There’s a reason why there’s not much buzz about the barangay and SK elections this month — candidates are generally avoiding premature campaigning. Our podcast guest Atty. Ona Caritos of LENTE, a prominent election watchdog, says the Comelec has shortened the campaign period and warned against campaigning before or after it.
Make no mistake, says Atty. Caritos, the barangay elections are important because the barangay is where most citizens experience government and public service. In many places, it’s also where bases of power are formed for higher office.
The Sangguniang Kabataan elections on the same day are unique in at least one major way — it’s the only elections where members of political dynasties are disqualified from running. The application of a ban on dynasties in the SK elections may provide a template for other elections.
The October 30 elections will be manual. Could its successful conduct return us to the pre-automated system for the next elections? Atty Caritos weighs in.
Vote buying has become easier with mobile and online payment systems. That hasn’t deterred watchdog groups like LENTE from trying to stop it, now with the help of the PNP.
Make no mistake, says Atty. Caritos, the barangay elections are important because the barangay is where most citizens experience government and public service. In many places, it’s also where bases of power are formed for higher office.
The Sangguniang Kabataan elections on the same day are unique in at least one major way — it’s the only elections where members of political dynasties are disqualified from running. The application of a ban on dynasties in the SK elections may provide a template for other elections.
The October 30 elections will be manual. Could its successful conduct return us to the pre-automated system for the next elections? Atty Caritos weighs in.
Vote buying has become easier with mobile and online payment systems. That hasn’t deterred watchdog groups like LENTE from trying to stop it, now with the help of the PNP.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Magandang araw podmates, Howie Severino here,
00:03 na nagpapaalala na nakakatali no ang mahabang attention span.
00:07 Eleksyon na naman.
00:09 Nararamdaman nyo ba?
00:11 Sa October 30, bubote ulit tayo.
00:13 Ngayon naman, para sa barangay leaders natin
00:16 at para sa Samguniang kapataan representatives.
00:19 Para pag-usapan nito, kasama natin si Atty. Ona Carritos,
00:23 Executive Director ng LENTE,
00:25 o ang Legal Network for Truthful Elections.
00:28 Magandang araw sa'yo Atty. Ona.
00:30 Magandang araw sa Howie, magandang araw mga kapodmates.
00:34 Ulit tayo na nag-usap Atty.
00:36 April 2022, tungkol sa national election sa susunod na buwan,
00:42 May 2022.
00:44 Napaka-emotional na eleksyon na 'yon.
00:46 Sobrang nakakapagod.
00:49 Pero ang grupo nyo, ang LENTE,
00:52 election watchdog,
00:54 walang luxury ng escape sa eleksyon.
00:57 Actually marami akong kilala.
00:59 Sobrang exasperated, frustrated, etc.
01:02 Kasi hindi nanalo yung kandidato nila, etc.
01:05 Pero kayo, you have to get to work right away.
01:08 Kasi meron, the next year, this year may eleksyon.
01:11 So barangay and SK elections.
01:14 But remind us, how important are these elections?
01:19 Yung barangay and SK elections?
01:22 Kasi it's been a while.
01:24 Napostpone to na napostpone.
01:27 I know your group opposed the postponement.
01:30 Pero here we are.
01:32 Nagkaroon pa ng Supreme Court ruling that the postponement was unconstitutional.
01:38 Pero tinuloy pa rin yung postponement.
01:40 But finally, nandito na yung eleksyon later this month.
01:45 So just give us a quick refresher about the barangay elections.
01:50 What's at stake?
01:52 So yung bahalaga ang barangay at SK election,
01:54 lagi namin sinasabi sa lente na ang barangay at ang SK,
01:59 yung unit na yan, yung government unit natin na yan,
02:02 ang gobyerno para sa ating mga Pilipino.
02:06 Sa pangaraw-araw nating buhay, hindi naman natin makakausap,
02:10 makakadoopang palad si mayor, si congressman.
