Lente provincial chairpersons presented their election assessments today in a validation session held at the New Horizon Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

Lente founder, former Comelec Chairman Christian S. Monsod, underlined the importance of the people-common-sense approach to the evaluation process. “Changes in the everyday practices and assumptions of citizens may have greater impact on the institutions of the Philippine State, than more formal means such as changing the structure of government,” Monsod stated.

“What we did in the last elections was collective work in plain and simple language,” Lente convenor Atty. Roan I. Libarios elaborated. “The last elections opened a new vista of challenges. The first is transparency. Almost the entire nation was held in the dark on the nature of an automated electoral system. It was only days after the elections that many issues were finally explained before our people. If we were to automate future elections, we have to press for the adoption of a transparent automated electoral process so that our people and all those contending forces would have a firm grasp and understanding of its dynamics and mechanism.”

Lente executive council members noted that in the on-going canvassing process, the discussions belied the lawmakers’ familiarity with the technical aspects of the new system. Monsod suggested that “Comelec should have gone out of its way to educate the lawmakers [on the technical side of automation]. There are more critical questions that need to be asked. A healthy balance between the letters of the law and the technological aspects of automation has to be sustained.”

Libarios said the second challenge is the management of polling centers. “If we were to make the next automated elections successful, we have to press Comelec for the adoption of an appropriate management of all those polling precincts. We have to avoid the ungodly sight of voters forming long lines under a boiling sun and prevent the unpalatable disenfranchisement of our voters, whose fault in life is their wish to exercise their right to suffrage.”

Former Senator Santanina T. Rasul, who was part of the Lente team in the Lanao del Sur special elections, is confident that Lente’s evaluation process will lead to reforms for a sustainable election system.  “In Lanao, the Comelec and Smartmatic are notably absent.”

“Even in the House hearings, it should be asked, where is TIM, Smartmatic’s local partner?” Monsod added.

Under Lente’s accreditation issued by the Comelec, Lente is duty-bound to submit its election report to the Commission thirty days after the election.

Lente volunteers are also looking into participating in the barangay elections later this year.

Asked whether we should switch back to the manual system, Monsod replied, “Automation is here to stay [that’s why] We should work to make it work. After elections is accountability time.  Even the training and preparation of the BEIs should begin early, as early as two years prior to an election.” 

Lente leaders have formally asked the Comelec for a copy of Annexes to the Smartmatic Contract in a letter sent last May 25, “As the accredited citizens’ arm of the Honorable Commission with the legal expertise, and in the interest of transparency and accountability, Lente respectfully requests a copy of the Smartmatic Lease Contract, together with all its Annexes and any Amendatory an Supplementary documents, in order to assist the Honorable Commission in evaluating compliance with the terms thereof and the accountabilities attendant thereto.”

Lente will be gauging the success of the automated elections based on two credibilities – the credibility of the process and credibility of the results. “You can have a defective process but credible results,” Monsod illustrated. “For example, you can have an extremely violent atmosphere, and yet people went out to vote. In the reverse, you can have a credible process but defective results. The process that took place was generally tolerable.”

Rasul and Medina noted that the Lanao special elections was generally peaceful but the results are tainted. “Vote-buying was very public, illegal assisting rampant, and sanctity of the ballot practically nil.”

Lente leaders also interpreted the increase in vote-buying incidents as an indicator that it is harder to cheat in the automation system. “If you cannot manipulate it, you have to buy the voter,” Monsod stated.