Business, Economics and Consulting

Official canvassing of votes is now on-going for the top two (2) critical positions – president and vice-president – the heart of suspense and anticipation.

The waiting is not so much on the announcement of winners to these top posts – after all, we already have a hint on who they are based on the unofficial counts of the PPCRV – but whether or not the official counts based on the Certificates of Canvas (COCs) would jive with those of the PPCRV and those of the individual monitoring mechanisms of contending candidates. For the presidency, the canvassing is moot and academic. Majority of the candidates had conceded and gave way for the apparent President-elect, Senator Noynoy Aquino. The vice-presidency is another matter. Even the members of the canvassing board of Congress have anticipated discrepancies and anomalies on the COCs. The camps of both Mayor Binay and Senator Roxas are surely on their toes now in trying to protect the integrity of their ballots.

Be it Mayor Binay or Senator Roxas, the challenge is now on Congress. Earlier insinuations of fraud, mass-cheating and result manipulations, unfounded as they may be, would certainly make the announcement very difficult, much more for the acceptance of the people. This makes the canvassing of the Congress very critical; hence, it should be done with utmost professionalism, transparency and objectivity. Professionalism, in the sense that the canvassing adheres to the highest degree of trust and confidence, credibility and integrity among the members of the canvassing board; members are cordial and courteous with each other. Transparency – that the counting is made open and that interested people could get a chance to witness any segment of the canvassing; nothing is concealed. Objectivity – that the whole exercise sets aside political party affiliations.

With all eyes now on Congress, members of the canvassing board should act as one. The event should no longer be a place for grandstanding political speeches and debates with personal vested interests. People are no longer interested to see how brilliant, or otherwise, these members in the canvassing board are. The Filipinos only want to see members of the canvassing board in solid unity in proclaiming the chosen ones without any tinge of doubt and uncertainty. Any pointless, careless and unnecessary remark by any member would definitely send an avalanche of dissent which could again result to a never-ending series of discord and dissonance between parties, their loyal supporters, and among Filipino people. In simplest term, I mean, the Congress should no longer aggravate ill-feelings, distrust and despair not only among candidates and their parties, but more among Filipinos.

We need to be united now as we usher in a new beginning. The Congress’ canvassing board could show us the way through this final counting exercise, and the President-elect should and must continue to lead us in harmony.

Already anticipating the proclamation of Senator Noynoy to the top post, people are paying much attention to his every move. Everybody is watching him – some would want him to commit mistakes and some would want him to be able to hurdle the challenges that come with the position. We haven’t seen much of him in Congress – both at the House and at the Senate – but majority of us think that he is the best candidate for the position. He has to prove himself now even before he gets that much awaited official proclamation from Congress and for the rest of his term.

As a mere spectator of this political exercise, I expect the President-elect to first reach out to his opponents and heal their wounded souls. Even this early, he should foster good relationship with his predecessor no matter how tangent their views, opinions and beliefs could be.

As he is now regarded as a model of peace and harmony in the society, he should temper political conflicts with humility and goodwill; after all, he has been chosen because people know that he is much better than anybody else in terms of personal values and integrity. Without compromising his noble and pure intentions for the common good, he should show us how to abide by the laws, rules and regulations of our country. Then and only then could we be able to unite and continue the fight against corruption in government and against lawlessness in our society.

Feel free to send your comments to nic_agustin@yahoo.com.