02:13 Swerte ka in your lifetime if you get to talk or to approach a senator,
02:18 the president at that.
02:20 So yung barangay captain natin, yung mga SK chairperson natin,
02:24 yung mga kagawags natin, sila ang gobyerno para sa atin.
02:28 So yung governance o yung pamamahala na raranasin natin sa araw-araw,
02:33 yan ang barangay.
02:34 Kaya yan napakalaga.
02:36 Kasi yan ang pamamahala, yan ang gobyerno para sa ating lahat.
02:40 At nakita natin yan, ha, huy, anong COVID, lalo na nitong pinagdaanan nating pandemic,
02:45 ano kahalaga yung napakaayos ng mga barangay at SK officials?
02:50 Nakita natin yung pagdedistribute ng ayuda.
02:52 Kung maayos ang barangay officials mo, maayos ang distribution ng ayuda,
02:56 maayos yung pagdedistribute ng mga APOR or yung mga ID.
03:01 Pero kung hindi maayos, all nuts, ang mga barangay at SK officials mo,
03:05 talagang ramdam mo at talagang gumurahin mo.
03:09 Yung mga barangay at SK officials.
03:11 So, it's about the kahalagahan ng ating barangay at SK elections kayong parating na Oct. 30.
03:18 At least here, nasa Batangas ako.
03:47 Parang wala naman akong napapansin masyado na nangangampanya.
03:53 On my Facebook feed, I'm not seeing too many ads.
04:01 It's not part of conversations.
04:05 Bakit kaya? Napagod ba sa huling election?
04:09 Because it was so, it took a lot out of us.
04:14 It took a lot of energy that we put in there. Could that be a reason?
04:20 Hindi napagod. Ang ano nga namin, mas-invested ang mga tao pag barangay at SK elections yung pinag-uusapan.
04:28 Siguro yung malaking difference dito, last year wala tayong tinatawag na premature campaigning na election offense.
04:36 Kasi nagkaroon tayo ng PNVC na sinabi ng ating SC na wala na election offense na premature campaigning.
04:43 Pero ngayong barangay at SK election, nagkaroon ng standing or opinion ng ating commission on elections na hindi applicable ang PNVC sa election na manuel.
04:56 Na yun ang ating barangay at SK election.
04:58 So ngayon, kaya wala ka masyado nakikita sa social media o wala masyado nagpaparata sa labas na ating mga bahay kasi bawal pa silang mangampanya.
05:09 Ang campaign period for our barangay and SK candidates, October 19-28 pa.
05:14 At kung sila ang mga mangampanya ngayon, sila ang kakasuhan ng ating comelec at kung sino mang interested or concerned individual, maaari silang kasuhan ng premature campaigning.
05:26 Kaya para hindi pa election kasi hindi pa nagsisimula yung mga usual campaign gimmicks na sanay tayong nakikita pag-election.
05:37 So in other words, talagang iniksian yung campaign period para sa darating na eleksyon.
05:44 And the good news about this is mukhang sumusunod yung mga kandidato.
05:51 There's always been premature campaigning restrictions naman pero parang maraming hindi sumusunod at hindi napaparusahan for premature campaigning. Of course in the past dinidebate kung ano yung ibig sabihin ng premature campaigning.
06:10 So finally matutuloy itong barangay and SK elections, bakit pa siya na-postpone in the 1st place?
06:19 Since 2010, lagi ang schedule ng ating barangay at SK pagkatapos ng May presidential or May midterm elections.
06:32 Pero lagi, ang sasabihin ng Kongreso natin ay pagod na yung mga tao kaka-election lang, ay nag-away-away pa yung mga tao, sobrang divisive ng environment, mag-election ulit magiging mas divisive pa.
06:46 Lagi napopostpone ang barangay at SK. So since 2010 yan, itong huli na postponement na ginawa ng Kongreso natin, itong December 2022 na pino-spone to this October, buti na lang sinabi niya ng SC na hindi pwedeng ganyan lagi ang ginagawa ng ating Kongreso.
