Do you guys still remember the after-election reports about the different commotions and "bad luck" that happened during election day? Well, there were a couple: 1. The Brown-outs; 2. The dagdag bawas "scam"; and 3. The failure of elections in a few cities and provinces.

The day after the elections, the National Power Corporation explained that the power failures during the crucial days of the elections were not due to politics. Napocor said the recent brownouts were caused by overloading with computers, fax machines, fans and other electrical equipment running more than 24 hours in thousands of precincts nationwide. After a brief restoration of power Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan was again plunged into darkness as the school’s power transformer overloaded according to DzRH. Also, a few days after May 14, most of Palawan still had no electricity and communication capabilities with cell sites are down.

One case of ballot box snatching was reported in San Fernando, La Union while in another town in the province eight men posing as soldiers were apprehended by the Philippine National Police. The alleged ballot box snatchers were brought in the custody of the PNP in San Fernando where they underwent “tactical interrogation.” The police withheld the names of the suspects.

Failure of elections was declared in several barangays in Palawan, Lanao del Sur, and Masbate. Benipayo said in a press briefing that the Commission en banc was set to issue resolutions declaring “failure of elections” in two barangays in Palawan, two in Lanao del Sur, and five in Masbate. Teachers in Bangcalaan and Balabac, Palawan reportedly refused to serve during election day due to fear of violence, while Board of Inspectors in two barangays in Lanao del Sur decided not to report to work after an order from local military authorities.

Another issue that surfaced right after was voiced out by National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) chair Jose Concepcion. He said that there were “too many cooks” who spoiled the supposed quick count by the poll watch body. Concepcion said in a radio interview that lower-ranked officials of Comelec did not take seriously the order of Commission on Elections (Comelec) head Aflredo Benipayo about giving the copies of the election returns to Namfrel.

It seems that another set of promises were broken last May 14 by the Comelec. Will the last election serve as a learning experience, at last, for the officials in charge? Or will they simply just forget about this again?