Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Movement
Group 1
Reports on the 1986 Snap
Elections by International
Observers
External Criticism Internal Criticism
● Published at: Washington, D.C. ● How close was the author to the event being
: National Democratic Institute studied?
- They are at the Philippines during the Snap Election
for International Affairs :
● When was the account made
National Republican Institute - 1986
for International Affairs, [1986] ● Who was the recipient of the accounts?
● Print, book - Filipinos
● By international observer ● Is there bias to be accounted for?
delegation, national - None
● Does informed common sense make the account
democratic institute for
probable?
international affairs and
- Yes
national republican institute ● Is the account corroborated by other accounts?
for international affairs - Yes
Delegates
Executive Summary
--An estimated 3.5 million voters were disenfranchised on election day ,when
they could not find their names on the voting register. This resulted in a voter
turnout of only 76% in this important presidential election, as compared to 89%
in the 1984 Batasang election. This is a major drop off, especially considering
the absence of a well-organized boycott for this election.
Executive Summary
--Pollwatchers from the designated opposition UNIDO party and the accredited
citizen's arm, NAMFREL, were not permitted access to polling places in many
provinces.
Executive Summary
--Problems relating to the counting of votes occurred during all phases of the
process. Major discrepancies between the count kept by NAMFREL --based on
hard copies of precinct tally forms signed by all members of the Board of
Election inspectors --and COMELEC recurred throughout the week following the
election, evidencing attempts to manipulate the vote count.
--While we have no direct evidence, we believe that the interference with the
counting process which occurred after election day was not simply a dispute
between COMELEC and NAMFREL over their "quick count" agreement; rather we
believe this was part of an effort by the Government and its supporters to buy
time so that the above mentioned fraud could be undertaken.
Executive Summary
A Path to Democratic
Renewal in 1986
Post-Election Statement of
CBCP by Archbishop
Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal
February 13, 1986
External Criticism Internal Criticism
The recipients of the account were not only the political bodies, but also
the nation, to make them realize how dirty the snap election was.
● Is there bias?
There is no bias
Yes
Yes, the statement was made in relation to the snap elections and was
based on the results declared by NAMFREL and COMELEC.
Introduction. The people have spoken. Or have tried to. Despite the obstacles
thrown in the way of their speaking freely, we, the bishops, believe that on the
basis of our assessment as pastors of the recently concluded polls, what they
attempted to say is clear enough.
The Conduct of the Polls. In our considered judgment, the polls were
unparalleled in the fraudulence of their conduct. And we condemn especially the
following modes of fraudulence and irregularities.
The deliberate tampering with the election returns. The votes of the people, even
when already duly expressed and counted, were altered to register choices other
than their own.
Intimidation, harassment, terrorism and murder. These made naked fear the
decisive factor in people not participating in the polls or making their final
choice. These and many other irregularities point to a criminal use of power to
thwart the sovereign will of the people. Yet, despite these evil acts, we are
morally certain the people’s real will for change has been truly manifested.
● There was fraudulence in conduct.
● It was a government in possession of power thus, it has the obligation
to right the wrong.
Government Based on the Polls. According to moral principles, a government
that assumes or retains power through fraudulent means has no moral basis.
For such an access to power is tantamount to a forcible seizure and cannot
command the allegiance of the citizenry. The most we can say then, about such
a government, is that it is a government in possession of power. But admitting
that, we hasten to add: Because of that very fact, that same government itself
has the obligation to right the wrong it is founded on. It must respect the
mandate of the people. This is precondition for any reconciliation.
● There was fraudulence in conduct.
● It was a government in possession of power thus, it has the obligation
to right the wrong.
● If the government does not correct the wrong then the people should
take action but not in violent means or in a “non-violent struggle for
justice”.
Response in Faith. If such a government does not of itself freely correct the evil
it has inflicted on the people then it is our serious moral obligation as a people to
make it do so.
We are not going to effect the change we seek by doing nothing, by sheer
apathy. If we did nothing we would be party to our own destruction as a people.
We would be jointly guilty with the perpetrators of the wrong we want righted.
We therefore ask every loyal member of the Church, every community of the
faithful, to form their judgment about the February 7 polls. And if in faith they see
things as we the bishops do, we must come together and discern what
appropriate actions to take that will be according to the mind of Christ. In a
creative, imaginative way, under the guidance of Christ’s Spirit, let us pray
together, reason together, decide together, act together, always to the end that
the truth prevail, that the will of the people be fully respected.
● There was fraudulence in conduct.
● It was a government in possession of power thus, it has the obligation
to right the wrong.
● If the government does not correct the wrong then the people should
take action but not in violent means.
● The means should be peaceful and in the manner of Christ.
● There were examples of “non-violent struggle for justice”.
Conclusion. These last few days have given us shining examples of the non-
violent struggle for justice we advocate here:
• The thousands of NAMFREL workers and volunteers who risked their very lives
to ensure clean and honest elections;
• The poll officials — registrars, teachers, government workers who did their duty
without fear or favor;
• The millions of ordinary voters who kept the sanctity of their ballot
untarnished, their dignity intact.
• Radio Veritas and fearless press people who spoke and reported the truth at all
times.