07:08 So I mentioned sa kasong yan, hindi pwedeng reason yung wala masyadong panahon, i-implement yung mga projects, divisive yung environment, kaka-election lang, pagod pa yung mga tao.
07:21 So ito ang Supreme Court natin, next time hindi nyo pwedeng gamitin yung reasons na yan to postpone yet again the barangay at SK elections. Talagang nag-lay down ng guidelines sa ating SC na ito yung mga conditions for Congress to postpone the barangay at SK elections yet again.
07:41 So yun yung lagi namin sinasabi sa lente, itong term ng ating barangay at SK officials hanggang December 2025 lang, yung lagi natin expectation na may extend naman yan, mapopostpone na naman, hindi na yan natin makikita.
07:58 So nagsabi ng ating SC na hindi yan pwede basta-basta mapopostpone. Lagi namin sinasabi, hawi na pag-isipan natin sino yung ibaboto sa barangay at SK ngayon kasi wala silang luxury or oras na mag-aral pa. May 2 taon lang sila to implement their projects and programs for their respective barangays.
08:21 I think pag nag-hattle yung SC that would be the final word. But that's what maybe some people cannot understand or many people cannot understand. Bakit napostpone pa rin kahit sinabi niya ng SC na unconstitutional yung postponement?
08:37 Yes. Kasi yung nangyari diyan, December dapat talaga yung conduct na election natin from the last postponement na 2020. The 1st Monday of December 2022. Pero dahil nag-decide ng SC natin around March, hindi ako nagkakamali.
08:58 Kasi naman nag-o-operate in a vacuum ang ating SC. Hindi niya pwedeng pabalikin ang oras. So sinabi na lang ng SC na moving forward, gawin natin or mangyayari yung election na October. Pero mali yung pag-postpone na ginawa na December.
09:17 So naman pwede mag-operate si SC na gawin natin ng March agad yung election. Kasi naiintindihan niya rin may preparations na kailangan gawin ang ating commission on elections para sa pagkakonduct ng election.
09:33 So kahit ano, parang moot siya. But at the same time it would affect the conduct of future barangay and SC elections. Nagkataon lang, late lumabas ang decision ng SC natin as to the postponement of the December 2022 barangay and SC elections.
09:53 So basically it would have been impossible to hold them anyway kahit may ato na ganoon yung SC. So for very practical reasons, hindi rin magagawa.
10:05 So finally tuloy na, may 42,000 positions at stake at least sa barangay. I haven't seen any figures for the SK. So 1.4M ang nag-file ng candidacy. So napakarami.
10:30 So napakalaki ng responsibilidad, sakit sa ulo ng mga uupo. But you wonder what's motivating so many. We want to think public service, gusto nila magservisyo. Ideally that's the case.
10:47 But in a practical sense, ano ba yung perks, benefits ng pagiging isang barangay official? Kasi we know that hindi mataas ang sweldo niyan, very low, halos allowance lang yan.
11:00 Nabasa ko may minimum rate of P1,000 per month ang barangay chair. Chair na yan. And then mas mababa yung mga ibang positions. You've got barangay kagawad, konsejal, secretary treasurer and then of course yung mga SK.
11:18 They receive several hundred pesos but they control budgets. Maraming possible perks and maybe even opportunities for those who are not well-intentioned. Aminin natin may mga kandidato may may mga hidden agenda. They have access to resources of the government pag manalo sila.
11:43 Siguro yung isang practical na pagtingin dyan. Yung access talaga sa power kasi kailangan natin tandaan na kahit non-partisan ng barangay at SK election, sila ang frontliner ng LGUs natin.
11:57 Sila ang tina-top or basically sila ang coordinator sa kanila-kanilang barangay pagdating ng midterm, pagdating ng mga local election. So powerful ang mga barangay at SK officials because they're the coordinators of the LGUs.
12:14 So if sila ay nakatamang gamble or tamang bet na sinuportahan nilang mayor, yan yung nanalo, madaming projects at maraming pwedeng mapunta sa kanilang barangay na resources.
