Conflict of interest?

At first glance, the appointment of information technology expert Augusto “Gus” Lagman to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) appears to be what the poll body precisely needs at this time.

After all, Lagman can make use of his IT expertise, skills and experience to further enhance the Comelec’s credibility and preserve the integrity of the Philippine ballot by initiating the full automation of future elections.

But immediately following Malacañang’s announcement of his appointment, Lagman already shot himself in the foot with his statements that show a clear conflict of interest. He had already spewed his usual complaints against the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines that were used in last year’s automated elections.

As a private citizen, Lagman can freely spit out vitriolic remarks, but as Comelec commissioner, he should have known better than to show his clear bias and prejudgment.

He said he would “most likely” maintain his opposition to the use of the “defective” PCOS machines in future elections and that Comelec should consider other technologies instead.

It’s not a secret that Lagman was the key proponent of the Open Election System or OES, which lost to the PCOS system offered by Smartmatic-TIM when the Comelec was still shopping around for the automated system to be used in last year’s nationwide balloting.

Lagman’s OES system proposes that voting and counting remain manual at the precincts, and later on, the manually produced Election Returns would be physically brought to the City or Municipal Board of Canvassers, where these are to be encoded (data-entry) by different operators into a semi-automated Canvassing System.

It does not take an IT expert to conclude that the OES would actually be a big step backward in the Comelec’s efforts to modernize our election system.

This system brings us back to the dark ages of the “dagdag-bawas,” with an odd twist—it gives more power to anonymous and highly vulnerable encoders to tip the results by manipulating the canvassing.

To make matter worse, he reportedly plans to convince Comelec to hold a manual count of the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which is due this year, just so the Comelec would not get to use the PCOS machines for this exercise.

For an IT expert, Lagman’s proposal to revert to manual counting in the ARMM sounds off-key. As a computer expert, Lagman should be pushing for full automation.

If he asserts that the 2010 electoral exercise was rigged via the supposedly defective PCOS machines, then it follows that

President Aquino may not have won fair and square after all in the face of the Lagman-alleged massive poll fraud.

If those who had pushed Lagman’s appointment are Palace friends or allies, then President Aquino no longer needs enemies.

Procedural shortcuts

 In its fervent desire to dispense justice, the Office of the President may have wittingly or unwittingly resorted to procedural shortcuts and overstepped its authority.

 Last month, the OP thru the Executive Secretary revoked the Financial Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) of respondents Narra Nickel Mining, McArthur Mining, and Tesoro Mining. The same order directed the Natural Resources Secretary and the Mines and Geodetic Board (MGB) Director to issue a cease and desist order (CDO) to the respondents from further conducting any mining and/or exploration activities.

 The petitioner in this case is Redmont Consolidated Mines. When the respondents received Redmont’s petition, they filed a motion to dismiss. But instead of acting on the motion, the OP decided the case on its merits.

 Nine months after filing the original petition, Redmont filed a supplemental petition. The respondents were not given the chance to oppose this new petition.

 The respondents also lament that the OP’s decision went beyond the prayer for relief of Redmont of the FTAA cancellation. The decision included the DENR and MGB directive to issue a CDO. To make a long story short, the decision became final and executory without respondents being given a chance to a seek relief.

Is this how we treat foreign investors/

Not so hidden agenda

Efforts to sustain Boracay’s ecosystem got a major boost with the recent inauguration of Boracay Island Water Company’s (BIWC) P78-million world-class wastewater treatment facility. The inauguration was led by Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority GM Mark Lapid, Malay, Aklan Mayor John Yap and officials of BIWC and Manila Water Company (MWC) led by its president Gerry Ablaza.

 Miraflores commended MWC for solving the long-standing water and wastewater problem in Boracay in what he said is another successful public-private sector partnership while Lapid said the new facility validates the important contribution of the private sector in the operation of water and wastewater systems and in ensuring the economic and environmental viability of Boracay in the coming years as a top tourist destination for the country.

 BIWC COO Melvin John Tan revealed that they have upgraded the treatment capacity of the wastewater facility by 250 percent, raising it from 2.6 million liters per day to 6.5 MLD to maintain the environmental sustainability of the island in anticipation of the growing number of tourists that flock to the island.Last year alone, Boracay saw an estimated 780,000 tourists spending their vacation on the island, and this number is expected to top one million by 2016, according to Tan.

 For his part, Ablaza stressed that Manila Water and its subsidiary remain committed to fulfilling their mandate in Boracay in providing reliable and quality water and efficient wastewater treatment.  

BIWC is a joint venture company between MWC and TIEZA, with the goal of ensuring the implementation of a comprehensive infrastructure program that would provide 100 percent water supply and sewerage coverage to the entire island of Boracay.

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