Tingog.com

If you were to read the headline above, you would probably think that I had been branded by this government as a terrorist. But, I’m not telling the voters to arm themselves with guns. What I am telling all voters to do today, tonight, and in the days ahead, is to remain vigilant. During the election as well as the counting, be ready with your cellphones, digital cameras, and be aware of any illegal activities.

By all means, arm yourself with camera phones, contact tingog.com or other bloggers and media outlets if you notice any fraudulent and criminal activities. Upload videos of illegal activities to Youtube. This is a special moment in our history because for the first time, I think citizen media can play some part in the election watch, albeit a minor role.

Arm yourself with pen and paper like the old days of journalism, take down names, and write down descriptions. File anonymous complaints to your local officials, and report any anomalies to the news media. We may not be able to make a huge difference, but it’s a start.

It’s not a dream, but it isn’t reality yet either. Nonetheless, let’s tell the corrupt officials, and let’s make it clear, that we do not condone cheating, fraud, or any form of intimidation. Let’s remind everyone that this republic is democratic and we follow the law. If we can’t beat this corrupt officials, then let’s humiliate the heck out of them…

One, two, three, say cheeeese!

UPDATE:

Manuel has posted some numbers where you can call and report election incidents.

VforCE: PLDT 10149 or 09228600752, 09263041826

PPCRV: 5261786 or 5262013

LENTE: 09215355949

Ellen is skeptical, and says that Arroyo may just have learned her lessons from past elections, but in a bad way. And that Arroyo may already be an expert in cheating.

It was also Ebdane’s men who were reported to have executed the changing of the ballot boxes with the ones containing fake election returns at the tightly-guarded Batasan Pambansa store room.

With Arroyo in Malacañang, Abalos at the helm of Comelec and Esperon and Ebdane securing the electoral process, we have all the reasons to fear for democracy in this country.

Schumey also echoes the same sentiments regarding our duty to get out and vote, watch for illegal activities, and guard the votes during the count..

Go out and vote. Unscrupulous candidates and their cheating operators would love for us not to use our ballots. They can easily use the unused ballots to fill it with their clients’ names. If you are still cynical about the elections, the best way to prevent cheating is to just exercise a vote of protest. Use the ballot to express your apprehension. Again, “USE THAT BALLOT” and prevent the cheats to use you as their tools for cheating.

Tomorrow is the big day, its E-Day. Remember to vote early. Bring a pen, a valid identification card and “your” list of candidates. Come back in the evening if you can and watch the counting and if possible, even the canvassing. Use your cameras, camcorders and anything that you can use to record the results or any kind of cheating. A flashlight will come in handy if there should be any power outage.

Jove also asks us to watch ABC 5 for election coverage. Frankly, I will be covering all of the news channels myself. But Jove makes an excellent case with the list of anchors and correspondents,

Cheri Mercado, Martin Andanar, Amelyn Veloso, Ed Lingao, Patrick Paez, Jade Lopez, and Jim Libiran will man our studios and present reports as they come in.

Jove Francisco, She Torres, Arlene Lim Farol, Teresa Andrada, Naomi Dayrit, Geann Pineda, Faye Tobias, Jason Torres, Erel Cabatbat, Winnie Garcia, Fiona Rozario, our cameramen and our assistant cameramen will be in strategic areas covering developments in the field.

And Finally, for complete election coverage, you can stay tuned online with some great resources:

Inquirer.net Eleksyon 2007
GMA NEWS
The Manila Times