2008 ARMM Elections - Easiest cheat to date

I was in Lanao del Sur during the 2001 ARMM elections and I witnessed how the mayors, COMELEC officials, and the deputized election officers cheated on that election. Aside from the vote-buying, cheating came in the form of filled up voting forms. Voters, when allowed by the mayor to vote, received ballots with the ARMM governor and vice-governor already filled up (Faroul Hussein in 2001). Voters had no choice but to submit the ballot as is or invalidate the entry - it's either a vote for Hussein or no vote for governor at all.

Can you imagine how ARMM would have progress with Datu Toto Paglas as governor? ARMM need someone like him who will is not there for the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA). Anyways, water under the bridge.

In the last ARMM election (August 11, 2008) my father went around Lanao del Sur to observe the elections. This election was the country's first "automated" elections and the COMELEC (with NAMFREL and PPCRV) calling it as relatively clean and fast. Ebs ng Toro!!! In Lanao del Sur (Ganasi, Madalum, Bacolod Grande, Marawi City, etc.) the COMELEC used Optical Mark Reader (OMR), where paper ballots were counted using machines. The OMR only made the cheaters' work easier as they did not have to fill up the ballots (worrying about uniform handwriting) as they only shaded the box nest Ampatuan's name in new ballot forms. Those whom the mayors allowed to vote were not allowed to bring erasers to the voting booth. The result is that the man who uses at least ten luxury vehicles to ferry him from Maguindanao to the Gensan Airport get 1,017,179 votes in the 2008 elections.

ARMM residents "sell" their votes because its the only time that they receive any benefit from ARMM officials. I say "sell" because ARMM politicians do not have to BUY the votes at all since they spend upwards of Php 50 million to bid for the favors of incumbent mayors and election officials for the election magic.