Danger signs

This early, there are signs that the Aquino campaign will face great odds. It looks like a scheme is going on to disrupt his candidacy and ultimately, prevent his victory.  The administration dreaded an Aquino presidency because its the only group that will not compromise with them.  So this is understandable why the anti Aquino are pulling out all the stops to prevent an Aquino presidency. Here are some of the danger signs seen ahead

1.  Ballot design - Aquino camp hits ballot design. LP campaign manager Butch Abad complained that despite the disqualification of candidate Vetallano Acosta, his name is not removed from the ballots resulting in the lumping of three names horizontally in one column with Aquino at the middle. On the other hand, at the extreme end, Villar’s name is all by his lonesome, challenging for a voter who will vote for Noy but easy for Villar.

2. Appointment of GMA loyal AFP Chief – ” Bangit is new AFP Chief”. The military will play a big role in the success of an election.  However, the specter of Hello Garci scandal is too fresh to be forgotten. As Sen. Mar Roxas said, the appointment of Bangit is alarming.

3.  “Quick Count is History.” - This is a statement of the COMELEC to the effect that NAMFREL Quick Count is no longer necessary with automation.  This statement should be taken with a grain of salt. If citizens will let their guard down and rely on it, nothing could be referred to in case the COMELEC system will go wrong.

4. NP-NPC Coalition - These two parties applied for accreditation by the COMELEC to become a dominant opposition party. This opposed by the LP as the two are not registered as a political organization.   The dominant opposition party is crucial as it will be entitled to the sixth copy of the ER’s as well as one of the servers of the COMELEC.

5. Power crisis in Mindanao - Most parts in Mindanao are experiencing 6 hours of power outage. This can affect the conduct of May 10, 2010 polls.  It is blamed on El Nino but an energy exec is doubtful he urge an NBI probe on the alleged power outage. Malacanang has done nothing so far to resolve the crisis but focus on the Visayas and Luzon instead. In 2004 and 2007 elections, some parts of Mindanao becomes the epicenter of electoral fraud and violence.

6. Selective Poll automation – See Manual count set for 30% of precincts if machines fail. Also read Manolo Quezon’s entry (The great trial balloon ascends) about the relationship of Prospero Pichay’s claim that they had 33% chunk of electorate in their pocket and the manual count of 30% of the precincts if automation fail.

7. GMA’s insistence to appoint a new Chief Justice – Despite the ban on midnight appointments. The presumptive choice is Justice Renato Corona, former lawyer of GMA who has consistently sided with the administration in all major cases that it is involved (Justice Corona’s voting record favors Arroyo.)

His appointment will cap the covering of the bases for a GMA friendly post election scenario.

These are just the dangers signs seen which,  if the Filipino electorate fail to exercise vigilance, might result in someone not voted upon to ascend the Presidency of the Republic.

God help us.