I’m glad that Comelec Chairman Jose Melo accepts the possibility that automated elections may not take place in many parts of the country on election day.
Last Wednesday, a week after the Supreme Court upheld Comelec’s claim that they are fully capable of a nationwide automated elections despite questions raised by the Concerned Citizens Movement on the legality their having skipped the required testing of the contracted system, Melo said, “Aside from preparations for poll automation, Comelec is also preparing for manual elections sa mga liblib na lugar (in remote areas), provinces with no electricity, and would have issues in electronic transmission. We are ready for manual polls in at least 30 percent or 50 percent of the country as a last contingency measure in case the contingency plans for automation are difficult to implement.”
I don’t know if Melo’s admission of lack of electricity in many areas of the country has something to do with the warning of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes of a power shortage next year, during election period.
Although they lost the battle in the High Court, CCM’s Harry Roque felt vindicated by Melo’s statement. “That is exactly what I said during the oral arguments. I argued that we can possibly automate only up to 70 per cent without experiencing a grand failure of elections.”
Roque said they have argued for partial automation which Melo now admits is a distinct possibility.
Roque now asks: if only 70 per cent of the May 2010 elections is automated, will that be taken into account in the payment of P7.2 billion to Smartmatic/Total Information System which won the contract to conduct the full, nationwide automated elections?
“If partial automation will be implemented, then the payment to Smartmatic should be reduced accordingly. The COMELEC should fix the amount and the terms of refund now, otherwise it will become very difficult to claim the refund if they do it after the election,” Roque said adding that
Smartmatic-TIM should be returning between P2.22 Billion and P3.7 Billiion.
Ferdinand Rafanan, head of the Comelec’s legal department, discounts that possibility but if it happens, he said, there would be “penalty under the service level” section of the agreement.
Despite the Supreme Court’s affirmation of faith in the Comelec, the fear of failure of elections lingers. I believe Comelec when it says that it is impossible for the 80,000 machines to break down on election day. But it doesn’t have to be all the 80,000 machines malfunctioning to create disorder and all sorts of protests.
Rafanan said it is Comelec that will declare failure of elections and the basis are either of the three: no election took place; election was suspended; and election was completed but no proclamation was done because there was no winner.
Rafanan said failure of election could be caused by terrorism, fraud, violence, force majeure or other or similar incidents.
The fear of failure of election, which comes from the Hello Garci scandal in the 2004 election, is compounded by the possible leadership vacuum that would be created in case no winner is declared by June 30, 2010, the last day of Arroyo in Malacañang.
The order of succession provided by Constitution in case of vacancy in the presidency is vice-president, senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives. All those three positions are vacant by June 30,2010 if there would be failure of elections and no winner is declared.
The Senate could not elect a new senate president due to lack of quorum because there would only be 12 members of the Senate, one of them, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, is even in detention and is not allowed to vote.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has warned that the military and the police might end up taking temporary control of the country if there would be a total failure of elections in 2010 resulting in a power vacuum because at that point, “the only authority that you have are those with guns because they are the most organized people in the bureaucracy.”
That is why, I’m wary with the recommendation of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes for Congress to give Arroyo emergency powers for power shortages which he foresees around election period in 2010.
Gloria Arroyo has not given up. After failing to change the Constitution that would have legitimized her plan to continue holding on to power beyond June 2010, she is now asking, through the person who installed her to the presidency without election in 2001, to be granted absolute power. The gall!
Ilang ulit ko nang sinabi. If JPE steps down before elections, the Senate can elect from among the twelve who will stay on. So there will be no failure of succession.
Now then. What if Trillanes wins? Gulo di ba? For them. Or Lacson (aruykupu, puso ni Mike).
But it cuts both ways. Kiks Pangilinan can also win, or Migs Zubiri, or the Joker.
Hi Ellen,
(Sorry about that bit of demo of how not to blog when typsy and sleepy in previous post … heheh!)
“That is exactly what I said during the oral arguments. I argued that we can possibly automate only up to 70 per cent without experiencing a grand failure of elections.”
70% automated voting during the first ever automated elections? That’s going to be quite a feat and I personally will be pleasantly surprised!
Electronic voting system was introduced in 2 cities France in 2004 as part of a pilot test. Overall, the pilot electronic voting test was deemed “successful” despite the hitches. But there defenitely wasn’t a power shortage. Most of the diffiulties were due to voters’ inexperience with the new system.
Actually, the “success” of the electronic voting was largely due to the fact that everytime there were glitches, the election commissioners (each precinct had them) would simply abandon their use and would go back to the old fashion system of manual voting.
The result was half of the machines were waylaid.
France had the same experience during the presidential elections — again, there were minor problems encountered , technical as well as human that caused long queus so that commissioners were forced to take away the machines and re-introduced the good old manual voting system halfway on election day to avoid further delays. It was estimated that only 40% of the machines were used “successfully” in France.