12:30 Aside from the honorarium na hindi ganoon kalakihan, iba rin talaga yung access sa power at resources ng mga barangay at SK officials natin given their important role in the midterm, the national and the local elections because they are the coordinators.
12:49 Sila ang mag-deliver ng voto pagdating sa midterm, local and national elections.
12:57 So therefore ang kikilos dito hindi lang mga kandidato and their own campaign machines pero yung mga backers nila na mga politiko rin.
13:09 So watchdog kayo, so what are you actually watching here? Ano bang kailangan bantayan? How can citizens get involved? How are you educating people about this election?
13:21 Yung kakabanggit mo lang, yan yung isa namin binabantayan na dapat walang LGU intervention in the barangay na SK elections.
13:30 Kasi supposedly non-partisan so dapat walang support directly, kasi indirect ang hirap hulihin yan, pero yung pagtataas ng kamay, pagkakaroon ng programa in the barangay nakasama yung mga tumatakbong barangay officials, yan yung binabantayan ng lente.
13:49 Kasi yan yung tinatawag natin na abuse of state resources o yung ASR na tinatawag.
13:55 Kasi ang realidad yung mga incumbent ngayon ng barangay officials, marami sa kanila tumatakbo rin.
14:03 So sila nasa pwesto at maaaring magawit nila yung pwesto nila to their electoral advantage.
14:10 Yan yung una namin binabantayan na huwag mag-commit ng ASR or abuse of state resources. Kasi isang standard ng isang maayos election ay dapat competitive ang plaguing field or level.
14:23 Pero kung may mga incumbent tayo na lamang o tinatake advantage yung kanilang nasa posisyon, ayaw natin yun. So yan yung una namin binabantayan natin.
14:34 Ang dalawa premature campaigning, talagang saludo kami sa Komalek in taking a definite position as to premature campaigning.
14:44 Nakita namin how Komalek is trying also to monitor online campaigning. At ito yung first election na nakita namin na, "Ah nagpomonitor na online campaigning si Komalek."
14:55 So it's a good start, it's a good template for them to replicate in future elections lalo may parating tayong midterm ng 2025. So yan din yung binabantayan namin.
15:06 So may tatlo, parte kami ng taskforce kontrabigay. Malaking problema natin lagi pag-election, vote buying, vote selling. So ngayon si Komalek meron silang ginawang taskforce kontrabigay na whole of nation approach ang kanilang ginagamit.
15:23 Komalek gumagamit ng whole of nation approach, first time natin naririnig yan. So may tatlo silang modalities to address vote buying, vote selling, deterrence, information, and prosecution. So we're monitoring those three instances or we're monitoring those three aspects of our elections, of this barangay and SK elections.
15:48 So yung vote buying and selling, dati in the old days, madaling mamonitor or mas madaling mamonitor yan dahil money was physically changing hands.
16:01 So you would actually see real bills in envelopes, etc. May mga video. Pero these days who would be so stupid to do that when you have GCash, online, bank transfer, so many ways to do this electronically.
16:19 So in terms of catching them, I can imagine, what are the chances that you can be caught if that's the way?
16:31 Mahirap siya kasi gusto natin ang prosecution o yung paghuli as real time. Pero yung discussions sa taskforce kontrabigay dahil hindi pwede simultaneous rin yung pagbibigay ng data ng ating financial institutions.
16:47 Syempre meron tayong bank secrecy law, ang BSP syempre mahigpit rin. So ang ginagawa ni Comelec Taskforce Kontrabigay ngayon is talaga closely coordinating with these financial institutions para kahit paano.
17:01 For example GCash, mayroon naman ways to identify na itong number na ito ay nagamit for vote buying. May mga presumptions na ngayon election, anda niyong pinabigay na P500, bakit pinabigay ng maraming P500?
