180 Chasing the Wind: Assessing Philippine Democracy, Second Edition The candidates, the political parties, the citizens' poll watchdogs, and the Filipino public at large have all been placed in the position of having to blindly accept whatever Comelec ofcials declared the election outcomes were. Successive Comelec chairmen – Melo, Brillantes, Bautista – and their patrons and minions clearly refused to recognize that voters have a right to transparency and a right to be able to observe and verify election results. This is a right provided for not only in the law of this country, but also in international law and in universal declarations of human rights. Did the refusal of Melo, Brillantes, and Bautista (and their respective bands of complicit ofcials) to act in accordance with the requirements of both international law and the country's own election code arise from the fact that they are really only marionettes whose strings are pulled by some mysterious puppet master? If one imagines that the Commission on Elections is not fully captive of the powers that be and are acting in their interests (and not the country's), then one might be described as hopelessly naïve. If one thinks that the Commission on Elections is “independent” or “objective” – even after watching its members make anomalous decisions in blatant violation of both existing law and the public interest – then one can only be labelled as certiably blind. Shortly after the indisputably criminal way that Comelec conducted the 2013 automated polls, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the PhilippinesNational Secretariat for Social Action said in a statement, “The recent mid-term national election makes a mockery of our democracy.” It continued, “We join the Civil Society watchdogs in demanding accountability from Comelec. We call the responsible agencies for a thorough investigation of election irregularities and incidents reported, and challenge all the faithful and people of goodwill, to break the culture of impunity…. We as citizens should speak now. This so-called automated election with its malpractices will be perpetuated in the coming elections if we do not loudly clamour for accountability. How can we obey and respect our leaders if we are not sure whether they are really elected by the people? At stake is the future of our democracy!” What Comelec has been doing is nothing less than a subversion of the nation's democracy. Filipino voters cannot even hope that the Supreme Court might eventually support the various petitions that seek to restore transparency and integrity to the electoral process. Filipino citizens cannot, it seems, even hope that the justices on the Court will not continue to exhibit the same deliberate ignorance and indifference that betrays allegiances to vested elite interests. The decision of the UNHRC is being awaited. Typically, the UN body takes three or more years to issue its judgment. While that judgment may have no legally enforceable impact within the country, it can affect the country's standing – and the moral ascendancy of its political ruling class – in the