So if Pinas could assure the world today that 70% of voting would be done by electronic voting, without prior pilot tests, and achieve that on election day despite forecast power shortages, I can tell you folks, Pinas would be in the Guiness book of records!
may mga hilltribes sa atin na bumababa lamang tuwing may botohan.dapat lang na paghandaan ng comelec ang bagay na ito.
SnV, I don’t think JPE would like to step down before elections.
I meant step down as Senate President. It can be done before the recess, on grounds that he has to concentrate on his reelection.
Is there any antidote for Gloria’s kapit-tuko syndrome? She tried and failed every possible options just remain in power. This time emergency powers during elections’ campaign period. She’s crazy.
Try and try until you succeed. Who knows she might find the right formula to stay forever. If in basketball they have the last two minutes, with gloria she will fight it out until the last second.
Ang alam ko ayhindi naman electronic voting, kundi electronic counting machines. May balota pa ring gagamitin at yung pagbilang ng mga balota ang aggamitan ng electronics/computers. Isa sa mga concern ko ay dapat ay may mga bar codes of information yung mga balota para maiwasan ang mutiple counting ng isang balota. At bantayan na walang mga fake/dagdag ballots ang mabibilang! Actually pwede nga daw gamitin yung mga Lotto machines eh, irere-configure lang para magbasa ng balota.
Kung yung mga LOtto machines sana ay malaki ang matitipid ng gobyerno. Parang renta ang mangyayari. Kaya nga lang hindi ito gagawin ng gobyerno dahil hindi sila kikita sa Tongpats!
Tama ang punto mo Luz.
In fact, kahit nga ATM machines puwedeng imodify ang software for Election Voting purposes. At least ang mga ATMs ay security-tested na.
Hi Ellen,
Sana maparating mo sa Comelec ang isang suggeston mula sa isang sr citizen.
Bakit hindi magkahiwalay na balota ang gawin ng Comelec – isa para sa mga national positions: Presidente, Bise Presidente, Senador at party list. Yung isa para lamang sa local positions – congressman, provincial governor at board members, Mayor, vice mayor at council members. Dalawa ring different colored ballot boxes ang ilaan bawat presinto para mabawasan ng maling hulog ng balota sa box,. Yung balota dapat iba rin ang kulay na magtutugma sa kulay ng ballot box. Yung isa para sa national, yung isa sa lokal.
Dapat hindi alisin ang precinct level na bilangan para mabawasan ang sapantaha ng mga tao sa rigged election results, At hindi makokontento ang botante na sakop ng presinto kung hindi nila malalaman kung sino ang nanalo sa lugar nila.
Una munang bilangin para sa national positions tapos i-seal siya at magdelegate ang Comelec ng official courier (pwedeng manggaling sa NGO) na kukuha ng sealed envelop (o kaha de yero kung kailangan). Para mawala ang substitution ng courier, bigyan ng mahigpit na briefing ang comelec designation precinct chairman kung paano makikilala ang official courier. Kung kelangan ang PIN gaya sa pagaccess sa ibang site sa internet o mga bangko, gawin ito na ang makaalam lang ay ang precinct chairman, walang iba. pagpinikap na yung sealed envelop or safety box una munang ibigay ng courier ang kanyang PIN sa chairman. Kung magtugma GO. Kung hindi sumbong agaD sa pulis para ikulong ang impostor.
Yung nasa sealed box ang siyang idaan sa isang designated electronic vote capture machine para sa computerized counting. Ang result ng electronic counting/tabulation dapat i-publish or i-announce by precinct para mapagtugma ng mga tao ang computer output at saka yung manual precinct counting (na dapat nakatabulate sa plaza sa munisipyo.
yung mga lokal posts naman me manual counting din sa presinto, Sa isang diskusyon ng Comelec, pwedeng me pagusapan kung kasama rin ito sa computerization o optional na lang. Ang feeling ko mas gusto ng tao ang manual na lang para sa opisyales ng kanilang munisipyo. Tiyak mas mabilis ito. Pero para makumpleto ang computerized record ng Comelec, isama rin ito sa computerization process. Pero tiyak ko hindi na ito masyadong iintindihin ng tao pwera na lang kung magiging iba ang lalabas sa computerized process kesa sa manual na nakalagay sa plasa sa bayan.
Bahala na ang bayan to resolve this problem. Look out na ito ng Comelec
Nung sey mo?
Members of this govt seem are not managers — they are baby sitters.
Child molesters disguised as baby-sitters.
agree ako kay srcitizen2000. sana din pagkatops ng elections, my publication ng mga boto down to the precinct level para all i have to do is check kong tama nga ang boto sa precincto ko, di siguro tama din yon iba, siguro tama yong suma total.
suggest ko lang sa Namfrel kong matuloy man yan “computerization”. Mag lagay sila ng drop box bawat presidential aspirant bawat precincto. tapos mag boto, yon botante bigyan ng Smiley at hulog niya sa presidente na binoto niya, parang sa BPI ngayon ba. Yon lang paraan para ma check yon boto ng Presidente down to the precinct level yata.
pagtapos ng botohan, bilangan lang smileys bawat drop box, alam na agad bilang bawat precincto.