Angara warns automation of elections bound to fail

Sen. Edgardo Angara warned yesterday of a failure of the nationwide automated counting of votes in next May’s elections. "President Arroyo still has time to prevent chaos that may arise from a nationwide implementation of automated counting," he said.

"Blame should be put squarely on her (Arroyo) for disorderly conduct of polls to full automation."

Mrs. Arroyo has been sitting on a congressional measure calling for a selective automated counting of votes because she wants a nationwide implementation of the measure, he added.

Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revisions of codes and laws, said the joint congressional committee and the Commission of Elections (Comelec) have agreed to a selective modernization of elections.

"After seven public hearings, it was determined that a two-phase modernization of Philippine elections is the most prudent move," he said.

"This is a new technology, the risks are great and the people are not familiar with it."

Angara said the Comelec has only 1,991 units of counting machines for distribution to the 1,612 municipalities throughout the country.

"There would be insufficient backups, and there is no contingency plan." he said.

"Any perception of disorderly elections may lead to chaos. Our country could turn into another Georgia if there would be doubts about the conduct of the elections."

Angara said computer and information technology experts are also skeptical that the nationwide automated counting of votes would result in orderly elections.

"The machines to be used by the Comelec are not foolproof," he said. "They can be manipulated from a central port, and election results can be altered."

Angara said the Comelec had originally set for Nov. 15 the deadline for filing certificates of candidacy, and that it was later moved to Jan. 2, and then extended to Jan. 5.

"All these postponement of the filing of candidacies are primarily motivated to computerize the national elections," he said.

"This means there is no reason to rush on the deadline for the filing of candidacy. We must move (the deadline) to Jan. 31 for all the candidates, across the board, to give us all the chance to choose our candidates well."

Meanwhile, Senate President Franklin Drilon said Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos told him that Jan. 5 will be the "absolute deadline" for the filing of certificates of candidacy.

"I consulted and discussed this with Chairman Abalos," he said.

"He informed me that Jan. 5 is the absolute deadline for the reason that under the Absentee Voting Act, absentee voters abroad start casting their ballots 60 days before May 10."

Drilon said according to Abalos, March 10 is the "absolute deadline" for placing the ballots in different voting centers abroad.

"Therefore, the time is very constricted," he said.

"They have to finish their printing well ahead of time to enable them to distribute these ballots in the various embassies abroad. For this reason, Chairman Abalos said that they could not extend the deadline any further from Jan. 5. So, we have to live with that." — Jose Rodel Clapano