17:17 In previous months, hindi gumagalaw ang account mo. So may red flags na na-identify si Comelec na it can be the start of investigation which is a good start because in previous elections, investigation pa nga lang wala na tayong pinag-uusapan pag we're talking about vote buying and vote selling.
17:37 So they're trying to keep up with the times of trying to stop vote buying.
17:47 So mayroon lang yung responsibilidad ng mga tech companies, these companies that enable online transfer, they can actually be compelled to reveal that information? Kasi meron din Data Privacy Act, I'm not sure what role that plays in this whole situation.
18:12 Yan din yung talagang mahigpit at pinag-debatehan ngayon sa task force contrabigay. Kasi Comalec would want the assistance of these agencies, these institutions.
18:26 But at the same time they also would want to respect data privacy laws and bank secrecy laws. Kaya hindi isa yung simultaneous na ibigay yung data.
18:35 So it's probably if prosecutions or investigations would happen, it would be after the elections. Kasi dadaan pa yan sa proseso. Yung pag-release ng data, pag-request ni Comelec ng data from these financial institutions and Banco Central for example.
18:52 So it's a matagaling na proseso pero at least ayan yung coordination amongst these agencies and bodies to investigate vote buying and vote selling in the modern world.
19:07 Meron bang talagang nahuli na prosecute from the last election for vote buying?
19:15 Wala. Kaya napaka-importante nitong task force contrabigay. And ito yung realidad ng prosecution ng vote buying and vote selling kasi matagal na rin namin yan tinututukan sa lente.
19:28 And sampung taon na rin kami nagtuturo ng mga tao paano gumawa na affidavit, ano yung mga evidence na kailangan if they want to file cases for vote buying and vote selling.
19:39 But you see after the election may raredad ng buhay ang mga tao. Babalik sila sa kanilang normal na ginagawa. Takot sila mag-file ng kaso.
19:51 So napaka-importante sa amin sa lente nung pumasok yung police sa task force contrabigay at sinabing nila sa Comelec, nag-file naman kami ng kaso.
20:02 So for instance sa fiscal, kanyari nag-warrantless arrest sila, hinahanapan sila ng guidelines ni fiscal for the warrantless arrest.
20:10 So ngayon si police sa tulong ni Comelec mayroon ng guidelines on warrantless arrest. So yung mga police sila talagi in the best position to go after vote buyers and vote sellers.
20:25 So nangyari nila yan. And after elections they're mandated to still continue with the investigation and prosecution unlike common people na babalik sa mga normal na gawain or normal na buhay nila.
20:39 So we see the important role of the police in the investigation and prosecution of vote buyers and vote sellers. Kailangan lang talaga tutukan dahil nawawala yung interes after elections.
20:55 E: Well good luck on that. I can imagine how challenging that's going to be. But I'm glad at least may intent na mang-gulay and to remind people na mali yan.
21:06 But we've all heard others in the past say, including mga religious leaders, "tanggapin yung pera pero bumoto ayon sa konsyensya." What do you think of that argument? Kasi pera naman dawng ng bayan yan.
21:22 So if you're entitled to it, don't feel you're beholden dahil baka-nako na pera yan. So just vote according to your conscience.
21:35 So pag inalukan, what is the vote seller supposed to do? Because I know in recent discussions, parang naging priority ay yung vote buyer. Yan ang dapat focus ng law enforcement, not the vote seller.
21:53 So what should the attitude of voters be pag inalukan sila ng pera?
21:59 We respect the position of the church but for us, that position, let it slide. Let the election offense slide. Let the election offense of vote buying slide.
22:12 It's still an election offense, it's still a crime. So we respect that position of the church but for us, the position should be you say no to the money or whatever good or service is being offered in exchange for your vote.
22:26 Because it's still a crime. Kahit ibotong mo yung gusto mo but you still receive money or any good or service in exchange for your vote. It's still a crime.
22:35 We want to respect the rule of law. So ayaw natin noong ganong position.
