Maguindanao
Maguindanao has also been at the center of controversy. The pro-Arroyo governor, Andal Ampatuan, boasted of a TU sweep in his province a few weeks before the elections. Subsequently, all twelve TU senatorial candidates reportedly won while the GO candidates obtained an almost zero vote in the entire province. This is not only politically implausible; it is statistically improbable, if not impossible but apparently the elections cheats did not bother coming up with more credible, albeit manipulated, results.
The opposition and almost all election watchdogs have called on the Comelec to disregard or set aside the COCs from Maguindanao because of the patent and wholesale fraud that marked the entire election process. Their charge: no real elections took place in Maguindanao.
For example, more than 100 election inspectors were forcibly taken and detained, for three nights and two days, and made to manufacture votes for a local mayoralty candidate and the administration senatorial bets. This was according to four election inspectors presented by the opposition as witnesses to poll fraud in the province.
In an affidavit, a BEI member said that the authorized elections officer had yet to collect the election returns and the 38 ballot boxes from Pagalungan, Maguindanao. The 190 uncanvassed ERs contained all the votes in eight of 12 barangays in the said municipality. How can the provincial canvass be over, and a 12-0 sweep declared, when there remained untabulated election returns in this town?
If the administration would insist on canvassing the votes from Maguindanao, such blatant cheating will haunt the Arroyo regime in the same way as the “Hello Garci” scandal has marred Arroyo’s legitimacy as president. The 12-0 victory is just too unacceptable for the Filipino people who utilized their votes to protest against the anti-people and repressive Arroyo administration.
2007 Elections
