AS THE whole nation anticipates the new government that promises change, unforseen events surrounded the May 10 national elections.
MAY 4
PCOS failure
After some precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines produced inconsistent results during the testing, Comelec replaced 76,300 compact flash cards. The massive glitch caused a stir for polls postponement.
MAY 8
Delay after delay
With only two days before the elections, only 14% of the reprogrammed flash cards, 64% of ballots, and 52% of PCOS machines were sent to polling precincts.
MAY 10
Speediest election
Amid cases of vote buying and PCOS machine glitches, and long lines on precincts, the first automated Philippine elections pushed through.
MAY 14
Controversial PCOS Machines
Allegations of cheating arose as 65 PCOS machines were found in a house of a Smartmatic technician in Antipolo City. On May 19, the Senate accepted custody of these machines.
MAY 18
Koala bear let loose
A koala-masked whistleblower’s two-hour interview revealed allegations of 15 million votes sold to presidential, vice-presidential and senatorial candidates.
MAY21
Solon gives fraud evidence
Losing mayoralty candidate Annie Susano presented two compact flash cards to the Lower House. She claimed that the cards were used to rig election results.
MAY23
Solon gives fraud evidence
Comelec official Nicodemo Ferrer denied participating in any phone conversation discussing cheating operations with Interior secretary Ronaldo Puno. Their alleged conversation was distributed online.
MAY 23
“Hello Nico” issue arises
Comelec official Nicodemo Ferrer denied participating in any phone conversation discussing cheating operations with Interior secretary Ronaldo Puno. Their alleged conversation was distributed online.
MAY 26
Comelec and Smartmatic grilled
Smartmatic-TIM Asia Pacific President Cesar Flores admitted program errors on PCOS machines like the bloated number of registered voters and early time stamps of election results.
MAY 27
Canvassing begins
After a two-day delay because of the debates between Congress, Comelec and Smartmatic, the canvassing of votes finally began. It ended on June 8.
JUNE 30
RP’s new beginning
President Gloria Arroyo will step down from her presidency and will be replaced by president-elect Noynoy Aquino. All elected government officials will also be sworn to office.
