It makes reference to these articles: Abp Quevedo: is there another way of choosing leaders in the ARMM?…  These Wikipedia articles are also useful: Islamic Democracy, the Caliphate, and Sunni and Shia Islam.  Also, take a look at an interesting map of the geographical distribution of traditions of Islam.

THE LONG VIEW Islamic democracy    By Manuel L. Quezon III Inquirer First Posted 02:19am (Mla time) 05/31/2007   There was a fascinating account in Mindanews last Tuesday about a proposal by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo to establish a kind of Electoral College system in Muslim Mindanao — and some reactions to the proposal. Quevedo said [...]

THE LONG VIEW Islamic democracy  By Manuel L. Quezon III Inquirer First Posted 02:19am (Mla time) 05/31/2007   There was a fascinating account in Mindanews last Tuesday about a proposal by Archbishop Orlando Quevedo to establish a kind of Electoral College system in Muslim Mindanao — and some reactions to the proposal. Quevedo said that [...]

Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire Manuel L. Quezon III   There is a reason many crimes take place under cover of darkness: Most people tend to be if not good, then decent, and law-abiding. There is a reason election controversies end up focusing on provinces in Muslim Mindanao: These places are shrouded in a kind [...]

My Arab News column for this week is Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire.  A related reading is an account in Mindanews, of a proposal by Archbishop Quevedo to establish a kind of electoral college voting system in Mindanao -one disputed by other Mindanaowons, including the scholar Patricio Abinales.

They are now taking the offensive stance,” Leila de Lima, counsel for the GO’s Cayetano, told reporters…In a move that can further delay the proclamation of winners, the TU is filing with the Comelec an appeal for a recount in Metro Manila and 15 provinces where the GO dominated the canvassing.At a press conference, TU deputy spokesperson Tonypet Albano said Monday the TU move to direct its lawyer, Macalintal, to seek a recanvassing of the votes in GO bailiwicks could lead to a “failure of elections” in these areas.These areas could affect 7 million votes.Albano said a retabulation of CoCs would further delay the proclamation of winners.Macalintal is expected to file up to 130 cases of election fraud with the Comelec against the GO, using affidavits of witnesses, tampered election returns, similar thumb marks, wrong tallies and election documents without watermarks.Albano said the TU’s appeal was not unlike the plea of the GO in the Maguindanao elections in which the opposition claimed the administration cheated in forcing a 12-0 sweep of the Top 12.“We’re just doing to them what they are doing to us. They are questioning how we swept Maguindanao.  So we will also question them how they swept us in their bailiwicks like Makati and General Santos City,” said Albano.“If the Comelec granted the GO’s appeal, I don’t see why we should not be granted the same,” he said…Albano only named Makati, San Juan, Caloocan and Pasig as the main targets of its appeal for retabulation of the CoCs.This is scorched-earth governance again.I’ve learned to read Bel Cunanan for insights into how the Speaker is currently thinking.First, she gives a snapshot of the motivations of congressmen like Luis Villafuerte:The floating of Garcia’s name came as a surprise, as many had suspected that Villafuerte himself, one of two brilliant Bicolanos (the other being Rep. Edcel Lagman) who fought the two impeachment moves against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, would challenge De Venecia in De Venecia’s quest to create history by running for an unprecedented 5th term as Speaker.But in the days immediately following the elections, rumors circulated that Villafuerte wasn’t interested in the speakership, but would gladly settle as chair of the most powerful committee on appropriations….  De Venecia is perceived as not giving up on Charter change as the vehicle for economic take-off, preferably led by himself, whereas Pabling Garcia fought the people’s initiative right up to the Supreme Court.And here’s the zinger: basically, she wonders if it isn’t time to call the President’s bluff, since the speakership is a position the president determines:Ultimately, the speakership issue, as all House members know, is one vote, that of the President.

The story broke on a Sunday, guaranteed to occupy the AM radio shows in the morning: It’s Cebu’s Garcia vs De Venecia in speakership fight.  Intramurals, this early?  More accurately, early-bird extortion.My column for today is Calabasa and the counting.

Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos backtracks from proclaiming an initial batch of winning senatorial candidates:When the NBC adjourned the canvassing at 6:15 Thursday night, it was still 8-2-2 in favor of GO.It was also 8-2-2 for GO in the tally by Namfrel as of 6:03 Thursday night.The tallies read out by the Comelec were from Navotas-Malabon, Tawi-Tawi, Antique and Northern Samar, bringing the total number of canvassed local CoCs to 69 provinces and 10 cities in Metro Manila, or 77 percent of the 103 local CoCs.The handful of CoCs canvassed Thursday had no effect on the ranking of all candidates in the Magic 12 with the GO slate winning a sweep in opposition bailiwick, Navotas-Malabon.They need more wiggle room….  A showdown, says the Inquirer editorial.Amando Doronila says the election points an urban vs. rural divide, and an epic showdown to come:…Struggling to crash into the 12th spot are Team Unity’s Miguel Zubiri, Ralph Recto, Michael Defensor and Prospero Pichay.From the above figures, the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against changing the ratio of the results, unless the administration, with the collusion of the Comelec, foolishly undertakes a massive tampering of the returns in Mindanao and other provinces.  This picture underscores the futility of drastically changing the outcome without sparking a civil conflagration, of the magnitude that followed the walkout in February 1986 of computer technicians at the Comelec after the official tabulation wiped out the commanding lead of opposition presidential candidate Corazon Aquino……From where things now stand in the tabulations, the country is confronted by two sets of results, each presenting different electoral maps: one comes from the senatorial results and the other from the congressional and local elections……On the face of the results, two elections on two different levels, with no correspondence with one another, took place on May 14, drawing the electorally bifurcated map of the country: the Senate and the local elections.Each sent different messages and mandates.

Here it is, folks: Sigaw resurrects signature campaign:The new petition will call for the abolition of Malacañang and Congress and will pave for a new unicameral parliamentary system that will be composed of district, regional and party-list representation all over the country, said Lambino……Lambino said that with the support of the local government executives, they expect to get the same number they had last year of about nine million signatures – almost double the constitutional requirement of 5.16 million, or 12 percent of the total voting population and representing over three percent of all voters in each of the 213 congressional districts in the country……If their petition prospers, the election of members of parliament will be on May 2, 2010.“There will be no more extension of term or the creation of an interim parliament, Malacañang and Congress will be merged together as the executive and lawmaking body of the government,” Lambino explained.Under the parliamentary unitary system, the prime minister will become the head of government with members of parliament of the majority party holding the Cabinet posts.And her’es another Old Reliable: Oliver Lozano says he’s going to file an impeachment complaint against the President.As the Comelec announces its poised to announce 9 senatorial winners, fraud allegations in Mindanao get detailed; the Palace’s Team Unity’s reduced to insisting on two things: Maguindanao was a clean election and there is a Communist-GO conspiracy.  This is meant, of course, to keep two of candidates still in the fight, In the punditocracy, my column for today is Ceasafire?  Poor Miguel Zubiri took exception to my previous column, but what can you do?

THE LONG VIEW Ceasefire? By Manuel L. Quezon III Inquirer Let’s not forget that in 2005 and 2006, public opinion was for impeachment and against Charter change, but divided on other options. From 2005 to the present, public opinion has overwhelmingly been against the President, but disunited on what, if anything, to do about it. [...]