Philippine general election, 2004

Presidential elections, legislative elections and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 10, 2004. In the presidential election, incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo won a full six-year term as president, with a margin of just over one million votes over her leading opponent, highly popular movie actor Fernando Poe, Jr..

The elections were notable for several reasons. This election first saw the implementation of the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 (see Wikisource), which enabled Filipinos in over 70 countries to vote. This is also the first election since the 1986 People Power Revolution where an incumbent president ran in the presidential election. Under the 1987 Constitution, an elected president cannot run for another term. However, Arroyo was not elected president, but instead succeeded ousted President Joseph Estrada, who was earlier impeached with charges of plunder and corruption in 2000 and later convicted on the plunder charge but received conditional pardon from Arroyo.

Moreover, this was the first time since 1986 that both the winning president and vice president were under the same party/coalition. This election was also held at a period in modern Philippines marked by serious political polarization. This resulted in lesser candidates for the presidential and vice presidential elections compared to the 1992 and 1998 elections.

Background

The political climate leading up to the 2004 elections was one of the most emotional in the country's history since the 1986 elections that resulted in the exile of Ferdinand Marcos. Philippine society has become polarized between the followers of former president Joseph Estrada who have thrown their support for Estrada's close associate Fernando Poe, Jr. and those who support incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, or at best oppose Estrada.

The several months leading to the May elections saw several presidential scandals, Arroyo reversing her earlier decision not to run for president, the sudden but not unexpected candidacy of Fernando Poe, Jr., defection of key political figures from the Arroyo camp to the opposition, the controversial automated elections initiative of the COMELEC, and the split of the dominant opposition party, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, between Poe and Panfilo Lacson.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's candidacy

On a speech given on Rizal Day, December 30, 2002, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared that she would not run in the 2004 elections. Arroyo claimed that withdrawing from the race would relieve her of the burden of politics and allow her administration to devote the last year and half to the following:

First, strengthening the economy to create more jobs and to encourage business activities that are unhampered by corruption and red tape in government.

Second, healing the deep divisions within Philippine society.

Third, working for clean and honest elections in 2004.

This was hailed as a welcome development by many people, especially those in the business and economic sectors. Nine months later, on October 4, 2003, Arroyo completely changed her mind. Arroyo stated that her change of heart was for a higher cause and that she cannot ignore the call to further serve the country. Many people, especially those who held on to her commitment, were dismayed by her turnabout, though most were unsurprised since there had been clues months before that she would probably not stand by her earlier decision. Others welcomed this development, saying that she needs more time to implement her projects, and that she would be the strongest contender against a likely candidacy by Fernando Poe, Jr.

Fernando Poe, Jr.'s candidacy

Months before the elections, members of the opposition have been encouraging Fernando Poe, Jr., a close friend of former president Joseph Estrada to run for president. Poe was very popular with the masses and it was widely believed that he would be a sure winner if he ran for president.

On November 27, 2003, Poe ended months of speculation by announcing that he will run for president during a press conference held at the Manila Hotel.

However, on January 9, 2004, Victorino X. Fornier (a private citizen) filed a case against Poe and the COMELEC, saying that Poe wasn't eligible to run for he is not a natural-born Filipino before the COMELEC. On the 23rd of January, the COMELEC dismissed the petition for lack of merit. On February 10, Fornier finally filed the case to the Supreme Court, seeking Poe to be disqualified from the race. His case was later merged with cases filed by Maria Jeanette C. Tecson, and Felix B. Desiderio, Jr., and by Zoilo Antonio G. Velez.

Death of Lawyer Maria Jeanette Tecson

On September 28, 2007, 8:30 p.m, Senior Superintendent Francisco Uyami, Pasig police chief stated that Lawyer Maria Tecson, 40, was found dead (in a state of rigor mortis) inside room 204 at the Richmond Hotel, San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City (with her throat slit and with cuts on her wrist).^[1] Maria Jeanette Tecson, Zoilo Velez (promoted to Court of Appeals Justice) and Victorino Fornier filed the disqualification case against Fernando Poe, Jr. She claimed Poe was born out of wedlock and that while Poe's birth certificate was dated 1939, his parents Allan Poe and American mother Bessie Kelly did not marry until 1940.^[2]

On March 3, the Supreme Court, said in its decision, that for lack of jurisdiction and prematurity, and ruling that Poe's father, Allan F. Poe would have been a Filipino citizen by virtue of the en masse Filipinization enacted by the Philippine Bill of 1902. Also, even if Poe wasn't a natural-born Filipino citizen, he cannot be held guilty of having made a material misrepresentation in his certificate of candidacy.

