Multi-colored

It is the same Lintang Bedol who allowed children to vote in Maguindanao. (“Child with an Orange” by Van Gogh). print from “Essential Van Gogh”, Cutts and Smith, Parragon Publishing.

A TV news story during the canvassing showed an interview of a child-girl whose identity had been concealed, she said that she was 15 years old and had voted in the last election; then cut to Lintang Bedol who said that it was allowed in Maguindanao under the Shari’a Law supposedly because children who have reached puberty according to him were given legal capacity.

Here is the provision of the Shari’a Law that refers to the age of puberty. It pertains to marriage. .

Presidential Decree 1083, “Code of Muslim Personal Laws.

“Art. 16. Capacity to contract marriage. — (1) Any Muslim male at least fifteen years of age and any Muslim female of the age of puberty or upwards and not suffering from any impediment under the provisions of this Code may contract marriage. A female is presumed to have attained puberty upon reaching the age of fifteen.

“(2) However, the Shari’a District Court may, upon petition of a proper wali, order the solemnization of the marriage of a female who though less than fifteen but not below twelve years of age, has attained puberty.

“(3) Marriage through a wali by a minor below the prescribed ages shall be regarded as betrothal and may be annulled upon the petition of either party within four years after attaining the age of puberty, provided no voluntary cohabitation has taken place and the wali who contracted the marriage was other than the father or paternal grandfather.” (downloaded from chanrobles.com)

On the other hand, the capacity to vote is established not just by any law but by the Constitution, which sets the voting age at 18.

1987 Constitution. ARTICLE V. SUFFRAGE.

“Section 1. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year, and in the place wherein they propose to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.”

 

( “Moro Woman Combing Her Hair” (Manila) by J. Pardo). print from the Vargas Museum

So, what may have happened in some parts? At least four election inspectors in a press conference by an opposition candidate during the canvassing, stated that in certain places in Maguindanao, the BEI’s were hauled off to a banana farm to fill up ER’s; there were no elections. And in some places, the polls were open and children were allowed to vote.

 

Do you try to determine which areas had BEI’s that were brought to banana farms and which areas had children-voters? Do you try to put them in different categories and then locate them on your map and put different colors on them for you to remember: here, we will look at each ballot to determine which voters’ records were thumbmarked by children; here, we will look at which precincts did not open and had their BEI’s hauled off to banana fields; etc.?

 

Or if no election officer shows up on Friday, do you declare failure of elections in the whole province, or conduct an ocular, or send a mission to interview the residents?

 

What did the Comelec do when the PPCRV reported to them that they were not being allowed to observe elections in 16 out of the 22 municipalities (they were allowed to observe only in 6 out of 22)? If the Comelec commissioners had just picked up their cellphones on election day to call up the election officers in those areas, to allow the citizens’ watchdog in, we would know now what happened and who were truly elected.

 

In other words, who should be on that cross-examination stand and who should be asked what they did and did not do on election day?