change?

Only the events will teach us in each hour, a poet says. What that event should be is the reason why the Catholic church prays. It prays because it believes in a just and caring God in whose hands the destiny of a nation rests. It prays because it believes in prayer as a means to secure divine intervention. Unless the Lord builds the house, in vain are the labors of the workmen, says the Bible. More, it says that unless the Lord guards the city, useless are the efforts of the watchmen. These are the words of God, the Church believes, but whether or not God would come to the rescue of a stricken country depends on the people's faith.

Is the faith of the Filipinos strong enough to merit the mercy of the Lord? They are a prayerful people, despite the inroads of modernity in their fold. Their ways may be ambivalent - between the secular and the religious - still they do look up to Heaven in times of danger and tribulation.

In the precarious days after elections there may be angry calls from frustrated candidates for civil disobedience and mass actions. There may be some military leaders who would take advantage of the situation and try to seize control of the government. This will undoubtedly polarized the PNP and the AFP as well as the various political groups, and the likelihood of armed confrontation cannot be discounted.

That's why the Church is praying hard, and all Filipinos should pray hard too.

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