By Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua and John Joshua Duldulao
Elections on 1978 and 1984
During the post-war years, the Commission of Elections was relatively independent and maintained credible elections. But the time of Marcos saw the COMELEC as a tool of the government to legitimize its rule. It was evident during the elections for the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978, the first real elections that was held after Martial Law was proclaimed. The parliament would be composed of a certain number of representatives for each region that would serve as a legislative body. The administration party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, fielded the first lady, Imelda Romualdez Marcos as 20 other candidates for the elections in Metro Manila. Marcos wished that it would be a two-party contest, but Ninoy Aquino led the Liberal Party in saying that their participation would only legitimize the elections that they expected to turn against them anyway by hook or by crook. The other parties who participated were Pusyong Bisaya, the Young Philippines, Mindanao Alliance and the League of Liberated Scientists. Suddenly, Ninoy felt that if he runs, it might be a great opportunity to reach out to the people after so long and speak against the dictatorship even if he would not win. And so, Ninoy decided to run. But he was not allowed by the Liberal Party leaders to run under the party’s name so they formed a new alliance called Lakas ng Bayan or LABAN. This is where the “Laban” (L) sign came from. Despite his requests, Ninoy wasn’t allowed to campaign outside his prison cell. To justify this, the government, through Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, charged Ninoy of not just being a sympathizer of the New People’s Army but also a man who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. And so it was his fellow Laban candidates like Jerry Barican, Alex Boncayao, Neptali Gonzales, Tito Guingona, Ernie Maceda, Ramon Mitra, Nene Pimentel, Charito Planas, Anding Roces, Soc Rodrigo and others campaigned for him. Also campaigning for him was his wife Cory and their children, especially seven-year old Kris, who at that time already possessed star quality with ther ability to talk and campaign.
The regime granted though his request for a press conference and a live TV interview which was shown on March 10 from Fort Bonifacio through GTV-4. Ninoy answered the issues hurled against him. It was reported that only a few people and vehicles were on the streets during that day night. Many wanted to watch Ninoy Aquino. Then, LABAN called for a noise barrage one night before the election, April 6. Starting at seven that night, there was widespread noise-making and protests that happened around Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog. It was a fiesta of sorts, the first manifestation of People Power. For Ninoy Aquino perhaps, that was enough.
For as expected, five TV channels announced a 21-0 win in Metro Manila for Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. Before 11 % of votes could be counted, COMELEC held a “midnight canvass” and proclaimed Imelda and 20 other KBL candidates as winners. LABAN expected at least their more famous candidates to make it to the top—Ninoy, Maceda, Mitra, Soc, Neptali and Roces. Apparently, in the COMELEC count, Ninoy was defeated by the last candidate of KBL, Waldo S. Perfecto, a guy who never had the national recognition that Aquino had, defeated him by 234,000 votes. Many called it “Lutong Macoy” or literally, “Cooked by Marcos” in reference to “lutong macao” which is a colloquial word for victory already made up, and “Macoy,” a monicker for President Marcos.
The next day, Marcos declared “Before, I restrained the law-enforcement agencies. But today I have ordered them to go after these people (who defy the governnent) in order to calm the fears of the people.” Demonstrations were banned. But LABAN protested the results of the elections by marching from Welcome Rotonda to Manila on April 8 carrying a coffin—symbolizing the death of democracy. They were stopped by policemen near the España railroad tracks. Their leaders such as Joker Arroyo, Pimentel, Guingona, Rodrigo and even the old Lorenzo Tañada, the grand old man of Philippine politics were arrested and detained. The frustration caused by this use of democracy to trample democracy made some moderate activists to bomb installations under the name “April 6 Liberation Movement,” the date of the noise barrage. The fraud and the arrests didn’t go unnoticed by the international media, the most notable of these comments was reflected by a Washington Post editorial cartoon showing a group of people being led away by a truck with Marcos saying, “Ingrates! You let them vote and the next thing, they want their ballots counted.”
