Elections as an instrument of political control 181 international community. In the 2016 presidential polls, it was actually comical – if it weren't so deadly serious – that most observers continued to think that the key to winning political ofce was the favor of the voting masses (such as it may be) and not the benediction of the tiny cabal that controls the computerized system for now automated elections. Even usually perceptive analysts appeared to have difculty making such a paradigm adjustment, from assuming that we were engaging in a popular election to understanding that what really took place is a secret selection. A saying – attributed (probably mistakenly) to Russian dictator Joseph Stalin – goes: “It's not the people who vote that count; it's the people who count the votes.” Who the Filipino people actually vote for no longer counts. The point that needs to be constantly stressed here is that any illusions that the nation's elections have been transparent, honest, and reective of the people's will must be abandoned. As it stands, the country's entire election machinery has already been hijacked and fatally compromised. What this means, in practical terms, is that those who think that elections are a viable route to changing the corrupt political leadership of this country are sadly mistaken. Notwithstanding the massive and institutionalized plunder of the people's money by greedy and colluding politicos, the Filipino people (us) can no longer even vote them out of ofce. Granted, the Filipino people have never actually elected their leaders – these have always been chosen by a small political and economic elite in various modes of cooperation with certain outside agencies – but the way Filipinos have allowed this travesty to persist all these years and indeed get worse in a time when communications technology has presumably made voters more informed and aware is absolutely appalling. Today, Philippine “elections” are a complete farce and a supposedly on-the-side-of-the-people Commission on Elections is so arrogant as to no longer care that it is clearly exposed as no more than a servile instrument of the political ruling class. With its rm grip on the electoral apparatus, this ruling class will continue to retain its subordination of government, continue to control the nation's wealth and resources, and continue to dominate Philippine society. What to do? To begin, Filipinos – especially educated Filipinos – must discard their quaint illusions about “elections” and aggressively demand meaningful electoral reform. If it is impossible to know if one's vote is actually being counted and it is impossible to properly verify and audit the results being reported, there would be no point whatsoever in participating in what can only be a mockery of an election. For voters, there is no point in voting. For candidates who are not supported by the puppet masters who pull the Comelec's strings, there is no point in running for political ofce. Indeed, as