See also: The Supreme Court's decision.

Eddie Villanueva's candidacy

The Commission on Elections originally affirmed the candidacies of six people for the president. The sixth person running for president was Bro. Eddie Villanueva, spiritual director of Jesus is Lord Church. The party of Eduardo Villanueva filed a petition with the COMELEC seeking to disqualify Eddie Gil on the basis of him being a nuisance candidate, his incapacity to mount a nationwide campaign, and that because he was running with the aim to confuse voters because of their similar names.

The LDP split

The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino party (LDP) would form the core of the main opposition party, the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP). However, members of the party disagreed on which person to support for president. Panfilo Lacson, a member of the party, advanced his candidacy for president but was not considered by Edgardo Angara, the president of the party. Angara supported Fernando Poe, Jr. Together with the party's secretary-general Agapito Aquino, Lacson gathered the support of some members of the party and went ahead with his candidacy. The LDP was subsequently polarized between those supporting Angara and Poe, and those for Lacson and Aquino.

By then, Poe and Lacson have both filed their certificates of candidacies. According to the rules of candidacy, every presidential candidate must have a political party to back him or her. With the obvious split within the ranks of the LDP, and with no signs that the two factions would come to an agreement, the COMELEC decided to informally split the party into the Aquino and the Angara wings. Lacson then ran under the LDP - Aquino Wing, and Poe under the LDP - Angara Wing, which would later become the KNP.

During the campaign period, there had been numerous unification talks between the two factions. The opposition saw the need to become united under one banner to boost their chances of winning the presidential election against the organized political machinery of Arroyo. The plans of unification did not materialize due to the stubbornness of both Poe and Lacson. Lacson wanted Poe to concede to him and run as his vice-presidential candidate while the supporters of Poe wanted Lacson to back out from his candidacy and instead support Poe, citing his low performance in the surveys.

COMELEC's move for an automated elections

Elections in the Philippines have always been a manual process with the results for national positions often being announced more than a month after election day. An attempt to rectify this was done by the Commission on Elections by automating the process of counting the votes. More than 30 billion pesos were spent in acquiring counting machines that were never used in this elections because of numerous controversies and political opposition.

Timeline

2002

• December 30 - President Arroyo declares that she will not run for president in 2004.

2003

• October 4 - President Arroyo announces her intention to run for president.
• November 26 - Fernando Poe, Jr. declares his intention to run for president.
• December 29 - Raul Roco, together with Herminiño Lagunzad filed their candidacies for the position of president and vice president. Senator Panfilo Lacson filed his candidacy as president without a running mate.
• December 30 - Fernando, Poe, Jr. together with running mate Senator Loren Legarda filed their candidacies for the position of president and vice president.

2004

• January 5 - President Gloria Arroyo and Senator Noli de Castro filed their candidacies for the position of president and vice president.
• January 13 - The Supreme Court nullified a contract for the computerization of the ballot-counting process, effectively forcing the Commission on Elections to revert to the manual counting of votes.
• February 10 - Start of the official campaign period for national positions
• March 3 - Poe was deemed as a natural born Filipino by the Supreme Court, thereby blocking any legal obstacles for his candidacy.
• March 25 - Start of the official campaign period for local positions
• May 10 - Election day
• May 10 - NAMFREL starts its quickcount tally.
• May 14 - Panfilo Lacson resigns from his party, the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).
• May 14 - Grenade explodes at the General Santos City Hall where canvassing was taking place. No one was hurt.
• May 17 - Opposition groups stage protest at the PICC, site of the official COMELEC canvass for senators and party-list representatives.
• May 17 - Raul Roco concedes to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
• May 19 - Fernando Poe, Jr., proclaims himself winner in Zamboanga City.
• May 25 - COMELEC proclaims the top 11 senators in its official canvass.
• May 28 - Congress approves the rules for the canvassing of the Certificates of Canvass for the presidential and vice-presidential positions.
• June 2 - The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued a statement saying that the elections were generally peaceful and that there was no sign of massive electoral fraud on a nationwide scale.
• June 3 - The 12th senator, Rodolfo Biazon, was proclaimed by the COMELEC.
• June 4 - Congress, through the Joint Committee, starts canvassing the votes for the president and vice-president.
• June 8 - Supreme Court votes 14-0 against the KNP petition to declare the Congressional Joint Committee as the National Board of Canvassers unconstitutional.
• June 20 - The Congressional Joint Committee finishes the canvassing of votes for the president and vice-president; Arroyo is declared the winner.
• June 24 - The Congress approves the report of the Joint Committee officially proclaiming Arroyo the winner.
• June 30 - Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is inaugurated in Cebu City.