Men and women of conscience, all. We cannot commend them highly enough.
● There was fraudulence in conduct.
● It was a government in possession of power thus, it has the obligation
to right the wrong.
● If the government does not correct the wrong then the people should
take action but not in violent means.
● The means should be peaceful and in the manner of Christ.
● There were examples of “non-violent struggle for justice”.
● It is time to repair the wrong systematically and that the bishops are
with the people in doing so.
There are thousands of their kind among government officials in the Batasan, the
military, the COMELEC, among the millions of our people who in the face of
overwhelming odds voted and acted as their conscience dictated. Are there
other men and women of conscience who will stand up like them and
courageously confess their Christianity?
Now is the time to speak up. Now is the time to repair the wrong. The wrong was
systematically organized. So must its correction be. But as in the election itself,
that depends fully on the people; on what they are willing and ready to do. We,
the bishops, stand in solidarity with them in the common discernment for the
good of the nation. But we insist: Our acting must always be according to the
Gospel of Christ, that is, in a peaceful, non-violent way.
May He, the Lord of justice, the Lord of peace, be with us in our striving for that
good. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace, and patroness of
our country, assist us in this time of need.
Archbishop of Cebu
President, CBCP
Manila
People from all walks
of life gather at EDSA
to protect the
mutineers.
ENRILE: I think General Ramos. Q: Did you have any contact with Mrs. Aquino?
DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FIDEL V. RAMOS : I am with ENRILE: We have not had any contact with Mrs. Aquino.
Minister Enrile. And, the reason for my being here, ladies and
gentlemen, is that because the Armed Forces of the Q: Mr. Minister, what are your demands going to be? Will you
Philippines has ceased to be the real Armed Forces of the stay here until Mr. Ver steps out? Will you stay here until Mr.
Philippines which is supposed to be the defender of public Marcos steps out?
safety and enforcer of the law and what has developed is that
there has become an elite armed forces within the Armed ENRILE: [To General Ramos] Are you resigning? Did you resign?
Forces of the Philippines that no longer represents the rank I was going to tender my resignation on Monday.
and file and the officer corps of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines. Q: Irrevocable?
ENRILE: Yes, I can no longer serve the government. ENRILE: No, I did not. I did not discuss this with anybody.
Q: How about you, General Ramos? Did you tender an Q: Are you saying that you no longer recognize President Marcos
irrevocable resignation? as President?
RAMOS: I have tendered my offer of retirement on many ENRILE: As of now, I cannot in conscience recognize the
occasions. But, at the moment as the chief of the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. And,
Constabulary and Integrated National Police as well as the I am appealing to my brother-members of the Cabinet to head
Vice-Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the will of the people expressed during the last election.
I would like to direct the troops under my command as Because in my own region, I know that we cheated the elections
well as all other elements of the Armed Forces of the to the extent of 350,000 votes.
Philippines that are professional-minded, that are
dedicated to the military service—in the sense of the Q: Are you going to stay and serve under Mrs. Aquino?
military service being the protector of the people—the
defender of public safety, and the enforcers of the law in ENRILE: No, I will not. I will not serve under Mrs. Aquino even if
our country, to be with me as well as the Minister of she is installed as the president. I do not know whether she can
National Defense, in our effort to bring about a more be installed as a president. But, I am talking of a country and
normal situation where our people once more can live people, and not men. Our loyalty is to the Constitution, to the
freely and pursue the aspirations that they have in life. Filipino people, to our country. And, I am calling on all decent
elements in the government, the decent Filipinos, and the decent
Q: Is the Army and Navy and Air Force against you? soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who
are trained to respect the Constitution, and to protect the welfare
ENRILE: Well, not quite. We have some friendly forces in of this nation and its people, to wake up and support this
the Navy, Army and Air Force, even the Marines. movement.
Q: [Inaudible]
Q: General Ramos, will you recognize Marcos as the Q: Have you heard of any plans against Cory Aquino or the opposition?
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces?
ENRILE: No. What plans are you asking?
RAMOS: I think the President of 1986 is not the same President
that we used to know before to whom we pledged our loyalty Q: The same way they did to you, that they are going to arrest you…
and to whom we dedicated our service. But, it is clear that he
no longer is the able and capable Commander-in-Chief that we ENRILE: I do not know whether there is any such plan, but I heard that
count upon because he has put his personal interest—his there was a meeting in Malacañang sometime two weeks ago. I think
family interest. there where some members of the—some generals were present and
there was a plan to arrest all the leaders of the opposition, in fact, even
some members of the Parliament. And in fact, I just talked to the RUC
I would like to appeal likewise as Minister Enrile has done to the Commander from the South and I understand certain, some hit men or
fair-minded, to the dedicated, and people-oriented members of hit list, directed against UNIDP leaders have been prepared. And, I do
the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Integrated National not know why this thing is happening in this country.
