At this time, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s initial attempt of overturning the results of the 2020 election away from incumbent President Joe Biden, has turned out extremely badly for himself. All that has remained from his efforts in fighting the cases against him is to try to win the Presidential election, counting on the dim prospect of granting himself his own pardon on the federal crimes he committed.  His supporters who did his bidding and failed to jump ship before the court indictments bore down on them, appear “toast”, unless they turn the tables on their master.

For the advocates of democracy in the U.S who are fighting the outspoken direction of Trump and his Republican allies and MAGA (make America great again) loyalists to populism and autocracy, the indictments are encouraging. It gives the hope that democratic safeguards are working as the Justice Department and its mechanisms — the police and prosecutorial forces — are actively on the job.  But with how a former President relentlessly, publicly attacks the government and its institutions, and a strong and loyal following that hangs on to his every word; and willingly fund his crooked cause, can America still truly maintain security and safety among its population?  

According to a writer for Guardian US, the American online edition of the British newspaper, “The right has recognized that the system is in collapse, and it has a plan: violence and solidarity with treasonous far-right factions. Civil war is already here, and people refuse to see it.”

Clearly, the world is witnessing how the strongest democratic nation in the world, and its institutions are taking a big beating. The attacks are coming from its own people, emboldened by an authoritarian wanna-be. True, the wheels of justice are turning. The ex-President had his mug shot taken, just like other common criminals facing prosecution. But the sad reality for the U.S. persists, that with or without jail time, Trump’s prospects of winning the presidency as of today, cannot be counted out.

At home, in the Philippines, the problems of the country and its peoples are bigger. First of all, the malicious rigging of the January 2022 national elections was a resounding success for the bad guys. Based on evidence, the Comelec itself delivered the fatal blow that effectively silenced the opposition into submission and, ironically, if woefully, even caused the latter to validate the victory of the winning tandem as devoid of irregularities from their own investigations after the election results came out. But the cracks on the wall of secrecy and machinations in the rigging have clearly surfaced. Among the damning evidence that came out through the efforts by Gen. (Ret.) Eliseo Rio and his co-Complainants in the pending Mandamus petition against Comelec, are these findings:

“20 million votes did not come from Vote Counting Machines (VCM) through the telecom companies (TELCOs). The overwhelming vote counts were created by a secret and illegal device inside Comelec. It was blitzkrieg fast because the transmission did not have to go through the internet, which should have done so, if they were lawfully transmitted through TELCOs. The transmission happened inside Comelec’s Local Area Network (LAN) which then went directly to its Transparency Server. To this day COMELEC has not released the TELCOs transmissions, because simply: THERE WERE NO TRANSMISSIONS in the first hour (7:00 to 8:00 PM) when the 20 million votes were recorded by the transparency server. This would incriminate them criminally beyond reasonable doubt.“

Excerpt from Gen. Eliseo Rio’s simple explanation on how the 2022 national elections were rigged

But as clear as the recently discovered ways of how the rigging was carried out, the bigger problem lies in what remedies are available to the country and the people. The beneficiaries of the rigging are snug and smug, comfortably ensconced in their seats of “elected” positions in the government. More importantly, they are   enjoying the “rewards” that come with holding the 2 highest positions in the land. No electoral contest was filed and with that, no further legal mechanisms are available in law or statutes on how to evict them from their seats of power at this belated hour and circumstances.

In the American experience, a convicted felon, if elected President is not constitutionally prohibited from assuming office. But the latest developments in the study by legal scholars and jurists of the U.S. constitution show a provision that his name can be excluded from appearing in the ballot. It appears to be on point in the case of the indicted ex-President.

Sec. 3 of the 14^th Amendment of the U.S. constitution provides for, ”Disqualification from holding office of a public official, who having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress or as an officer of the United States…or as executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same or have given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof… But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

The citizens who want to preserve democracy in the U.S. are hopeful that this is the one legal remedy that they can use to prevent the recalcitrant ex-President from ever running for office again, without having to file a case. The legal scholars see this constitutional provision as self-executory and can be lawfully carried by simply excluding him from the list of candidates. It is not totally bereft of any lawful challenges, as Congress may by a vote of 2/3 of each house may remove such disability or that a plaintiff who can show standing in court may file a case against the state or federal official who executes the exclusion of the ex-President’s name from the roster of candidates. But it is true to say that there is a constitutional remedy that is available in the American scenario.

Unfortunately for our home country, the Philippines, there is no constitutional or statutory remedy to install into office the real election winners, in the case that an election was stolen, and the beneficiary of the steal was successfully, though illegally, sworn into office and was or is able to serve.  As the current situation stands, it is only by extra-legal means that the election anomaly can be ultimately corrected.

According to the Philippine constitution, sovereignty resides in the people. How many among the population know and appreciate the real meaning of this? If they do, how much are they willing to exercise this right, this real power?  Don’t they fully comprehend what it means to be robbed of their right to pick the leader they chose in an election? Don’t they see the reality of the discovery of the rigging that had actually taken place in the 2022 national elections?  The law has granted them power.  They hold the constitutional power in their hands. What more does it take to have them unleash that power?