Parties and coalitions

This election has seen strong shifts of alliances and new parties as candidates switched allegiances. The two major coalitions seen in this elections were the K-4 (Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan), of the administration, and the KNP (Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino), the united opposition.

Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4)

The Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (Coalition of Truth and Experience for Tomorrow) or K-4, is the remnant of the People Power Coalition that was formed following the ascendancy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to power. Arroyo is seeking a complete term under this coalition with Noli de Castro, an independent, yet popular, broadcaster, as her running mate. The leading party in this coalition is the ruling Lakas-CMD, of which Arroyo is a member. Other parties under this coalition are the Liberal Party, the Nacionalista Party, the Nationalist People's Coalition and the People's Reform Party.

Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP)

The Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (Coalition of United Filipinos), or KNP, is the coalition of the united opposition. Its standard bearers are Fernando Poe, Jr. for president and Sen. Loren Legarda for vice-president. The leading parties of this coalition is the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP-Angara Wing), the PDP-Laban and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. the LDP split is caused by stubbornness between Fernando Poe Jr. and Ping Lacson. especially with the support of the former president Joseph Estrada and former first lady Imelda Marcos. The other major party under this coalition is Estrada's Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP, Party of the Filipino Masses).

Alyansa ng Pag-asa

The third major coalition running in this election is the Alyansa ng Pag-asa (Alliance of Hope), This coalition fielded Raul Roco for president and Herminiño Lagunzad for vice-president. The three major parties supporting this coalition are Roco's Aksyon Demokratiko (Democratic Action), former Defense Sec. Renato de Villa's Reporma Party, and Lito Osmeña's Promdi (Probinsya Muna [Provinces First] Development Party). The three parties were the ones that bolted out of the People Power Coalition.

Bangon Pilipinas Movement (BPM)

The Bangon Pilipinas (Rise up, Philippines) Movement is the political party of Bro. Eddie Villanueva. It consists mostly of volunteers, a majority of whom came from Villanueva's Jesus Is Lord church (Villanueva resigned from the church before submitting his candidacy, to prevent questions on separation of church and state).

Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) (Aquino Wing)

This was composed of Panfilo Lacson's supporters in the LDP Party.

Partido Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa

This was Eddie Gil's organization. Gil was deemed a nuisance candidate and was disqualified from the presidential race, however, the party qualified for other positions.

Election results

The official results of the election were released in staggered dates with most winners in local elective positions declared within two weeks from the May 10 election date. The winners in the Senatorial and Party-list Representative elections were declared on May 24, with the exception of the 12th senator which was announced on June 3. The results of the presidential and vice-presidential races were finalized by the Congress on June 20, more than a month after the elections. Out of the 43,536,028 registered voters, about 35.4 million ballots were cast giving a voter turn-out of 81.4%.

Shown below are the official tallies of the presidential, vice-presidential, and senatorial races as well as the last tallies of the Quickcount conducted by the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), the citizens' arm of the COMELEC.

President

Final Official Congressional Canvass

 Summary of the May 10, 2004 Philippine presidential election results

Candidates		Parties	Votes	%
	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo	Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats (People Power–Christian Muslim Democrats)	12,905,808	39.99%
	Fernando Poe Jr.	Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (Coalition of United Filipinos)	11,782,232	36.51%
	Panfilo Lacson	Aquino wing of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (Struggle of Democratic Filipinos)	3,510,080	10.88%
	Raul Roco	Aksyon Demokratiko (Democratic Action)	2,082,762	6.45%
	Eddie Villanueva	Bangon Pilipinas Party (Rise Up Philippines Party)	1,988,218	6.16%
Total			32,269,100	100%
Valid votes			32,269,100	96.30%
Invalid votes			1,240,992	3.70%
Votes cast			33,510,092	76.34%
Registered voters			43.895,324

NAMFREL Quickcount
(Partial and Unofficial)

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo	K4	11,272,388	39.4%
Fernando Poe Jr.	KNP	10,456,243	36.6%
Panfilo Lacson	Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino(Agapito Aquino Wing)	3,140,494	11.0%
Raul Roco	Aksyon Demokratiko	1,942,921	6.8%
Eduardo Villanueva	Bangon Pilipinas	1,782,547	6.2%
Total:		28,594,593	100.0%

Breakdown

Vice-president

Final Official Congressional Canvass

Vice presidential election results per province/city.

 Summary of the May 10, 2004 Philippine vice presidential election results

Candidate	Party		Results
			Votes	%
Noli de Castro		Independent (allied with Lakas)	15,100,431	49.80%
Loren Legarda		KNP	14,218,709	46.90%
Herminio Aquino		Aksyon	981,500	3.24%
Rodolfo Pajo		Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa	22,244	0.06%
Total valid votes			30,322,884	90.49%
Total invalid votes			3,187,208	9.51%
Total turnout			33,510,092	76.34%
Registered voters			43.895,324	100.00%

NAMFREL Quickcount
(Partial and Unofficial)

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Noli de Castro	Independent	13,342,530	49.6%
Loren Legarda	KNP	12,505,777	46.5%
Herminio Aquino	Aksyon Demokratiko / Alyansa ng Pag-Asa	920,316	3.4%
Rodolfo Pajo	Partido Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	22,244	0.1%
Total:		26,908,172	100.00%

PET Case No. 003, Legarda v. De Castro, January 18, 2008

On January 18, 2008, in a 21-page resolution, penned by Senior Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, the Supreme Court of the Philippines, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), dismissed Sen. Loren Legarda's electoral protest against Noli de Castro. 3 reasons supported the judgment: first, the PET approved the recommendation of Hearing Commissioner and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair retired SC Justice Bernardo P. Pardo that “the pilot-tested revision of ballots or re-tabulation of the certificates of canvass would not affect the winning margin of the protestee in the final canvass of the returns, in addition to the ground of abandonment or withdrawal by reason of Protestant’s candidacy for, election and assumption of the office Senator of the Philippines;” second, Legarda’s failure to pay the P 3.9 million ($1 = P 40) revision of ballots (in 124,404 precincts) fee despite court extension under Rule 33 of the PET; and third, jurisprudence of Defensor Santiago v. Ramos, teaches that Legarda "effectively abandoned or withdrawn her protest when she ran in the Senate, which term coincides with the term of the Vice-Presidency 2004-2010." Meanwhile, Noli De Castro on television stated: "This is the triumph of truth. The truth that I won fair and square. I thank the Supreme Court for echoing the true voice of the people. From the very beginning I was confident that I received the overwhelming mandate of our people as Vice President." Legarda stated that she will file a motion for reconsideration in due course.^[3][4]

Legislative and local elections

In the legislative elections, voters elected twelve Senators (half the members of the Senate), who are elected at large with the whole country voting as one constituency, and all 208 members of the House of Representatives, who are elected from single-member districts.

In the local elections, voters elected governors, vice-governors, and board members of the country's 79 provinces, and the mayor, vice-mayor and councilors of the nation's more than 1,600 cities and municipalities.

Senators

The COMELEC sits as the National Board of Canvassers for the 12 senatorial positions.

 Summary of the May 10, 2004 Philippine Senate election results

Rank	Candidate	Coalition	Party		Votes	%
1.	Mar Roxas	K-4		Liberal	19,372,888	57.81%
2.	Bong Revilla	K-4		Lakas	15,801,531	47.15%
3.	Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.	KNP		KNP	13,519,998	40.35%
4.	Jamby Madrigal	KNP		KNP	13,253,692	39.55%
5.	Richard J. Gordon	K-4		Lakas	12,707,151	37.92%
6.	Pia Cayetano	K-4		Lakas	12,542,054	37.43%
7.	Miriam Defensor Santiago	K-4		PRP	12,187,401	36.37%
8.	Alfredo Lim	KNP		KNP	11,286,428	33.68%
9.	Juan Ponce Enrile	KNP		KNP	11,191,162	33.40%
10.	Jinggoy Estrada	KNP		KNP	11,094,120	33.11%
11.	Lito Lapid	K-4		Lakas	10,970,941	32.74%
12.	Rodolfo Biazon	K-4		Liberal	10,635,270	31.74%
13.	Robert Barbers	K-4		Lakas	10,624,585	31.71%
14.	Ernesto Maceda	KNP		KNP	9,944,328	29.68%
15.	John Henry Osmeña	K-4		Independent	9,914,179	29.59%
16.	Orlando S. Mercado	K-4		Lakas	8,295,024	24.75%
17.	Robert Jaworski	K-4		Lakas	6,921,425	20.65%
18.	Boots Anson-Roa	KNP		KNP	5,873,845	17.53%
19.	Francisco Tatad	KNP		PMP	5,718,740	17.07%
20.	Heherson Alvarez			Independent	4,791,085	14.30%
21.	Ernesto Herrera	KNP		KNP	4,612,036	13.76%
22.	Perfecto Yasay	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Aksyon	4,408,808	13.16%
23.	Francisco Chavez	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Reporma-LM	4,286,838	12.79%
24.	Carlos M. Padilla	Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino		Independent	3,863,693	11.53%
25.	Salvador Escudero	KNP		KNP	3,780,469	11.28%
26.	Amina Rasul	KNP		KNP	3,456,480	10.31%
27.	Jay Sonza	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Aksyon	2,839,442	8.47%
28.	Parouk Hussin	K-4		Lakas	2,821,522	8.42%
29.	Didagen Dilangalen	KNP		KNP	2,222,069	6.63%
30.	Batas Mauricio	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Aksyon	1,144,279	3.41%
31.	Pilar Pilapil			Independent	692,137	2.07%
32.	Eduardo Nonato Joson	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Aksyon	631,041	1.88%
33.	Eddie Ilarde			Independent	527,865	1.58%
34.	Nicanor Gatmaytan Jr.	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Aksyon	453,693	1.35%
35.	Bong Coo	Alyansa ng Pag-asa		Aksyon	338,846	1.01%
36.	Oliver Lozano			KBL	238,272	0.71%
37.	Alvin Alvincent Almirante			KBL	206,097	0.62%
38.	Ramon Montaño			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	159,735	0.48%
39.	Matuan Usop			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	137,376	0.41%
40.	Angel Rosario			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	98,932	0.30%
41.	Ismael Aparri			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	97,430	0.29%
42.	Norma Nueva			KBL	96,129	0.29%
43.	Carmen Borja			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	95,755	0.29%
44.	Pendatun Decampong			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	94,713	0.28%
45.	Gerardo del Mundo			Independent	88,962	0.27%
46.	El Cid Fajardo			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	79,471	0.24%
47.	Iderlina Pagunuran			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	59,712	0.18%
48.	Arturo Estuita			Isang Bansa Isang Diwa	39,094	0.12%
Turnout					35,510,092	76.97%
Registered voters					43,536,028	100%
Note: A total of 48 candidates ran for senator.		Sources: Vote totals from the Commission on Elections, turnout from the National Statistics Coordinating Board.

Per coalition

Party/coalition	Votes	%	Seats won	%
K-4	132,793,971	52.2	7	58.3
KNP	95,953,367	37.7	5	41.7
Independents	9,963,742	3.9	0	0
Aksyon Demokratiko	9,362,416	3.7	0	0
Reporma-LM	4,740,531	1.9	0	0
Partido Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa	862,218	0.3	0	0

