Discombobulated

Just as everyone was preparing to cast his vote less than a week away, the automated system that would govern the sanctity of sovereign choice gets discombobulated. What was billed by its sponsors, principally the discredited Comelec and the pollyanish PPCRV as a foolproof, Garci-proof “high-tech” system has suddenly seemed like Humpty-Dumpty.

Tested with actual ballots and actual candidate names printed on front and back, the Smartmatic PCOS machines failed quite miserably. In Batangas, in Mindoro, and even in the country’s most affluent Makati, the PCOS read the front of the official ballot well enough, but failed to read the back where the local candidates were listed, accurately. Contrary for instance to both surveys and plain sense, Jun-jun Binay got zero, Ernesto Mercado got 2, and Erwin Genuino harvested an unbelievable 76 votes in pre-testing. In Mindoro, Josephine Sato had zero versus Villarosa of Pa-La-Ka. Even the immensely popular Vilma Santos registered a cipher in the machine-printed tally.

By Tuesday, Comelec could only mumble lame excuses, and PPCRV, heretofore as gung-ho as the deaf being led by the blind towards uncertain fate, could only admit its composure was shattered. Smartmatic executives were profuse with apologies, assuring everyone and his uncle that they could yet “fix” the incompatibility of quickly-printed ballots with the 76 thousand memory cards imbedded on their counting machines. And with so little time left.

People had made up their minds, the religious blocs have battened down the hatches on their “command” vote, national candidates have been winding down their campaigns, and then this sudden discombobulation. Was Humpty Dumpty all broken to pieces, or is it just a crack that Elmer’s can glue together?

Meanwhile, the little lady in the stinking palace beside the stinking river is as eerily quiet as ever. Nary a beep, nary a squawk. Only Gary Olivar, her American spokesperson, is cackling. Is she up to something? With her candidates, official and secret, unravelled in naked glory and naked gore, is this her way of throwing a monkey wrench on the predictable win of those she most despise? Is this pre-programmed? Or is it sheer incompetence?

The political storm has begun. It has yet to hit land, but gale force is predictable. Will the ship of state founder?

* * *

Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) of which I am a part, has been warning about this automated system from the beginning. As early as last year, I rean a series of articles on what I called “a disaster waiting to happen”. Comelec never listened. Neither did PPCRV. Commissioner Rene Sarmiento wrote me a letter saying that he appreciated my concern and that he would take these up with the commission en banc.

Yesterday, CCM, through my good friend Harry Roque, whose heart is always in the right place, and whose mind is as sharp as his tongue could cut. Issued a statement on the disaster that has come:

“This has been a problematic contract to begin with – how can anyone be surprised that the machines are not performing correctly given the haste by which the contract was crafted, the speed by which the contract price was paid, and the haphazard way the AES is being implemented?

“When we questioned this contract before the Supreme Court, we indicated that we were not against the automation of elections per se; we were against this particular contract because it was disadvantageous to the Philippines.

“The malfunctioning of the machines would not be happening if Smartmatic and Total Information Management (TIM) complied with the mandatory testing of all PCOS machines as soon as they are delivered to the COMELEC and on time. Smartmatic-TIM and COMELEC used the delay in the delivery of the PCOS machine as justification to waive the mandatory testing and effectively short circuit the processes provided by the law.

“Based on the ‘creatively’ crafted contract between Smartmatic-TIM and Comelec, the Philippine government is obliged to pay for the full price of the contract, whether the PCOS machines are used or not, and whether irregularities with the machines and the software are subsequently discovered.”

But worse than the billions poor Juan de la Cruz will be charged with yet once again (after Ben Abalos threw a billion and more in the Mega-Pacific deal of 2004), is the despair and anger a failed electoral exercise will unleash.

It may be a case of democracy, and not just Comelec or Smartmatic, becoming a Humpty Dumpty whose pieces can no longer be put back together.

* * *

Meanwhile, angered Fil-Canadians, speaking through Mike Moreno of the Fil-Can Alliance, warns of the spectre of the AFP Chief of Staff, Del Bangit, installing a “transition” government, whether in the form of a military junta or Dona Gloria yet in the saddle. Moreno warns thus:

“Should this happen and I wish it won't, we will see and witness again a massive peoples power uprising with the assistance of some influencial church leaders and the patriotic men and women in uniform to protect civilians, in complete abandon to the illegal order of few loyalist Generals in the AFP to their Commander-in-Chief and bloody, it will be and far worst than what is in Thailand today.”

