Namfrel pushes for computerization of 2001 polls

Election watchdog National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) urged yesterday the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to implement a 1997 law computerizing elections once and for all, beginning with the 2001 mid-term polls.

Republic Act 8436 or the Election Automation Law of 1997 was passed to speed up the counting of votes through the use of computers, which is largely expected to curtail cheating.

At present, votes are counted manually, a process that would last for weeks. The tedious counting procedure also provided opportunities for cheating.

The Comelec did not implement the election automation law for the 1998 elections saying it had no time. It does now, the Namfrel says, for the 2001 elections.

"It has been 26 months since the effectivity of the automation law. The Comelec in 1998 ruled that there was not enough time to implement this law in the 1998 elections. Now, there are still 14 months to go before the next polls. There is time for the Comelec to implement this law nationwide," Namfrel executive director Telibert Laoc said in a statement.

"Most of all, the automation will enhance the credibility of the elections by eliminating human intervention in it. It will eliminate dagdag-bawas (vote-padding and trimming). It will also assure candidates of accurate results and will in effect free the Comelec from hearing cases in protest of the poll results."

Laoc said the poll body should convene the Comelec Advisory Committee to assist the Commission in designing an election automation plan, from determining what kind of computers would be needed and how many to how much money would be needed.

After coming up with the plan, the Comelec should then submit its budget to Congress for approval.

Rep. Edmundo Reyes had already ordered the Comelec to come up with an automation plan and convene the advisory council.

Reyes, House sub-committee on election modernization chairman, said the House and the Senate should already perform its oversight functions on the automation program as mandated by the law.

RA 8436 created the committee to "monitor and evaluate the implementation [of the Act]." Reyes urged both chambers to appoint their committee representatives.

Rep. Loreta Ann Rosales (party-list, Akbayan) also urged the Comelec to "take stock and convene [the advisory council] immediately" because of the importance of the council's role in computerizing the elections.

The mid-term elections are set for May 14, 2001. About 34 million registered voters, according to Namfrel's estimate, will elect 12 senators, congressmen, party-list representatives, governors, vice governors, provincial councilors, mayors, vice mayors and municipal councilors.