Electoral body must investigate spoiled vote in Singapore

THE Elections Committee (Comelec) should complete its investigation into a spoiled vote given to a Filipino voter in Singapore last week before the May 9 election or risk losing credibility, political analysts say.

“The issue of the alleged foreshadowed voting incident in Singapore must be resolved immediately by the Comelec or this incident will put it in a bad light,” Marlon M. Villarin, a political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas, said in a Viber message at the weekend. “Otherwise the integrity of the election results will be compromised.”

A Facebook post from a Filipino in Singapore claiming she had received a pre-shaded vote went viral last week.

The Philippine embassy in Singapore said it was aware of the spoiled ballot paper accidentally given to a voter during Monday’s election, calling it an “isolated incident”.

“This report is alarming and should be treated seriously by Comelec,” Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines (UP) said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Elections should not only be conducted, but should be viewed as legitimate by the electorate and reports such as these should be addressed to reassure the public that Comelec has zero tolerance for election fraud,” she added.

Election Commissioner George Erwin M. Garcia said they were investigating the incident.

“We really need to investigate this incident because this must not happen again and find out why this spoiled ballot was given to the voter,” he told CNN Philippines last week.

The vote, he added, should have been separate and put in a spoiled ballot envelope “so we’ll definitely get that answer in the next few days.”

Cleo Anne A. Calimbahin, an associate professor at De La Salle University, said human error could have caused the incident.

“Our embassy officials are empowered to manage the automated voting abroad even as they continue to perform their other duties,” she said in an email. “I have observed automated voting abroad in other countries and human error is possible given the size of the manpower in the embassies.”

Mr Garcia previously said electoral council members abroad should be given the benefit of the doubt as their duties can be exhausting.

Last week, Davao mayor and vice presidential bet Sara Duterte-Carpio urged Comelec to investigate similar allegations of electoral irregularities in Dubai and Singapore. She said reports of pre-shaded ballots were “deeply disturbing.”

“Even if the embassy said this was a mistake and an isolated incident, it needs to be explained why it happened and how it was remedied,” Maria Ela L. Atienza, who also teaches political science at UP, said in a Viber post.

“Government officials and personnel must ensure that the process is carried out properly and of course all voters must be vigilant and report any irregularities they see with proper evidence.”

“The Movement Against Disinformation calls on Comelec and all relevant government agencies to not only warn people against spreading fake news, but more importantly, to fully and diligently investigate these incidents,” the group said in a statement.

“All public institutions are reminded that their exclusive master is the sovereign people, and that they must act only in accordance with the best interests of the public service,” it added.

Comelec called the incident in Singapore last week “fake news” and warned the public against spreading false information.

In Sweden, at least three Filipino voters received two ballot papers from the Philippine embassy there.

“Whether the incidents are isolated, or worse, deliberate events, the Comelec must faithfully and willingly carry out its mandate to safeguard the sanctity of the vote,” the group said. † John Victor D. Ordonez and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan