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Opinion

$64 question – in Korean won

COMMONSENSE - Marichu A. Villanueva - The Philippine Star

The International Center for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) bestowed last December its coveted institutional prize Election Commission of the Year Award to our very own Commission on Elections of the Philippines. This achievement is a source of pride for all of us and not just for the seven-man poll body headed by Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia. Such award came at a time when the Comelec is in another round of birthing pains in implementing the latest technology in the automated election system (AES).

The Comelec will test the updated AES technology from Miru Systems of South Korea in the coming mid-term elections on May 12 this year. Miru replaced Smartmatic International that had been the Comelec’s first-ever AES service provider. Since the May 2010 presidential elections, the Smartmatic voting and counting machines were used in the succeeding four national and local elections.

But in November 2023, a majority of Comelec en banc decided to disqualify Smartmatic from participating in any public bidding for elections after its alleged involvement in the bribery and money-laundering charges filed in the US federal court. Charged were former Comelec chairman Juan Andres Bautista and three top executives of Smartmatic.

Unfazed, Smartmatic challenged the Comelec’s decision before our Supreme Court (SC). Acting on Smartmatic’s petition in April 2023, the SC reversed the Comelec ruling. But the SC clarified its finding of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Comelec en banc was not sufficient basis to nullify the poll body’s award to Miru of the contract for the 2025 AES.

In August last year, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging three top executives of Smartmatic and Bautista for their roles in the questioned deals to retain and obtain business operations related to the holding of the 2016 Philippine elections.

Fast forward to the year 2024.

The world experienced an unprecedented electoral marathon with over 100 countries holding national elections. This meant nearly four billion voters, encompassing almost half of the global population, were called to cast their vital ballots. The US, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, United Kingdom and South Africa were among the most notable nations that participated in democratic processes. Yet, amid this historic year for global democracy, ICPS awarded Comelec.

A veteran election lawyer who now chairs the Comelec basks in the glory of this prestigious award. Still, it is worth examining the basis for this recognition. The automation path the Comelec has undertaken has been very positive for our nation’s democracy.

As such, this award is a tribute to Comelec’s autonomy and independence from the fractious politics of Filipinos.

In this context, the Comelec award could be seen as an acknowledgment of its historical achievements and contributions to the electoral process in the Philippines. The reputation Comelec has built over the years through fair and credible elections may have served as the foundation for this recognition. Election stakeholders worldwide acknowledge that elections in our country have improved across all key metrics used to evaluate electoral processes: speed of results, accuracy, number of protests and the credibility of the election commission.

As the various election preparation activities are taking place full blast, two of its commissioners, namely Marlon Casquejo and Socorro Inting, are ending their seven-year term of office this February. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) is reportedly eyeing “insiders” to promote within the Comelec organization the most qualified of them to rise from the ranks. With less than four months before election day, it would require the immediate appointment of individuals to fill the two vacancies.

As the appointing authority, the President needs the two new Comelec commissioners to hit the ground running. Equipped with a short learning curve, the two commissioners coming in must assume and quickly meet the demands of their job in the poll body. Garcia earlier opined the President has a continuing authority from Comelec and need not secure exemption despite the election appointment ban during the campaign period.

The poll body is also facing another challenge. The SC last week granted one after the other temporary restraining orders (TROs) on individual petitions filed by candidates who were previously disqualified and declared as “nuisance” bets. Out of a total of 43,033 aspirants who filed certificates of candidacy (COC) last year, the Comelec removed 205 COCs as “nuisance” candidates.

The TROs came after the Comelec had already printed the first batch of 73 million ballots, starting with the local elections and first parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The TROs were issued in favor of 11 of 25 candidates whose names have been deleted from the ballots.

Consequently, the Comelec suspended the printing of official ballots. One of the TROs was for ex-Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, who has two pending petitions against Comelec and Miru along with its local partner contractor. Two TROs were granted to senatorial bets Leo Marcos and Subair Mustapha and the rest to local bets. A day after the TRO, Marcos withdrew his COC.

Meanwhile, Comelec is left with no option and might resort to destroying and wasting P140 million spent so far in printing six million ballots just because of Mustapha. Is there an insidious plot to sabotage Comelec’s well-laid out plans for the mid-term polls?

The last 18 months in our country had been rife with political scandals one after another. With the Philippine mid-term elections just around the corner, the Comelec’s work becomes doubly hard to keep up the same or have a better performance than previous automated elections. Last Saturday, Comelec tested in mock polls Miru’s AES for potential glitches. This was to ensure the smooth organization of a decent and credible mid-term election while incorporating the much touted better Miru technology.

Will Comelec continue to be recognized as a leading reference in Asia – as it has been in recent years – after the May elections? That is the $64 question, so to speak. Or in Korean money, that would be equivalent, at prevailing exchange rates, to 91,603.19 won.

ELECTIONS

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