22:42 That's clear. So this election is going to be kind of a throwback election in the sense na magiging manual siya. Nasanay na rin yung mga votante sa automated elections and some younger voters probably don't know, have no experience with manual voting.
23:03 They have no experience with automated elections. So how different will this be? Ano naman ang dapat bantayan pagdating sa manual elections?
23:13 Okay. Manual election, we're used to shading the circle beside the knee of the candidates that we want to vote for. But this is a manual election so ang gagawin natin na isulat yung mga pangalan ng gusto natin i-vote for the barangay and SK elections.
23:31 So yung dapat bantayan yung mga assistor o yung mga nag-assist sa mga votante na kamag-anak kasama sa bahay or any electoral board. Kasi yan yung lagi namin nakikita paraan ng pandaraya.
23:45 Yung mga assistor ay mga watcher. And syempre alam naman natin pag watcher ang assistor, hindi tayo sigurado kung yung sinusulat ng assistor/watcher, yan talaga yung voto ng votante.
23:58 So yung mga assistor. Pangalwa, yung bumuboto talaga ay yung votante talaga. Kasi we've seen in the past individuals posting as this so-and-so voter.
24:11 And yung mga nagtanggap na tayong report about this na mayroon na bumuboto sa pangalan niya so we have to look out for that. Pero ito toka rin ng ating electoral board members na sana mas bantayan nila yung mga bumuboto, mas check nila yung identification, mas verify nila yung identity ng votante sa hawak nila, election day, computerized voters list.
24:35 Katlo, kailangan tandaan na bawal na manggampanya on the day of the election. So kapag mayroon tayong naigit ang mga nangangampanya on the day of the election, yan dapat isumbong natin sa police. Kasi sa premises ng mga voting center na madalas ang mga public elementary schools, may mga police diyan for the security. So isumbong natin sa mga police if we see people still campaigning on the day of the elections.
25:04 Okay, yung barangay officials, malinaw naman sa lahat o karamihan yung value nila, yung servisyo nila. Iba sa sangguniang kabataan, that's been subject to more debate. May mga nag-advocate na i-abolish na lang yung SK, mararinig ka na tinuturoan lang maging trapo yung mga kabataan, etc.
25:32 Of course much of this may not be fair. Anong stand nyo dyan? What is the importance of SK and wouldn't it just be better for young people to run for the barangay elections? After all you have barangay officials who are also quite young, right?
25:51 They would also qualify for the SK. Why not just include more young people as barangay officials? Kasi kung deserving sila na magservisyo, tumakbo sila bilang barangay official.
26:07 Yung flagship program ng Lente, yung tayo na Collaboratory for Young Leaders of Democracy, nahitin namin yung struggle na yan lalo na napo-postpone ang barangay tapos mas napo-postpone ang SK election dahil sa mga criticisms against it.
26:24 Pero ang lagi namin sinasabi sa TNC ay pagbigyan natin ma-implement yung SK reform law at SK empowerment law. Kasi tandaan natin unang election na implement yung SK reform law noong 2018. Ano ba yung SK reform law?
26:41 One of the main provisions in the SK reform law is the anti-dicey provision. So it's the only government unit in the Philippines na bawal tumakbo yung mga may kamag-anak na nakaupo sa pwesto from the national down to the barangay level.
26:58 Gusto natin makita ma-implement yung provision ng batas na yan. Main criticism yan na breeding ground ng mga trapo. But we now have the anti-dicey provision so we want that to be implemented and we want it to be studied kung effective ba siya.
27:14 And nagkaroon na tayo ng SK Empowerment Act. Kasi nakita na noong pandemic ang dami mga nag-design ng mga kagawad kasi ang nakakatanggap lang ng honorarium, yung SK chair. So there was a recognition na parehas lang naman nagtatrabaho ang chair at ang kagawad. Why not give this office has honorarium also?
27:36 So nagkaroon na rin ng honorarium ang mga SK kagawad natin. Nagkaroon ng budget ang Local Youth Development Office, nagkaroon dapat ng tao sa Local Youth Development Office.
