June 16, 2005 · Posted in: 2004 Electoral Fraud, Governance, In the News
The congressional canvass report redux
CONGRESS on June 4, 2004 convened its joint committee to canvass the votes for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the May elections. Twenty-two lawmakers sat in that committee, with eleven members from each of the two chambers.
On June 23 the committee issued its report, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro were declared to have won as president and vice president.
The Joint Committee … found all the one hundred eighty (180) certificates of canvass (COCs) from seventy-nine (79) provinces, twenty-two (22) highly urbanized cities, seventy-four (74) Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) countries, and one (1) Local Absentee Voting (LAV), and three (3) certificates of canvass from Northern Samar, Maguindanao and Lanao del Norte covering special elections held in those provinces, authentic and duly executed.
Rival parties, we all remember, were never as convinced: They issued objections to COCs that were, based on their own documentation, riddled with at best inconsistencies and at worst, outright fraud. In the end, the committee report said:
All the inconsistencies found in the certificates of canvass and/or statements of votes were satisfactorily explained by (the Boards of Canvassers) before the Joint Committee.
In his written opinion concurring with the committee report, co-chair Sen. Francis Pangilinan would say the proceedings were merely “administrative,” and that those who wanted to raise questions about any irregularities should bring their case not to the canvassing body but to the electoral tribunal.
The hands of the committee are tied and it may not usurp the functions of other agencies and institutions.
The minority would later issue before the plenary its own report, naming it, “The True Report.”
Read the joint committee report and some of its annexes:
- Main report
- Annex D: Summary of memoranda submitted by the counsels of candidates
- Annex F: List of provinces with inconsistencies in their COCs and SOVs
- Annex G: List of objected COCs
6 Responses to The congressional canvass report redux
floyd
June 16th, 2005 at 10:32 pm
uh-huh so what is this? vindication for the opposition?
floyd
June 16th, 2005 at 11:27 pm
can sumbody please post the law on inciting to sedition? salamat!!!
swerty
June 16th, 2005 at 11:50 pm
—Off topic—
Warning: Be careful especially if you are taking bus or train or around a big crowd. I’m a little paranoid but I need to tell you that there might be some incidences of criminal acts or a major news like bombing a mall. All I’m saying is that they might use some diversionary tactic to distract the attention of the people. Again, be careful and be vigilant.
cadex
June 18th, 2005 at 12:13 am
magkaroon na lang kaya tayo ng eleksyon ulit?kaya lang may tiwala pa kaya ang mga tao?kung kayo boboto pa ba kayo kung wala rin namang kwenta ung boto nyo?
bagabag
June 21st, 2005 at 8:36 am
IT SEEMS that based on the Congreessional Report and in the aftermath of the tapes that were made public, there seem to be a deliberate attempt on the part of majority members of Congress to proclaim GMA as the winning candidate despite the protestation and glaring inconsistencies of the results of the elections.
It is not enough to say that “All the inconsistencies found in the certificates of canvass and/or statements of votes were satisfactorily explained by (the Boards of Canvassers) before the Joint Committee”
While we may agree that Congress fuctions is purely administrative and does not have the power to usurp the powers of other agencies, it is I believe in the conscience of the members of Congress, who proclaimed GMA as president, who will on the final analysis, be responsible for their actions.
The tapes have revealed these inconsistencies. Now we are faced with a situation where we have a President who “cheated” her way to power.
With the help of his congressional allies of course.
protocol
June 22nd, 2005 at 9:36 pm
I am admire PCIJs bravery and courage for the Filipino people. I feel sad though that many people are not that interested and are not eager in pursuing the truth. I know that our hunches are right but I guess they are so selfish not to change the status quo.
Kudos to you all!