Per party

Party/coalition		Votes	%	Seats won	%
	Lakas	80,684,233	31.7%	4	33.3%
	PMP	47,386,394	26.7%	3	22.5%
	Liberal	30,008,158	11.8%	2	16.7%
	LDP	21,908,470	5.2%	1	8.3%
	PDP-Laban	16,976,478	6.7%	1	8.3%
	PRP	12,187,401	4.8%	1	8.3%
	NPC	9,944,328	3.9%	0	0.0%
	Aksyon	9,362,416	3.7%	0	0.0%
	Reporma-LM	4,740,531	1.9%	0	0
	Partido Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa	862,218	0.3%	0	0
	KBL	540,498	0.2%	0	0
Totals		254,216,743	100.0%	12	100.0%

Representatives

 Summary of the May 10, 2004 Philippine House of Representatives election results

Parties and coalitions		Seats	%
	Lakas	92	37.2%
	NPC	53	21.5%
	Liberal	29	11.8%
	LDP	15	6.1%
	PMP	5	2.0%
	Aksyon	2	0.8%
	KAMPI	2	0.8%
	Nacionalista	2	0.8%
	PDP-Laban	2	0.8%
	KBL	1	0.4%
	PDSP	1	0.4%
	Reporma-LM	1	0.4%
	Independent	4	1.6%
Totals		209	84.6%

Exit polls

During and immediately after the elections, exit polls were conducted by various organizations including the Social Weather Stations. According to "The SWS 2004 Day of Election Survey: Final Exit Poll Scores Excluding Blank Answers", released by the SWS on 19 May 2004, the national vote percentages are: GMA 45%, FPJ 34%, Lacson 10%, Roco 6%, Villanueva 5% (slightly different numbers from May 11; error margin 2%, n = 4,445)."^[5]

These results are affirmed when compared to the NAMFREL Quick Count as of May 21, as tabulated in "Comparison of ABS-CBN/SWS Exit Poll 2004 Results (as of May 17, 9 am; excluding No Answer) and NAMFREL Quick Count as of May 21 1:00 p.m. (Report #63)".^[6] The NAMFREL Quick Count shows GMA at 40.4%, FPJ at 36.5%, Lacson at 10.8%, Roco at 6.2%, and Villanueva at 6.1%.^[6]

It is notable in light of the subsequent Hello Garci scandal how exit polling revealed the candidates' performance in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. To wit, the SWS exit poll shows that GMA won only 44% of ARMM while FPJ won 50% (in short, 44-50); the NAMFREL Quick Count showed a score of 34.3-56.5.^[6] However, the final official COMELEC Canvass showed a result of 62% vs. 31% in favor of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.^[6] This highly irregular result constituted prima facie evidence of cheating in the ARMM.

The SWS also published the number of registered voters per region as of April 28, 2004—or just a week before the elections—for the purpose of comparing their sample sizes with the actual number of voters. The ARMM had 1,057,458 voters.^[7]

However, recall that in the final official COMELEC canvass, FPJ won 31% of ARMM votes. If he had won 100% of ARMM, he could gain only 69% more of the ARMM voters, or 729,646 votes. Given that the final difference between GMA and FPJ was 1,123,576 votes, GMA would still have won the election by a total of 393,930 votes.

Even if FPJ won 100% of the ARMM, GMA would still have won. So great was GMA's lead, that even if they padded ARMM voter rolls so that it would show 1.5 million voters, 69% of that would only be 1.035 million votes, still not enough to overcome the 1.123-million vote lead.

This result is actually consistent with the trend of the pre-election opinion polls conducted also by the SWS. On April 23, just a little over two weeks before the election, the SWS released a poll, and the headline of the SWS report by itself was historically significant: "SWS April 10–17, 2004 Survey: Roco Depleted, Voters Go To GMA and Undecided".^[8] The report's first line gives away the game: "Raul Roco's sudden departure for abroad cost him almost half of his voting strength, allowing Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to gain a slim lead ..."^[8] That lead could not be reversed: at the last pre-election SWS opinion poll (conducted from May 1 to 4) released on 8 May 2004, or just two days before the election, "GMA Leads FPJ By 7%", 37% to 30%, with 12% undecided.^[9]

Official Congressional canvass

Under the constitution, the Congress is mandated to become the National Board of Canvassers for the top two positions, the president and the vice-president. Tallying in the 216,382 precincts nationwide are submitted in Election Returns that are forwarded to the municipal and city board of canvassers. These are then tabulated and forwarded to the provincial board of canvassers which prepare the 176 Certificates of Canvass (CoC). These CoCs were forwarded to the joint session of the Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on May 25, 2004.

