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The Walkout That Caused a Dictator to Walk Out
A look back at the story of the COMELEC 35.
Thus
2025-02-09T10:48:21.052Z
On February 9, 1986, 35 people abandoned their posts and eventually caused a dictator to leave his.
This is known today as the COMELEC Walkout of 1986. It saw vote tabulators leave the tallying process of the 1986 Philippine snap elections after it became clear to them that it was being rigged in favor of reelectionist Ferdiand Marcos Sr, a man who, at that point, had already been president for more than 20 years. When this event unfolded, it became one of the crucial points in Philippine history that fueled the public to finally oust Marcos. And, it was a long time coming as far as his critics were concerned.
Before this happened, the regime of Marcos was already struggling. It was under martial law and it had been linked to numerous allegations of corruption and human rights violations that included the deaths or disappearances of activists and political rivals. Chief among the casualties was Benigno Aquino Jr., a popular critic of Marcos' reign and a man whose assassination was attributed to the dictator and his allies. Opposition for Marcos had gotten louder and bolder.
To reassert the legitimacy of his rule, Marcos agreed to hold a snap election where his closest rival was Corazon Aquino, Benigno’s wife. And this was when things started to unravel.
On February 9, while the votes from this election were being tallied, 35 computer technicians employed by the Commission on Election (COMELEC) walked out of the Philippine International Convention Center where the tabulation was being done. According to them, the walkout was a protest because there was blatant cheating going on and they didn’t want to be part of it. Linda Kapunan-Hill, the representative of the group now dubbed COMELEC 35, said that while Aquino was leading in their reports, the tally board claimed that Marcos was. It became clear to them that their superiors were rigging the election for Marcos to win. And so, they left.
“When the discrepancy between the computer tabulation reports and the figures on the tally board was detected, the immediate reaction was one of indignation and utter frustration,” the group said in a statement released after they walked out. “It hurt us to see a deliberate betrayal of trust," they added. "It did not matter who was winning or losing; cheating whether by 1 or 100,000 is still cheating. It was an insult to our most basic sensibilities, both moral and professional. And we did not want to have anything to do with it.”
After giving out this statement, members of the group—fearing for their lives—were separately kept safe in various places. Some stayed in Camp Aguinaldo, some in Ateneo de Manila University and others went to a retreat house. They were able to go home on February 20 and a few days after that, a public fed up with Marcos and the many allegations soiling his name gathered to cover EDSA. Some of Marcos' allies advised him to step down while others walked out on him too leaving the dictator no choice but to abandon the post he held on to for more than twenty years.
Decades since this happened, another Marcos took the presidency—his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He won an election in spite of the numerous allegations still dogging his family and the number of times he was caught lying. Winning with him was his Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, a man who was also accused of numerous counts of corruption and human rights violations.
Marcos Jr. won the presidential race in 2022 and he rose up to lead a country that has come to tolerate more than just electoral cheating.
This is known today as the COMELEC Walkout of 1986. It saw vote tabulators leave the tallying process of the 1986 Philippine snap elections after it became clear to them that it was being rigged in favor of reelectionist Ferdiand Marcos Sr, a man who, at that point, had already been president for more than 20 years. When this event unfolded, it became one of the crucial points in Philippine history that fueled the public to finally oust Marcos. And, it was a long time coming as far as his critics were concerned.
Before this happened, the regime of Marcos was already struggling. It was under martial law and it had been linked to numerous allegations of corruption and human rights violations that included the deaths or disappearances of activists and political rivals. Chief among the casualties was Benigno Aquino Jr., a popular critic of Marcos' reign and a man whose assassination was attributed to the dictator and his allies. Opposition for Marcos had gotten louder and bolder.
To reassert the legitimacy of his rule, Marcos agreed to hold a snap election where his closest rival was Corazon Aquino, Benigno’s wife. And this was when things started to unravel.
On February 9, while the votes from this election were being tallied, 35 computer technicians employed by the Commission on Election (COMELEC) walked out of the Philippine International Convention Center where the tabulation was being done. According to them, the walkout was a protest because there was blatant cheating going on and they didn’t want to be part of it. Linda Kapunan-Hill, the representative of the group now dubbed COMELEC 35, said that while Aquino was leading in their reports, the tally board claimed that Marcos was. It became clear to them that their superiors were rigging the election for Marcos to win. And so, they left.
“When the discrepancy between the computer tabulation reports and the figures on the tally board was detected, the immediate reaction was one of indignation and utter frustration,” the group said in a statement released after they walked out. “It hurt us to see a deliberate betrayal of trust," they added. "It did not matter who was winning or losing; cheating whether by 1 or 100,000 is still cheating. It was an insult to our most basic sensibilities, both moral and professional. And we did not want to have anything to do with it.”
After giving out this statement, members of the group—fearing for their lives—were separately kept safe in various places. Some stayed in Camp Aguinaldo, some in Ateneo de Manila University and others went to a retreat house. They were able to go home on February 20 and a few days after that, a public fed up with Marcos and the many allegations soiling his name gathered to cover EDSA. Some of Marcos' allies advised him to step down while others walked out on him too leaving the dictator no choice but to abandon the post he held on to for more than twenty years.
Decades since this happened, another Marcos took the presidency—his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He won an election in spite of the numerous allegations still dogging his family and the number of times he was caught lying. Winning with him was his Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, a man who was also accused of numerous counts of corruption and human rights violations.
Marcos Jr. won the presidential race in 2022 and he rose up to lead a country that has come to tolerate more than just electoral cheating.
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