i disagree with conrado de quiros that

… something has changed, and that is the public expectation of cheating. Few now seriously consider we’d be back in Arroyo’s time when it could be expected as a matter of course. Though concerns have been raised about the source code, some clamoring for it to be made public, they have not been of the scale or stridence they were three years ago. And unless there are glaring or eye-popping gaps between expectation and result, the elections will generally be taken, like the previous one, as reasonably clean. 

the only reason that public expectation of cheating is lower than usual is that the voting masses don’t really understand the gobbledygook of source codes and PCOS machines and CF cards, and how they were quite likely manipulated in 2010, and will likely be manipulated on may 13.   this is one of those things about which the public have not been adequately informed, hence, they are in no position to conclude that cheating will or will not happen.  this is one of those times when voters trust their leaders, their candidates, to show them the way, and since candidates aren’t complaining, neither are the voters.  i guess candidates want to stay on the good side of the brilliantes comelec’?

only in the philippines.  in effect, we are taking brillantes’ word for it that the source code and PCOS machines and CF cards can be trusted to count our votes honestly, correctly, never mind that these machines have not undergone rigorous examination and testing and have not been pronounced safe and tamper-proof by our own IT experts, and never mind that brillantes is wanting in credibility, as jarius bondoc intimates..

• Brillantes was election-lawyering for Noynoy Aquino and Jojo Binay in 2010 when the Comelec wrongfully leased 76,000 PCOS units from Smartmatic. “Wrongfully,” because the Venezuelan impostor was a mere system integrator — a middleman. Still the Comelec paid it a whopping P7.2 billion. The Comelec also hired disreputable SysTest, whose license had been suspended for two years for testing fraud.

• Enter Brillantes as Comelec chairman in January 2011. That was when his law firm was collecting P8 million from Smartmatic in behalf of a secret client. Too, the Comelec then was contemplating to buy from Smartmatic 5,000 PCOS units for P600 million for the Muslim Mindanao election (later postponed to synchronize with Election 2013). It’s unclear if Brillantes knew about Smartmatic’s con game and went along with it, or if the firm fooled him too. In March 2012 he bought Smartmatic’s 82,000 earlier leased PCOS units, for P1.8 billion….

and what about this, still from de quiros:  “… unless there are glaring or eye-popping gaps between expectation and result, the elections will generally be taken, like the previous one, as reasonably clean.”

whose expectation?  eye-popping to whom?  the prez?  the veep?  or the voters?

it’s unfortunate that results will be under a cloud of doubt, obviously, for lack of transparency.  unfortunate because there is now a rising consciousness about dynastic politics and how decades of it has only mired the nation in poverty.  it would be great if the results of the may 13 elections were credible, every vote honestly counted, so we could see whether or not such rising awareness has reached significant heights.

if, as in 2010, the usual famous names top yet again the senate polls, regardless of party or no-platform, that would tell us that mainstream and social media and civil society are failing to communicate the message, failing to reach and connect with, the voting masses.  either that, or the voting masses are so poor and so grateful for a sack of rice or free celfone load or a few hundreds in cash, a matter of life and death possibly, so the attitude is, a little now is better than nothing, until the next disaster of an election.

it would be a fantastic surprise if, despite vote-buying and cheating, a few, or even just one or two, new or not-too-famous names were to make it to the winning 12.  what a wonderful message that would send.