Before serving as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, Jimmy Carter (Oct. 1, 1924 – Dec. 29, 2024) got cheated in the senatorial election, complained instead of listening to friends who urged him to prepare to run again in two years, was favored by the complaint, and won in 1963 when the poll was repeated. A county political boss who cheated was imprisoned and died while Carter was governor of Georgia.
Dahil sa karanasang siya mismo ang nadaya sa halalan, minabuti niyang masama sa maraming adbokasiya ng kanyang itinatag na NGO ang sistematikong pagmonitor ng mga eleksyon sa buong mundo. Tanyag din ang Carter Center sa ilan pang mahahalagang adbokasiya gaya ng paglaban sa paglaganap ng mga sakit at pagpapaganda ng kalidad ng buhay sa pamamagitan ng pagsusulong ng demokrasya at pagsasaayos ng mga gusot ng mga bansa nang makamtan ang kapayapaan; katunayan, inakda niya noong 2006 ang aklat na “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” kung saan tama ang kanyang hinala na mauuwi ito sa malaking trahedya kung hindi maisasaayos ang hidwaan nito sa Israel.
Ilang taon at dekada ring sumabak sa mga negosasyon si Carter para sa pangmatagalang kapayapaan sa Gitnang Silangan.
Maraming eksperto ang nagsabing mas naging maganda ang hatol ng kasaysayan kay Carter bilang isang napakabuting pinuno hindi noong nakaupo siyang pangulo, kundi noong wala na siya sa White House. Makalipas ang dalawang dekada, ginawaran ang dating pangulo ng Nobel Peace Prize noong 2002.
Napag-uusapan din lang ang eleksyon, heto ang bahagi ng “issues for consideration” na laman ng ulat ng kanyang organisasyon hinggil sa halalan sa ating bansa noong 2022: “Although the Carter Center expert mission found that the use of VCMs is widely accepted by voters in the Philippines, there are some important issues that should be addressed to maintain system integrity and voter confidence in the election process. These issues… include: addressing a gap in the legal framework with regard to primacy of results; strengthening contingency measures; modernizing and explaining the audit system; and improving procedure to safeguard the secrecy of the ballot.” Nahimay ang mga isyu sa 38 pahina ng final report ng samahang pandaigdigan.
Maraming kandidato ang nabiktima ng iba’t ibang klase ng pagmamanipula ng resulta ng halalan (dagdag-bawas, panununog ng balota, at iba pang kahalintulad na dahas). Nanalo sa protesta ang iba, samantalang meron namang hinayaan na lang ang umano’y pandaraya ng mga katunggali nila sa pulitika.
Kung may pinanghahawakan namang ebidensya, marapat lamang itong ipaglaban dahil hindi lang boto ang ninanakaw kundi maging ang dangal ng kandidato at mga botante. Napatunayan iyan ni Sen. Carter hanggang sa mapagtiwalaan siya sa pinakamataas na posisyon sa US, kung hindi man sa buong mundo.
Hindi natuloy ang hatol na kamatayan kay Ninoy Aquino — tried and condemned to death on dubious charges — sa tulong na rin ni Pangulong Carter na pumwersa sa diktadurya sa Pilipinas na ipaintinding maling polisiya ang pinaiiral nito kaya na-commute ang sentensya kay Aquino. Ang tumalo kay Carter na si Ronald Reagan ay nakiayon noong una, ngunit tinuldukan na niya ito ng maganap ang malawakang protesta noong Pebrero 1986 matapos ang snap election. Enero pa lamang, malakas na ang paniniwala ng maraming local and international election observers na magaganap ang malawakang dayaan sa tunggaliang Ferdinand Marcos at maybahay ni Ninoy na si Cory Aquino. Heto ang talumpati ng huli:
“Last January 6, speaking before a joint meeting of various business and management associations I outlined my economic program. Ten days later, on January 16, I presented my social platform to a multisectoral audience in Davao. Today let me present to you my political program.
“My political program is simple. I propose to dismantle the dictatorial edifice Mr. Marcos has built. In its place I propose to build for our people a genuine democracy.
“I am first to admit that it will not be easy. The dictatorial edifice is strong. I am first to admit that the Marcos dictatorship has been cleverly crafted by an evil genius. And I am first to admit that the evil genius, allowed to run amuck for twenty years, succeeded in foisting on the nation a grim constitutional joke built on deceit and manipulation. The deception should not be allowed to last one minute longer.
“The choice in this election is between a dictatorship founded on deceit — the Marcos program, and democracy founded on the freely expressed will of the people — the Cory Aquino program.
“Mr. Marcos is determined to remain permanent dictator, come hell or high water. I am determined to stop him.
“He is running desperate; he and his minions are reaching out into the darkest bottom of their bag of dirty tricks. My friends, together we must stop them. We can. No edifice built on deceit and manipulation is indestructible; truth must triumph in the end. Twenty years of Mr. Marcos have far exceeded tolerable limits.
“Sobra na! Tama na! Palitan na!”
Ating natunghayan ang unang pitong talata sa 70-paragraph, 12-page (pareho ito sa bilang ng Amazon at ng aklat ni Cory na nilathala ng Anvil noong 1995) speech ng babaeng nangangampanyang iboto siya at labanan si Marcos sa eleksyon (at sa maraming bagay) na pinamagatang “Tearing Down the Dictatorship, Rebuilding Democracy” na unang napakinggan noong Enero 23, 1986 sa Manila Hotel kung saan nagsanib ang Rotary Clubs of Metro-Manila. Walang sinabi ang napili kong bahagi ng talumpati sa angas ng pinakanagustuhan at pinakatumatak sa lahat ng mga nakapakinig na pinaulit-ulit ding i-quote sa pahayagan at i-rewind sa radyo, sa telebisyon at, kinalauna’y sa YouTube. Heto:
“(I) concede that I cannot match Mr. Marcos when it comes to experience. I admit that I have no experience in cheating, stealing, lying, or assassinating political opponents.”
History repeats itself, says Ecclesiastes 1:9-119 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. (King James Version)It hurts but there is something to learn from our recent past: Traditional politicians, dynastic families included, will only cause trouble to winning candidates and society at large. The obligation to support the worthy officials, therefore, arises. Do we feel obligated to support them and their worthy causes? Election day gets nearer, and our heads need to get nearer to our knees as well.
DC Alviar
Professor DC Alviar serves as a member of the steering committee of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). He was part of National University’s community extension project that imparted the five disciplines of a learning organization (Senge, 1990) to communities in a local government unit. He writes and edits local reports for Mega Scene. He graduated with a master’s degree in development communication from the University of the Philippines Open University in Los Baños. He recently defended a dissertation proposal for his doctorate degree in communication at the same graduate school under a Philippine government scholarship grant. He was editor-in-chief of his high school paper Ang Ugat and the Adamson News.
