OPLAN Mercury Rising in motion

Manila-- At the rate the newspapers and TV newscasts are exposing real evidence of electoral fraud since 29 May 2007, Bantay Boto ng Bayan cannot help but feel vindicated for exposing Oplan Mercury Rising.

The numerous dagdag-bawas reports accurately quoting, by the hundred thousands of vote leads for Team Unity candidates in the 13th to the 16th slots, give due credence to the Oplan. The provinces where the calumny occurred are the same provinces mentioned in the Oplan. The named Comelec officials are the same persons identified in the Oplan.

1. The delay of the Comelec en banc as the National Board of Canvassers in tallying the provincial COCs and more specifically the canvassing slowdown, particularly in the Oplan Mercury Rising provinces are indicators that this major Oplan strategy is being implemented.

It has deferred canvassing in Maguindanao, Sulu, Caloocan City, Taguig-Pateros, Davao del Sur, North Cotabato, and South Cotabato for varied reasons, including allegations of massive cheating, yet no charges and complaints were filed against any Comelec and public official involved.

It has yet to receive CoCs from Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, and Surigao del Norte.

This delayed sequence and pattern of submitting and canvassing is the same as in the fraudulent 2004 elections and is one of the closing strategies of the Oplan.

2. Here is how this will affect the results of the 10th to the 12th slot of the senatorial elections:

a. Based on the latest tally this afternoon, the standings are:

10 Honasan 10,642,506

11 Trillanes 10,270,345

12 Pimentel 10,055,335

13 Zubiri 9.905,764

14 Recto 9,745,485

15 Defensor 9,072,865

16 Pichay 8,836,825

The vote leads of:

Honasan (10) over Zubiri (13) is only 736,742.

Trillanes (11) over Recto (14) is only 524,860.

Pimentel (12) over Defensor (15) is only 982,470.

Pimentel (12 over Pichay (16) is only 1,218,510.

b. Where will the necessary vote leads come from except from the COCs of the Oplan Mercury Rising provinces that are currently delayed in canvassing, or have not yet been received by the Comelec?

Basilan 181,373 voters

Davao del Sur 1,232,053

Lanao del Norte 484,091

Lanao del Sur 396,722

Maguindanao 336,774

North Cotabato 556,474

Sharif Kabunsuan 198,280

South Cotabato 628,676

Sultan Kudarat 354,385

Sulu 250,387

Surigao del Norte 262,648

TOTAL 4,881,863

At 85% turn-out of 4,149,584, Mindanao is VOTE BANK of Oplan Mercury Rising



From this vote bank, it would be easy to “withdraw” even one million vote leads, as exemplified by the Maguindanao full fraud of a 12-0 shut-out.

3. Mike Defensor’s conceding is an opportune act that can be viewed as a tactic to cover up the Oplan’s real intent to replace rear-enders Grtingo Honasan, Koko Pimentel and Sonny Trillanes with Migz Zubiri, Ralph Recto and Pichay or Defensor. Such a move by Defensor was presented to assuage the feeling of Oppositionists, but may in effect be a diversionary move.

The Comelec and its deputized agencies have been duly forewarned that a repetition of the fraudulent 2004 elections will no longer be tolerated by the election watchdogs and the public. Their reaction was to merely push those highly classified but knowingly leaked intelligence of the Oplan under the rug. They asked for evidence.

Now, the people, the election watchdogs, concerned media people and involved Board of Election Inspectors (as in Maguindanao) have come out of the open. Even Commissioner Sarmiento has been caught on TV with his “hands dipping on the [fraud] cookie jar.”

Comelec and their deputized agencies have only themselves to blame. They could have pre empted the peoples’ reaction. Now there could be a backlash we all will regret.

The fraudulent acts committed and continue to be committed by Comelec, with the active assistance of some military and police elements, is a direct assault to the sacred freedom to choose their leaders through elections. Bantay Boto ng Bayan continuously receives urgent inputs and reports on the deplorable state of our democracy and the direct attack of our civil liberties. The challenge to remain calm is great to critical.

The people are now seeing the disastrous attack of the electoral system. The Administration and Comelec want the people to believe the election is clean and honest. All of this is a farce and insulting to our belief in democracy. People have started to protest. Again, the challenge to remain calm is blinding and deafening. Most of the agencies mandated by law to protect the state and the people sit idly by and watch the democratic process shattered by Comelec and its deputized agents. The law is clear.

We are sending a very strong message on the eventual and probable loss of Honasan, Trillanes and Pimentel, as clearly being shown by the current events.

We know that the rule of law will ultimately reign. Concerned Comelec officials must now choose whether they prefer the law of the jungle instead.

Bantay Boto ng Bayan is making this statement after due consultation with the convenors of the uniformed active and retired member organizations and with the explicit support from their allied civil society groups.



Commodore Ismael D. Aparri (Ret.)

BANTAY BOTO NG BAYAN 31 May 2007

Published by the INQ7.net