27:48 So let's give chance to these two laws to be implemented for the next 3 or 6 years. Then let's have the same discussion by 2028 to see if these two laws have been implemented effectively and kung tama pa rin ba na yung setup natin sa SK mimics the same barangay setup.
28:12 So it's just a discussion na ang dami eh. Pwede namang 2 lang, 3. But I think we need to see these two laws implemented first in operation then we ask the same question, 6 years or 9 years from now.
28:30 So in this anti-dynasty law as it's being applied to the SK, itong sangguniang kabataan, how do you define a dynasty in this case? Because at the barangay level, many people are related to people in positions.
28:54 I'm sure mahirap makahanap ng kandidato na walang kamag-anak sa gobyerno o na halal. Or is the law limited to immediate family or 1st degree cousins?
29:15 Ang parameters ng anti-dynasty, ang anti-dynasty provision sa SK reform law, ang prohibition is up to the 2nd degree of consanguinity or affinity. So mayroon ganun definition na kasi lagi tinatanong ng mga officials natin, anong definition na anti-dynasty? Pero na tayo sa SK reform law, 2nd degree of consanguinity or affinity.
29:38 Okay, in a real world sense, sino yung mga bawal? Yung may mga 1st cousin na nakaupo?
29:50 Yung lolo, lola na nakaupo sa best friend. Kasi sa affinity. Kasi sa affinity, 2nd degree.
30:10 So, that's lolo at lola, 1st cousin, and then in-laws. Okay, that's quite clear. Will the outcome of this election influence future elections? Because I do know parang may commitment na yung national government sa automated and there's going to be bidding for new vote counting machines.
30:35 There were some complaints last year about the automated elections and the vote counting machines and there were some breakdowns, etc. And this is the first manual elections for a lot of voters. Kung maganda experience nila dito and there, let's say, mas kunti yung reports ng dayaan, etc. I mean is it possible na bumalik tayo sa manual?
31:02 Siguro mahirap ma-compare yung barangay at SK election sa regular national local election. We have to remember na pag barangay at SK, isang barangay lang yung bibilangin mo voto. Hindi ganun karami. Comparing it to midterm national local election na thousands yung bibilangin.
31:21 So may iba't-ibang factors to decide but what's happening now, what will happen in the October 30 elections is ipapilot ni Komelek yung gamit ng makina in two barangays, one in Cavite and one in Quezon City to see if mas magiging efficient ba ang use ng makina.
31:40 Sa amin sa lifetime, kasi tatandaan natin ang paggamit ng makina, kailangan mo siya tweak dahil depende sa mga kandidato. So kailangan customize ang mga makina. We have 42,027 barangays. We have many machines because we've procured two batches of machines already, three batches na nga.
32:01 So walang problema sa makina pero yung tweaking, customizing at yung kaakibat na gastos kailangan mas pag-aralan. If it's really cost-effective to use the machines or just stick by manual elections dahil hindi naman ganun karami yung bibilangin na voto ng ating electoral board members.
32:23 So compared to midterm election na mas maraming votante, because we're talking about municipalities here, cities na maraming barangay. So baka mas kailangan pang pag-aralan. But going back to sa issue ng use ng makina at hybrid or manual, I think we've been used to having elections and seeing the results of elections overnight.
32:51 So since 8-9pm we somehow know the result of the presidential position. The following day alam na natin halos lahat ng sinong panalo. So we have to really study if yung bang reason natin for automation to make it faster, more efficient would tweak or trump yung issues ng transparency.
33:19 So we have to study the measures going against the use of machines in the elections. Hindi siya transparent, we don't see how the machines count the vote but there are measures to ensure that the machines count correctly the votes, for example random manual audits.
33:35 So that's what nating sinasabi at hinihiling sa Comelec. When you do all of these studies, please always include civil society groups, election groups like us in the discussions and consultations. Hindi pwedeng sila-sila lang yung nag-uusap kasi that would not be good for the elections, the transparency of the elections.
