Palace: Media quick count ‘mind-conditioning, trending’

Presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio urged the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) to speed up its count in order to stem what it called as “mind-conditioning" and “trending" by media quick counts. “We have not seen the real results here…If we base it on what you see on TV, it’s not acceptable to us…We would rather wait for and rely on Namfrel," he said. Claudio said what is coming out in the media quick counts shows only the votes from Metro Manila and Luzon, and not in the provinces where Team Unity is strong. “[The] more accurate and fair representation of results in the provinces, such as Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Bohol, Caraga, Misamis Occidental, ARMM, and Zamboanga Sibugay [are not yet in]," he said. He said the administration is “disappointed" with Namfrel because it started its quick count more than 24 hours after the closing of the polls. He said the Namfrel quick count is the “most reliable." He said Namfrel should be mindful of the need to count the votes “with accuracy and speed" in order to “stem trending by unreliable sources," referring to the media counts. “We are hoping that they can speed it up and catch up with the networks…[and] takeover the quick count that’s being conducted by the networks," he said. Asked whether the Namfrel would show a strong performance of TU candidates, he said: “We believe so." He said the administration’s own quick count is “much more encouraging that what we’re seeing in quick counts." He said more delay in Namfrel’s counting would result in “trending" and expressed fear that once the quick count shows TU candidates’ catching up, the opposition would cry cheating. “There is something mesmerizing about numbers flashing on screen…No matter how you explain the process…It’s mind-conditioning," he said. He said there is no formal action yet from the TU camp regarding the media quick count but other officials have informally communicated to the media the mind-conditioning of their counting. - GMANews.TV