These Filipina newscasters are asking the right questions
On Monday, May 9, Filipinos went to their designated precincts to exercise their right to vote and elect the next leaders of the Philippines. Unfortunately, as usual, things did go smoothly in some voting locations in different parts of the country. From failing vote-counting machines (VCM) and missing names to disorganized voting processes and more, people want to get clarifications from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for these mishaps as they air their frustrations online. As updates ran on the evening news shows after the election, many can’t help but praise female news anchors Karen Davila, Vicky Morales, and Mel Tiangco for getting straight to the point as they do their broadcasts.
Due to technical difficulties, voters were unable to cast their votes in many places and protested to extend the voting period. During her interview with COMELEC Commissioner George Garcia in TV Patrol, Karen asked, “Ano ba ang kakailanganin para ang COMELEC en banc ay mag-desisyon na i-extend. Dalawang oras lang naman po ang hinihingi."
“Mind you, commissioner, hindi kasalanan ng pandemya kung bakit ganito ang pila," she continued. “Paano naging kasalanan ng tao 'yon, at paano naging kasalanan ng pandemya 'yon? What will it take?"
KAREN DAVILA really said it
ANO NA COMELEC pic.twitter.com/twVTiCmCZj
— K (@kisha_zumi) May 9, 2022
Meanwhile, Mel expressed her disappointment with what people went through during the election and even recalled past test runs done that ensured the VCMs will function well on the said date during her chat with news reporter Tina Panganiban Perez in "24 Oras."
“Bago tayo mag-election, kung maaalala mo, eh nagkaroon ‘yan ng malawakang pag-examine diyan sa bawat mga VCM na ‘yan, ‘di ba? Para nga maiwasan precisely itong mga ganitong mga kaganapan para sa ikagaganda ng ating pagtingin o pagtiwala sa magagnap or nagaganap na botohan,” Mel said. “Ano daw ba ang kinulang at bakit hindi nakamit iyon? Nagkaroon pa ng tinatawag na contingency VCM, naalala mo, Tina? Meron pang mga ganun. katunayan, imbes na napakarami, dati nung huli nating election napakarami more than ano 12,000, binabana nila iyan sa mga mahigit isang libo sapagkat, then, they were almost sure na hindi papalpak iyang mga VCM. But there has got to be a very good reason na sasabihin ng COMELEC kung bakit nagkagayan, sunod-sunod.”
mel tiangco raging on national tv on the many mishaps of this election is everyone rn pic.twitter.com/MatgmPgHp8
— j
In GMA Network’s Election 2022 special, Vicky dived into the result of the election, with Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who didn’t actively participate in debates and media interviews, leading the partial and unofficial Presidential election result.
“This rewrites, basically, this election has rewritten the way elections are won in this country. Hindi na kailangan maglatag ng plataporma sa mga debate, hindi na kailangan mag-grant ng mga interview,” Vicky said during her chat with Prof. Ranjit Rye of the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Political Science Department. “Kailangan mo lang ng siguro tanyag na apelyido, solid yung machinery mo, social media, and maybe a long history in politics.”
VICKY MORALES pic.twitter.com/O9GOwnXqGl
— ALTStarMagic | #Halalan2022 (@AltStarMagic) May 9, 2022
As of this writing, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is still leading the Presidential race while actor Robin Padilla dominates the senatorial lineup based on the COMELEC Transparency Media server.
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