Hindi naman siguro, Mike. I happened to chance upon a Strictly Politics interview of General Bangit some last week. For someone in whose person most Filipinos get paranoid with fear and mistrust, General Bangit sounded truly sincere in upholding the laws of the land, particularly the Constitution. He did not seem willing to risk his name over adventurism or vile utilitarianism from the person who appointed him CS. Neither, I trust and I hope, will the professional corps of the military, even the police, let alone the junior officers and enlisted men who have suffered just as much as any other Juan de la Cruz, from the criminal excesses, the abuses, and the ineffectiveness of this regime that is in its last dying gasps of putrid air.

* * *

Yet in the Bank of Banks, apart from fatal silence on how a preceding leadership allowed it to be the vaca lechera of a failed bank belonging to the family of a “failed” presidential candidate, dark forces have succeeded in getting their Dona Gloria to sign approval of the New Generation Currency, set for release before the end of this year. Agreement of Malacanang was needed to trigger a “public bidding”, as “privately” being stitched together, as it is rushed. As if there is a compulsion to begin demonetizing the present banknotes, unmindful of the fact that there will be, or should be, a new president and a new regime come noon of June 30.

Earlier, as part of a massive outsourcing process began six or seven years ago, the Bangko Sentral ordered some 900 million pieces of fresh new paper bills, some 100 million of which arrived recently. But to its consternation, the first batch of the 900 million bills imported from a German printer had a serious flaw, likely because the Bank specified a new kind of printer’s ink. When the freshly minted notes arrived, they were of a paler hue than the usual 100-peso banknotes bearing the likeness of Pres. Manuel A. Roxas.

Worried that (1) the public, through naked eye, might spot the paler hue, and mistake the same for counterfeit notes; and (2) that there needs to be an ample supply of lower-denomination peso bills (it used to be that 20 and 50 peso denominations were used for vote-buying, now of course, the local candidates need tons and tons of hundred-peso denominations) for the elections, the Bangko Sentral has been going overtime on its 34-year old printing machines at the East Avenue Mint, printing the new 100-peso bills to replace yet another botched delivery from its outsourced printers (“Arrovo” all over yet again?). They even assigned a lady Monetary Board member whose family is in the printing business, among many others, to oversee the rush, round-the-clock printing, like a taskmistress of sorts.

For a fiduciary of the people’s monetary system, one wonders if it is only sheer lack of foresight that has got the Bank from replacing equipment depreciated several times over, and preferred imports of currency in its stead. The deputy governor, Diwa Gunigundo, has written that outsourcing is necessary because of demand outstripping supply capability. Fine. But why seven years, Mr. Diwa, sir?

Now it wants to rehabilitate its print and mint plant, allocating 5.7 billion pesos for the purpose. The Bank reasons that upgrades and rehabilitation are needed before buying new printing machines, reputedly the most modern, with capability to print banknotes almost fool-proof from counterfeiting. Why so? That seems to defy all logic.

It would cost them some 2.6 billion to buy new printing machines, ready for installation by end-year at the latest, by mid-year if they had proceeded with their indefinitely postponed bidding. Now they would spend some 5.7 billion just to rehabilitate and upgrade three decade old machines? And meanwhile, continue importing printed paper currency which costs them some 20 million euro (about 1.2 billion) each year?

Did these guys at the Bangko Sentral forget their lessons in incremental costs and logical reasoning? Or is the smell of freshly-printed euros too overpowering? Last two minutes, ala-IBC 13 and other sorts of privatization deals, not to mention Norbert Gonzales’ buying spree of defense materiel?

A new government under Noynoy Aquino will have to look into this, as it has to discover what made an earlier Bank leadership to grant 4.5 billion pesos in loans to a failed bank and accepted payment in kind of worthless, even dubious titles. “Independence” of the monetary authority does not mean exemption from transparency and public accountability.

So many more details, so many new leads, so much documentary trail, but so little time. The elections, real or faked, failed or un-proclaimed, demand full attention at this point.

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

LITO BANAYO
MALAYA Column for Thursday, 06 May 2010