33:55 You mentioned speed. But speed is a double-edged sword. As we saw last year, mabilis nga, mabilis lumabas yung mga winners, yung mga resulta. But on the other hand, may mga nagduda sa outcome dahil para sa kanila masyado naman mabilis.
34:15 Of course we want fast results but we want clean results. Up to now, there are doubts. Para sa 'yo, I'm sure you've seen all of these reports, you've kept track of these discussions about IP addresses and a lot of it is very technical.
34:41 So 'yo, bilang watchdog and mayroon kayong institutional memory of elections, you know these systems. For Lente and for yourself personally, do you think the May 2022 elections were honest?
34:54 For us it's honest because we were part of the random manual audit 2019-2022 and we saw how the machines accurately counted the votes. Yung sa random manual audit po yun yung binibilang isa-isa yung mga balota at kinocompare yung manual count dun sa machine count ng mga makina.
35:14 And we saw in the elections last year how the machines accurately counted the votes. So for us in Lente and for myself personally, the elections last year were clean and it really reflects the will of the Filipinos. It really reflects the votes of the Filipinos.
35:33 Actually, when we last spoke, April 2022, your main concern was not even the machines, was not even in the counting. Your main concern was disinformation, the kind of information that was entering voters' minds.
35:52 Looking back on it, how critical a factor was information and disinformation?
36:01 Disinformation is a critical factor because it goes into how people vote. Unlike machines na magbibilang lang na boto, garbage in, garbage out, but disinformation goes into the heart of the vote of the voter because it affects how the voter would decide on who to vote for.
36:23 That's why in last year's elections we really see disinformation as one of the biggest problems because not all of us have equal access to information. Some don't have unlimited internet to be able to validate or double-check information.
36:43 Meron lang may free data, tas ang nagbabasa lang, puro clickbait. So malaki yung role ng disinformation and we saw also the role of influencers in last year's elections on how they affect the vote of people.
37:01 And nakita rin natin, of the recent controversy involving a personality, na meron talaga mga network of influencers na nababayaran to make stories straight. Just to affect the narrative or to affect how people think about a certain personality or think about a certain transaction.
37:24 Kasi primary vehicle for educating voters in the past have been debates. In this last presidential election, the winning candidate did not bother to participate in any debates.
37:40 And we see that in the US, in the United States, the leading Republican candidate, Donald Trump, is also not participating in debates. So it's not just a Philippine trend.
37:53 Debate traditionally has been a pillar of election campaigns and the democratic process. Anong maging effect nyan on elections here on?
38:03 That's why we support bills filed in Congress right now mandating candidates to attend debates. Because we don't want what happened in last year's election to take precedent in future electoral exercises.
38:18 But at the same time, we also recognize that voter's education is not an effective tool if it would be done three months before the conduct of the elections.
38:30 Mas kailangan ng civic education ng mga tao rather than voter's education.
38:35 Because there's really a need to embed in the discussion, the education of our people, especially our students, on the importance, the functions of the different positions in the government
38:50 and how disinformation affects how people decide or how people vote. So one strategy is policy. Support the pending bills in Congress requiring attendance in debates.
39:06 But the longer approach or the longer solution to it is really civic education. There's a need to have a longer discussion on the role of government officials,
39:19 on how governance affects all of us and not only certain sectors of the population. So that's our approach in that dilemma in last year's elections.
39:32 So salamat sa oras mo, Atty. Ona. At higit sa lahat, salamat sa inyong pagbabantay sa ating eleksyon.
39:40 Atty. Ona Carritos, Executive Director ng Lente, Election Watchdog, sana hindi ka magsawa. Mabuhay ka, Atty. Ona.
39:49 Thank you so much.
39:51 Thank you, sir, Javi. Thank you, mga kapodcast.
39:54 Hi, I'm Javi Severino. Check out the Javi Severino Podcast. New episodes will stream every Thursday.
40:00 Listen for free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other platforms.
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