When Namfrel counted the vote in 1986

2026-02-25 - 08:24

Audie Jose said she couldn’t remember why she became a National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) volunteer. It has been 40 years. She is now 84. It must have been one of the 1987 Constitution framers, Christian Monsod, she said, who recruited her. “Or somebody who is a friend of Christian Monsod,” Jose said, unsure. There may be lapses in her memory now. But she remembers the general sense of hope at that time. “One felt terribly patriotic,” she said. For Jose, it was as simple as “helping the Philippines.” Did she share some grand dream of restoring democracy? “Not really,” she laughed over the phone. “They just wanted someone up there.” Jose was one of the thousands of volunteers for election watchdog Namfrel during the snap election held on February 7, 1986. The election was rigged, and the year was a turning point in Philippine history that saw dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos exiled and a widow, Corazon Aquino, as the new president. BOARD. People look on to Namfrel’s tally board for the snap election. It remains displayed in the gymnasium where Namfrel held its headquarters for Operation Quick Count. Photo by Namfrel Namfrel wanted to prevent electoral fraud in the snap election. To do this, they needed to collect election results from every polling precinct across towns, to tabulate and report these results. Their national tabulation center was at the La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong, made possible by Bro. Rolly Dizon who was a Namfrel national council member. Parallel counting meant Namfrel had to rely on a wide network of volunteers across the country. Damaso Magbual, another Namfrel national council member, headed the operations in Bicol. Working in Bicol meant covering more than 5,000 polling precincts. Magbual said he recruited from universities, student councils, Rotary clubs, and other civic organizations. He spoke to religious leaders. He remembered sending 80 letters to different groups. He was originally from Ilocos Norte. He chose to work in Bicol in the name of fairness, he said. Magbual said people believed the Namfrel count even when it veered away from the official Commission on Elections (Comelec) results. In their count, Corazon Aquino and her running mate, Salvador Laurel, won. “We had evidence, hard copy,” Magbual said in a call with Rappler. For Magbual, credibility was made possible by the work at the precinct level, the vast network Namfrel made. “We copied the results of the elections at the precinct level,” said Magbual. “We requested the chief of the Board of Election Inspectors to sign and authenticate that that is indeed the result.” These local chapters that made the difficult groundwork possible were called the “Namfrel marines.” The large effort was made possible not only through groups and private citizens, but both small and large companies that helped Namfrel. HEADQUARTERS. Namfrel held its headquarters at La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong. The group said there were more than 500 volunteers in the headquarters at any given time for three weeks for the vote counting. Photo by Namfrel MONITOR. International observers, foreign media visited the headquarters in Mandaluyong. Photo by Namfrel Greg Jotie remembers Audie Jose as “some big shot” in Namfrel back then. She was the reason he became a Namfrel volunteer, he said. Jotie was a 21-year-old computer programmer in 1986. He worked on the radios to exchange information. “There was no such thing as cellphones,” Jotie told Rappler. “Only telephones or landlines existed at the time.” When the vote-counting started, Jotie was assigned at La Salle Green Hills, the headquarters of Operation Quick Count. They occupied a section of the school’s gymnasium with the banner, “PARA Network Center.” The acronym stood for Philippine Amateur Radio Association. Their section received the election results via two-way radio. They received data through the terminal node controller and printed out the results. Jotie said he spent three or four nights at the headquarters. At night, people would slow down. For three weeks, more than 500 people were manning the desks at any given time, according to Namfrel. At the peak of Operation Quick Count, more than half a million people volunteered. VOLUNTEER. Greg Jotie, then a 21-year-old computer programmer, helped worked the radios to exchange information at headquarters. Jotie said he remembered the gymnasium being busy, the people friendly. During the night, people would slow down and they can sleep. Photo by Greg Jotie PARA. A section of the headquarters in the gymnasium of La Salle Green Hills was occupied by the Philippine Amateur Radio Association. Photo by Greg Jotie When Marcos and his running mate, Arturo Tolentino, were declared winners, Jotie said they received instruction to photocopy the documents for safekeeping. These were hauled in a secure location. Namfrel was prepared in case the government raided their headquarters at the school. Following the proclamation, Aquino led the Tagumpay ng Bayan (People’s Victory) in Luneta. And days later, the United States’ Senate declared that the snap election was marked by widespread fraud. A military faction rose up against the Marcos government. On February 22, Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin went on air to call on people’s support. His voice was muffled. “This is Cardinal Sin speaking to the people, especially in Metro Manila. I am indeed concerned about the situation of Minister Enrile and General Ramos. I am calling our people to support our two good friends at the camp. If any of you could be around at Camp Aguinaldo to show your solidarity and your support in this very crucial period, when our two good friends have shown their idealism, I would be very happy if you could support them now. I could only wish that violence and bloodshed be avoided.” Jotie listened to the radio. Of course, he said, he went to EDSA. And the rest was history. DICTATOR’S SON. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, at the Philippine Arena on February 8, 2022, during the first day of campaign. Marcos was still a presidential candidate then and would win with more than double the votes of his closest opponent Leni Robredo. Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters Every year since the ouster of Marcos, people would remember the peaceful revolution by going out to the streets. Forty years have passed. A former president vowed the killings of drug war addicts and made good on the promise. He is now undergoing pre-trial proceedings at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The current president is the son of the late dictator Marcos. Some lawmakers at the House of Representatives are linked to the recent biggest corruption scandal in the country. “Nothing much has changed,” Magbual said before ending the phone interview. So we have to learn, he added, to grow and mature for democracy. Must Watch People Power at 40: La Salle Green Hills and the Namfrel volunteers – Rappler.com Quotes in Filipino translated to English for brevity.