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Rants and Raves in Lanao Pandemonium and scuffles broke out in several precincts as special elections were held in Lanao del Sur towns. With soldiers deployed in schools and halls leading to precincts, which were littered with garbage and reeking of manure, and with many ballots left uncounted, one would ask what’s so “special” about the special elections held here on May 26. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Thirty-two crude-looking ballot boxes were mounted like sandboxes to cover the soldiers’ headquarters inside the hall. A sign scribbled on an orange cartolina posted in one of the ballot boxes read “Bawal ang sibilyan dito” (Civilians are prohibited here) as if to underscore that only soldiers are allowed inside. Another squad of soldiers stood by the corridor leading to a room where officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) stayed. Lawyer Dindo Magsalalang of the Comelec Election and Barangay Affairs Department said he flew in from Manila early morning that day to oversee the special elections in Masiu. He added that he would have refused the directive if security was not assured. A failure of elections was declared in Masiu and 12 other municipalities in this province during the May 14 elections. The reason: The Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) failed to appear at the polling precincts for fear, so it was claimed, of being caught in the crossfire between warring politicians. In fact, Magsalalang said, indiscriminate firing erupted at the back of the town hall early morning on election day before the polling precincts were opened. No casualties were reported. “Mga watchers ata ng magkabilang panig” (Looks like the watchers from both sides were involved), he said, shaking his head. Despite the shooting, Magsalalang said, he “expects a peaceful election.” A GMA News Research report said seven municipalities in Lanao del Sur have been in the election watch list since 2001. Polls in the towns of Bayang, Calanogas, Madalum, Pagayawa, Kapatagan, Lumbatan and Sultan Dumalundong have been mired by incidents of poll fraud and failure of elections. The same report said these municipalities are either 4th or 5th class and are among the poorest in the country. Only a few communities in these towns have electricity and communication lines while many rural areas have no main roads. Politics in these towns is dominated by political clans. The norm During the special elections, polling precincts at the Magandia Amaloy Elementary School were clustered. There were two precincts in each 6 x 8-meter classrooms. Voters’ lists, which under the Omnibus Election Code should be posted outside the precincts, were nowhere to be found. It turned out that the BEIs were holding the lists and were conducting a roll call of the voters. No secrecy folders or lists of candidates were inside the polling precincts either. What’s inside were poll watchers of local candidates dictating to voters who to vote for. In one classroom, a poll watcher was standing atop a chair and looked like he was calling the shots in the two clustered precincts in that room. The BEIs could only watch in disbelief. Some women who casted their votes had no indelible marks on their fingers despite a bottle of indelible ink placed on the BEIs’ table. Asked why, one woman said, matter-of-factly, “para makaboto ako ulit” (so I can vote again). Elsewhere in Pangandaman Central Elementary School, also in this municipality, pandemonium broke out. Voters were not allowed to fill out their ballots by themselves, poll watchers said. As soon as ballots were handed to the voters, five to 10 poll watchers would “help” the voter fill out the ballot. “Pati sundalo tumutulong magsulat” (Even soldiers are helping to fill out ballots), a poll watcher said. Commotion ensued as the polling precinct was about to close. Twenty excess ballots had been left and the BEIs and poll watchers of two local candidates fought over the division of the remaining ballots which they could use to write the names of their candidates. Soldiers could not pacify the warring watchers who shoved and shouted at each other for about 20 minutes until the BEI chair padlocked the ballot box. The counting
The canvassing areas were highly militarized. Gates, for example, were manned by squads of soldiers, while army trucks and hundreds of soldiers were deployed inside the People’s Park. “O, picture taking. Ngiti kayo” (Smile for the picture taking), one of the soldiers told his colleagues when this reporter took pictures of them. After taking their pictures, one of the soldiers told this reporter, “nakunan na kita ng video!” (I’ve taken video shots of you). At around 12 noon, BEIs and poll watchers were inside the auditorium. Magelyn Mendoza, 37, a public school teacher from Kapatagan, was seated on the floor, carping, “Kagabi pa kami dito, hindi pa kami kumakain, hindi rin kami nakaka-ihi” (We’ve been here since last night, and we haven’t had the chance to eat or even urinate). There were no portable toilets either, she said, and toilets outside were so dirty that they had become unusable. While most of the election inspectors waited for food, some had fallen asleep. Others busied themselves putting on make-up.
Human waste Piles of used styrofoam, plastic cups, spoons and fork, paper plates, foil packs, plastic bags of various sizes greeted poll watchers, BEIs and observers as they trooped to Amai Pak Pak Central Elementary School for the counting of votes from Lumbayanague town. The stairs leading up to the counting areas were littered with rotten food, apparently leftovers from the May 14 elections. People who stayed here for the night could have urinated and defecated along the halls leading to the classrooms. Outside the classrooms were more piles of garbage.
Indeed, except for a few isolated cases, no votes were apparently cast for senators and party-list groups in this precinct. If there were any, as in the case of one ballot which had the name “Lorin” (apparently referring to Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Loren Legarda), votes were not tallied. But at precincts numbers 15-A, Barangay Diromoyod, and 009-A, Barangay Cabuntongan, votes were not being tallied even as ballots contained votes for senators and party-list groups. One of the BEIs explained that they were ordered by higher authorities to leave the votes for national positions uncounted. What’s so special about the elections in Lanao del Sur? In the 2004 presidential elections, Lanao del Sur figured prominently as the province where Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reportedly got her big lead against rival Fernando Poe, Jr., a legendary actor and hero for the Maranaos. This was revealed after wiretapped conversations allegedly between Macapagal-Arroyo and former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano surfaced. In the conversation, popularly known as the “Hello, Garci” tapes, the President was heard asking: “So will I still lead by more than one million (votes)?” Garcillano replied: “Mataas ho siya (Poe) pero maco-compensate po sa Lanao yan” (Poe has more votes but Lanao can make up for that). With votes for national positions not tallied by the BEIs in the precinct level, will the “Hello, Garci” scandal rear its ugly head once more in Lanao del Sur? Bulatlat
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MASIU, Lanao del Sur – An armored personnel carrier (APC) and a military truck were parked in front of the Masiu town hall on May 26, the day special elections were held in this town and 12 other municipalities in Lanao del Sur. Two platoons of soldiers in fatigue uniform sttod guard at the decrepit municipal hall with trash strewn all over. A squad of soldiers armed with M16 assault rifles manned the main entrance. They were part of the 2,000 soldiers and 500 police officers sent to the province for the special elections. 
Since 1995, Magsalalang said that the counting of votes in this province had been centralized in Marawi, the Islamic city capital of Lanao del Sur. For the special elections, however, counting was done in three areas – the People’s Park, the Amai Pak Pak Central Elementary School and the Marawi National High School. 
The counting was stalled, Mendoza said, for unknown reasons. It was almost 3 p.m. when it started but everything turned into bedlam. Outside, heavy rain fell as shouts of poll inspectors from 36 clustered precincts of Kapatagan filled the air inside the auditorium. 
An hour or so into the counting, the lights went off but, surprisingly, there was no panic or shouting. Anticipating the “brownout,” the inspectors and poll watchers came ready with their miniature flashlights, turned them on and continued with the counting. “Ganito naman lagi” (It’s been like this since) one of the poll watchers said. 
Inside precinct number 0010-A of Barangay Kadiligan, the three-page tally sheets for national positions were used as a table cloth while poll watchers sat on them. When asked why, one of the poll watchers said, “wala naman kasing bumoboto ng senador at party-list” (Nobody here votes for senator or party-list group).