Luz accused the four of colluding to prevent a quorum in en banc meetings. There were other problems. Public school teachers, who ran more than 230,000 polling stations, protested outside the Commission on Elections Wednesday, demanding their mandated allowance and highlighting irregularities. Hundreds of thousands of voters were not able to exercise their right to suffrage. What they gave us was the right to suffer.
Violence is another continuing problem.
In General Santos City Wednesday, a candidate for mayor losing in preliminary counts rallied his supporters. They tried to storm the counting center, prompting military action. Several people were injured as troops used truncheons to disperse the crowd. The fierceness of political feuds at local levels has sparked unruly protests, fuelled by candidates who refuse to concede defeat or who want to try to influence the vote count and final result. Most of the election-related violence the past three months are blamed on warlords, who mobilize their own private armies in outlying areas.