Senators and representatives from the administration and opposition have debated heatedly on the procedure of counting the CoCs. The traditional way of counting the certificates, as used in the 1992 and 1998 elections, was to appoint a joint committee consisting of seven senators and seven representatives. Many opposition legislators, notably, Cong. Didagen Dilangalen of Maguindanao, opposed this traditional method as unconstitutional saying that it should be the whole Congress, not a committee, who should count the votes. Part of the argument was that "power delegated cannot be further delegated", referring to the delegation of counting to a committee. The proposal of some legislators was for the whole Congress to sit in a joint session counting each and every single Certificate of Canvass.

The debates and deliberations for the rules of canvassing were finished by the Congressional joint session on May 28. The rules decided were very similar to the ones used in the 1992 and 1998 elections, which called for a joint committee to act as the National Board of Canvassers. The notable difference is the increase of the number of committee members from 14 to 22, this time consisting of 11 senators and 11 representatives. The composition of the committee was also announced by the senate president, Franklin Drilon, and the Speaker of the House, Jose de Venecia. The composition was immediately lambasted by the Opposition; the House portion of the committee consisted of 9 administration representatives and 2 opposition. The Poe camp called for a more equal representation for all the involved political parties in the committee, despite the appointed commission mirroring the current composition of the House: there are 190 administration representatives in a 220-seat House.

The official canvassing by the Congressional Joint Committee started on June 4, a little less than one month after election day. Canvassing was done in a slow pace, averaging about 12 Certificates of Canvass per day, as the Opposition accused Administration politicians of railroading the canvass. The Opposition lawyers wanted to question the validity of 25 CoCs, especially in those areas where Arroyo posted a wide margin over Poe. They wanted the Committee to examine the Statement of Votes at the municipal level and even down to the Election Returns at the precinct level to prove their claim that the Certificates of Canvass have been tampered with in favor of Arroyo. Administration lawyers contend that the Committee is not the proper place to lodge complaints of fraud and that the Opposition should go to the Presidential Election Tribunal (the Supreme Court) after the winner has been proclaimed.

See also

• Commission on Elections
• Politics of the Philippines
• Philippine elections
• President of the Philippines
• 13th Congress of the Philippines

External links

General sites

• Philippine Presidency Project
• Philippine Commission on Elections
• National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL)

Media sites and articles

• Eleksyon 2004 (Media website)
• 4 exit polls have 3 different winners - Philippine Daily Inquirer
• Proberz exit polls: FPJ winner
• Congress approves canvassing rules - Philippine Daily Inquirer
• SWS admits it made errors in exit poll - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Others

• On Election Polls: Part IV WHO DID BETTER - SWS OR PULSE ASIA? - Dr. Romula A. Virola
• Dec. 30, 2002 Arroyo speech declaring her intention not to run
• P.E.T. Case No. 003, Legarda vs. De Castro

Literature

• Teehankee, Julio (2006). Consolidation or Crisis of Clientelistic Democracy?: The 2004 Synchronized Elections in the Philippines. Between Consolidation and Crisis: Elections and Democracy in Five Nations in Southeast Asia. Berlin: Lit. pp. 215–276.

References

1. Inquirer.net, Lawyer found dead in Pasig hotel
2. GMA NEWS.TV, Lawyer who filed case vs FPJ found dead in Ortigas hotel
3. Abs-Cbn Interactive, PET junks Loren's VP electoral protest
4. supremecourt.gov.ph/news, PET Junks Legarda’s Poll Protest against VP De Castro
5. The SWS 2004 Day of Election Survey: Final Exit Poll Scores Excluding Blank Answers - Social Weather Stations
6. Comparison of ABS-CBN/SWS Exit Poll 2004 Results (as of May 17, 9 am; excluding No Answer) and NAMFREL Quick Count as of May 21 1:00 p.m. (Report #63) - Social Weather Stations
7. Size of ABS-CBN/SWS Exit Poll 2004 Completed, as of May 17, 9 am
8. SWS April 10-17, 2004 Survey
9. SWS May 1-4, 2004 Survey