PASCUBILLO, J.

YASSER
2012 – 65191
BASS ECONOMICS – IV

Reaction Paper on Vice Presidential Race of the Philippine National Election 2016

The Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections of 2016 were held on Monday,
May 9, 2016, as part of the 2016 general election. This was the 16th presidential election in the
Philippines since1935 and the sixth sextennial presidential election since 1986. The position for
president and vice president were elected separately, thus the two winning candidates could come
from different political parties. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte has won the Philippine
presidential elections, following the withdrawal of his opponents (Philippine election: Maverick
Rodrigo Duterte wins presidency, 2016).
The vice presidential seat proves to be elusive to both the leading vice presidential candidates
Leni Robredo and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as their race is extremely neck and neck. While Robredo,
who initially lagged behind Marcos, has now overtook him, the vice presidential race remains a close
one, with the difference between the two candidates remaining very slim (Francisco, 2016). Much like
to a fight scene in the anime One Piece, the race could drag on for a long time. It is still not known
when the proclamation of winners will be as stated by Senate President Franklin Drilon (Kabiling,
2016).
There have been complaints lauded by the Marcos party as it has been widely reported that
Smartmatic “cosmetically” changed the script of the Transparency Server to correct the spelling of
candidates’ names with the letter “Ñ” – for some reason, the system did not recognize the character
and so it appeared as “?” each time. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pointed out that after the change in the
script was introduced, his lead started to diminish, and he was overtaken by his opponent Leni
Robredo (Marañon, 2016). It is worth noting that he does not have any actual proof for this voting
discrepancy.
If you are an election candidate and running for a public office, you only have one objective:
to win. In order to acquire the mandate, you have to obtain more votes than your opponent. It is as
simple as that. However, we are in a country where the electoral system is highly vulnerable to fraud,
cheating and manipulation. Determining which candidate garnered the most votes can be very
contentious and controversial.
I am a Marcos supporter and I voted for him in the elections. However, I do not believe that
there have been tamperations with the electoral system. Ferdinand Marcos took advantage of the fact
that our electoral system is extremely susceptible to such baneful acts. It was so convenient for him to
call foul play because if it will be proven right, he would be the primary benefactor. Election is
similar to a game, there is a loser and there is a winner. It just so happen that my aspired candidate got
the short end of the stick.
Our election – like democracy – are far from perfect. In an ideal world, interpreting the will of
the electorate should be a matter of merely counting the ballots. But even with the adoption of
technologies to modernize our elections, the spectre of frauds and irregularities still persist (Quick
Guide on Pre-proclamation Controversies & Election Protest, 2010).

Bibliography

Quick Guide on Pre-proclamation Controversies & Election Protest. (2010).

Philippine election: Maverick Rodrigo Duterte wins presidency. (2016, May 10). Retrieved May 20,
2016, from BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36253612

Francisco, K. (2016, May 10). #LabanLeni: Long, tense wait as Robredo takes lead in tight VP race.
Retrieved May 20, 2016, from Rappler:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/132508-leni-robredo-vice-presidential-
race-results

Kabiling, G. (2016, May 23). Swift, orderly canvassing of votes for president, vice president seen.
Retrieved May 23, 2016, from Manila Bulletin: http://www.mb.com.ph/?p=429905

Marañon, E. (2016, May 21). EXPLAINER: Audit of vice presidential votes? Here are the hurdles.
Retrieved May 23, 2016, from Rappler:
http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/133759-audit-votes-vice-president-
hurdles