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‘COMELEC, Labas’: Groups Flock to Intramuros to Protest Against Alleged Electoral Fraud

‘COMELEC, Labas’: Groups Flock to Intramuros to Protest Against Alleged Electoral Fraud

May 11, 2022   •   Kyzia Maramara

The counting isn’t over and no official presidential winner has yet been announced but the protests and rallies have already started. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is currently in the lead with 31 million votes while his rival and opposition leader, Vice President Leni Robredo follows him with 14.8 million votes as of writing.

Since the unofficial partial count was first reported on the eve of May 9, most Filipinos have been in disbelief, especially after going through a messy election experience. This includes multiple reports of Vote Counting Machines (VCM) malfunctioning leaving plenty of Filipinos waiting overnight and well into the morning of May 10 just to cast their votes.

For many Filipinos, the poll results were devastating. Plenty resorted to joining protests at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) headquarters at Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.

 

A protest for a clean and fair elections

Around 9 AM on May 10, a huge group gathered in Intramuros, Manila to protest the results of the ongoing election count. The crowd — which was estimated to be at 2,000 — was composed of students from different universities and civilians from various sectors. They collectively questioned the credibility of the results which, despite reports of broken VCMs, were transmitted within hours.

“Patunayan niyo sa amin na malinis. Kasi ang bilis e,” said running priest Robert Reyes, one of the people who led the protest group. “Hindi ba ang eleksyon noong araw, matagal. Ngayon tapos na agad?”

 

“COMELEC, labas”

Protesters shouted for COMELEC workers to stand outside and face them. According to these protesters, Halalan 2022 was marred by “widespread electoral fraud and violence.”

Investigative journalist Raissa Robles herself said that this was “Comelec’s fastest transmission of vote results” and expressed interest in wanting to know what they did to count so fast. She also cited COMELEC Commissioner George Garcia who earlier said it would take them seven days to count the votes for president and vice president but they produced almost 50% of precinct results just a few hours after voting ended.

 

Students stepped up

Students from universities such as the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, University of the Philippines, and University of Sto. Tomas attended the rally. Some universities even called off classes in defiance against a “Marcos presidency” and demanded accountability from COMELEC.

 

 

Shouts of defiance

 

After a while, the group walked through the Walled City and marched to Liwasang Bonifacio. They could be heard shouting the lyrics to Gab Valenciano’s song “Ang Presidente Bise Presidente” which supporters have been chanting over and over throughout VP Leni’s campaign: “Ang presidente Leni Robredo, bise presidente Kiko Pangilinan. Gobyernong tapat, angat buhay lahat.”

In another clip, protesters are heard chanting “Marcos, Duterte, mandaraya!” as they grew in numbers in front of Palacio del Gobernador.

 

 

The police and even firemen were there to keep protesters in line

It wasn’t a completely peaceful protest as videos scattered on the internet show protesters and policemen pushing each other around. Fortunately, nothing escalated. But to avoid further altercation, the group decided to march to Liwasang Bonifacio and continue their protest there.

 

ABS-CBN News reporter Jervis Manahan shared photos of firemen with a hose in front of Palacio del Gobernador. He reports that the hoses were intended to disperse the thickening crowd gathering in front of the building.

 

 

Signs of life inside the building

 

Facebook page Archers Network shared a photo of what looks like people inside Palacio del Gobernador doing the “laban” hand sign, a symbol during the EDSA People Power Revolution. It’s also a hand sign associated with VP Leni’s campaign.

Meanwhile, many on social media are recalling how back in 1986, COMELEC employees walked out after noticing a manipulation of results in favor of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and wondering if history will repeat itself today.

 

 

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A post shared by 🐉 Mano (@manogonzales)

 

Flocking to Liwasang Bonifacio

At Liwasang Bonifacio, the protesters continued to wave their placards and called for fair and honest elections. After the protest ended, demonstrators hung around to talk with those willing to listen to the projected effects of a Marcos-Duterte tandem on our democracy.

 

Halalan 2022 Election Results

As of writing, Marcos Jr. remains in the lead in the presidential race via Comelec’s transparency server. His 31 million votes are followed by VP Leni’s 14.8 million. Meanwhile, Marcos Jr.’s running mate, Sara Duterte, leads the vice presidential race with 31.5 million votes followed by Senator Kiko Pangilinan with 9.2 million votes.

You can monitor the vote counts as they’re transmitted live here and here.

 

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Kyzia spends most of her time capturing the world around her through photos, paragraphs, and playlists. She is constantly on the hunt for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and a great paperback thriller to pair with it.

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