In the next elections for the regular Batasang Pambansa held on 14 May 1984, Ninoy was already dead after being assassinated upon returning from exile in the United States, 21 August 1983. There was much debate in the opposition if they would participate or not. Her widow Cory Aquino, after much thought, opted to campaign for the opposition candidates. Even if it was only a Batasan election, this was a very important for the president. The United States was closely watching this election to see if President Marcos still had mandate. Many believe that elections for him was more a message that he has mandate for the United States and the international banking and lending institutions than getting the voice of his own people.
Again, COMELEC was tainted by a credibility problem. COMELEC had to certify “dominant opposition party” in each region. The DOP were the only ones in the oppositions entitled to have poll watchers. But the National Citizens Movement for Free Election (NAMFREL), an election watch dog founded in 1983, reported that COMELEC certified a “very weak, pro-KBL” party The Roy Wing of the Nacionalista Party to become the DOP in 27 provinces. According to Kaa Byington, KBL created fake opposition parties which were certified by the COMELEC which guaranteed KBL wins in the said area. COMELEC also ordered seven million watermarked excess ballots, not only from the Bureau of Printing, but to five other printers which scrambled the serial numbers on the ballots. New Year’s Eve of 1984, barangay officials were invited to Malacañang and received gift baskets, each with a kilo of rice, milk and fruit juice, salt and 100 pesos. The election code wanted to prevent a boom in infrastructure projects during campaign period but the president had roads and bridges constructed to assist his KBL partymates. Imelda Marcos publicly said that any barangay who would give 0 votes to the opposition will be given cash awards. This was known as “Operation Zero.” According to reports, the KBL spent Php 142 Million for their campaign!. Also, billboards announcing projects delivered by KBL candidates through their pork barrel funds proliferated during the 45-day campaign. Again, public funds were used for projects rushed to completion before the day of the polls totalling about US$ 28.5 Million so they could convince people to vote for them.
Masked armed men were seen in some villages and military personnel which should be confined to barracks on election day were seen in places were the opposition was strong. In Tarlac, Ninoy Aquino’s home province, NAMFREL received reports that 7,000 armalites were delivered there. Hooded armed men then roamed in the barrios, knocking on doors at midnight. Seven followers of Evelio Javier, who was running against KBL’s Pacificador, were killed going to the polling place at Sibalom. NAMFREL partially counted Javier’s vote as 6,968 to Pacificador’s 2,279. COMELEC received requests to let the police take-over the province because amred men were blocking all roads and preventing the returns to be taken to the provincial canvassers. Then COMELEC, proclaimed Arturo Pacificador as the winner of the race. There were 348 reported election-related deaths during the 1984 elections, mostly from military and NPA clashes. Yet, 10 opposition supporters, one opposition candidate, a KBL member, 6 town mayors, 5 school teachers and 2 NAMFREL volunteers were included. A mayor even admitted “cheerfully” to TIME’s Sandra Burton that open voting was common practice in her town. People show who they voted for upon submission of ballot to the presiding poll watchers stating that no law was against it. NAMFREL announced that it is projecting 91-seat victory for the opposition, the incoming returns to the NAMFREL headquarters dropped. Tarlac reported no returns at all. Within five days, COMELEC proclaimed 89 winners which included 16 Metro Manila oppositionist, even if the canvass was still incomplete, “COMELECted” as they said at that time. Although the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan won 114 of 183 seats, the opposition headed by Doy Laurel’s The United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) and Nene Pimentel’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-LABAN (PDP-LABAN) managed to win 61 seats. The 18 PDP-Laban representatives who won seats especially critiqued the Marcos regime squarely in the face, and championed the interests of the poor and the oppressed, demanding respect for human rights, compensation for victims of military operations, monitoring budget deliberations, advocating improvement of health services. US President Ronald Reagan’s spokesperson Larry Speakes spoke, “Democracy is alive and working in the Philippines.” President Marcos seemed to have gotten what he wanted. For now.