Police to join us in this crusade for better government. I would
like to appeal to our personnel in the thirteen regions of this Q: Can you tell us, sir, what you know about the cheating during the last
country, however, to avoid any bloodshed; to maintain calm, election—what you personally know about?
and be able to influence the people’s power in our country to
support this appeal of Minister Enrile and myself, because… ENRILE: In my region, the President obtained 233,000 margin in
Cagayan. In Isabela, he got 164,000 votes. In Kalinga, Apayao, he barely
ENRILE: You know, we realized the gravity of the situation as far made it. In Quirino—I do not know the results there. He lost in Ifugao
as our lives our concerned, and if it should come to pass that and in Batanes. I am bothered by my conscience that we have done this
we will lose our lives in this particular moment, we will gladly do to our people. Because under the Constitution, powers of government
it in the service of our people and our nation for that is the oath are supposed to emanate from the sovereign will of our people, and yet,
we do not respect the will of our people. The question that I asked
that we have taken when we entered the public service. It is our
myself before I came before you is: Is it worth living to serve a
duty to see to it that the sovereign will of the Filipino people government that does not really represent the will of the people?
expressed through the ballot must be respected.
Q: Mr. Minister, are you willing to accept the ENRILE: They can kill all of us here. We are all gathered in this holding and in this camp,
authority of Mrs. Aquino as president? but the blood that they will shed will be the blood of Filipinos who love their country
more than any man. And, we are not here to serve a man but to serve a republic and a
people.
ENRILE: I am not making any conclusion,
whoever is considered by the Filipino people
Q: Sir, how many are you in here?
to be representative of their will must be
respected.
ENRILE: I cannot tell you our number.
Q: Is coup d’etat a part of your options?
Q: General Ramos, have you ordered your troops to come and get you?
ENRILE: I do not know. I have not talked to her. ENRILE: If they will kill us, I think they will find that the
situation in the land will no longer be governable.
Q: Mr. Minister, what can you say about the presence of US
military warships here? Q: When you talk with the President, you and General Ramos,
will you ask that he step down…
ENRILE: I do not know why they are here.
ENRILE: I think we should respect the will of the people.
Q: Minister Enrile, in this situation where the two of you are holed Personally, I believe that the President did not win this
up in a building with a certain number of men around you, are you election. He was proclaimed by the Batasan in a hasty
causing a split in the military right now? manner. And, I felt embarrassed when I was sitting there
watching the proceedings. I had to raise my hand to show
ENRILE: I think right now, we have a split in the military. that I voted for him, but inside me, it bothered me that I had
raised my hand. And, I am sorry to say this because I had
Q: May we have the names of the commanders of major services served him well over the years, but I am a Filipino over and
who are against you? above anything else.
ENRILE: I think the commanders of the armed services are all Q: Will you call on the people to support you and General
with the President and I suppose they have to serve him. But, we Ramos? Will you ask that he step down…
are confident that the decent elements in the ranks, in the lower
ranks, will know how to deal with the situation. If they will fire ENRILE: It’s up to them, if they want to support us. We are
their guns against us, so be it, but we have committed this final here to take a stand. If anyone of us will be killed—I think all
act in order to bring to the world and to our Filipino people that of us must be killed.
the sad situation in the country is now coming to pass. And, the
day of reckoning is now approaching.
Q: Sir, has there been any communication with the other provinces? Do they know what is
happening now?
ENRILE: No, we have not communicated with them, but I talked to several military
commanders and they feel that the situation must be handled because we cannot split the
Armed Forces of the Philippines.
ENRILE: I do not know what he will do. I am not privy to his thinking at this moment.
ENRILE: Well, if they will arrest us, we are willing to be arrested if they will arrest us. After all,
martial law has never really left us.
ENRILE: I will. I will because it is going to be against the interests of our people. I think that it
will just be a matter of time before the outbreak of violence if the President will miscalculate
the situation.
(Photo by Peter
Charlesworth)
Ang Bayan Ko
Lyrics: Jose Corazon de Jesus and
Music: Constancio de Guzman.
External Criticism
● The poem-lyrics was published and compiled in Jose Corazon de Jesus' book, Mga
Dahong Ginto (1920) in Malolos library and in Halimuyak: Katipunan ng mga Piling Tula ni
Jose Corazon de Jesus, edited by Antonio B. Valeriano, 1979.
● Originally written by General Jose Alejandrino then translated by Jose Corazon de Jesus.
● Language: Tagalog
Internal Criticism
Is there bias to be accounted for?
How close was the author to the event being
No, because it was written based on
studied?
historical facts.
The author, Jose Corazon de Jesus was and
Does informed common sense make the
lived in the Philippines during the era of the
account probable?
America.
Yes.
How was the account made?
Is the account corroborated by other
Bayan ko was composed by Jose Corazon de
account?
Jesus as a poem in 1928, the purpose was to
campaign for the independence from the reign
Bayan ko or Nuestra Patria was originally
of America in the Philippines.
written in Spanish for Severino Reyes
Zarzuela, “walang sugat” in 1989. It was
Who was the recipient of the account?
written by General Jose Alejandrino to
The Filipinos was the recipient of the account. expressed opposition against the ongoing
American occupation in the Philippines.
Jose Corazon de Jesus
(Huseng Batute)
•November 22 1896 – May 26 1932
•King of balagtasan
Bayan Ko by Jose Corazon de Jesus