Generators readied

MANILA, Philippines - Generators are on standby – courtesy of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) – to ensure uninterrupted power supply at polling places during Monday’s elections.

The Comelec and Meralco gave the assurance yesterday as President Aquino allayed fears of the opposition that the government was setting the stage for a “no election” scenario following last Wednesday’s Luzon-wide blackout.

There are 900 generator sets being readied for deployment by Comelec and an unspecified number by Meralco. Precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines also have backup power supply that can last up to 12 hours.

“The question is: was it a dry run for no election? I think you can all hear my voice. And I can guarantee you that I can put my hand on any type of Bible and declare under oath that it is not in my best interest to postpone the elections,” Aquino said in an interview at the Quirino Elementary School Multi-Purpose Building in Quezon City where he met with Liberal Party leaders.

“We’re really excited about getting over this campaign and election period and concentrating on addressing the country’s problems,” Aquino said.

He said Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla had apprised him of the power situation in an emergency meeting called by the Chief Executive on the same day of the blackout, which didn’t spare even the presidential palace.

“He told me they really conducted an inventory, down to the last nut and bolt. They checked the lines and saw no short-circuits. They also checked the physical tripping. But the investigation is ongoing if only to ensure that this will not happen again,” Aquino said.

The President admitted there was still no clear explanation for last Wednesday’s blackout.

“I think it has something to do with certain switches that didn’t kick in when they should have. But because of the general inventory, our level of confidence has been increased that the availability of electricity nationwide will be there for election day,” Aquino said.

“Rest assured that all involved agencies and entities are fast-tracking the investigation and tests to provide sustainable and reliable power for the Filipinos, especially during the summer months and the upcoming elections,” Petilla said in a statement yesterday. Meralco also voiced the same assurance.

“In case of power outage, Meralco would deploy generators to light up polling precincts, especially during nighttime when the counting of votes is undertaken,” Primo Alonzo, head of Meralco’s Systems and Control office, said.

“We realize the important role we play during the elections, so we will be closely monitoring our services during this period. Although the possibility of power outages is remote, we do have contingencies in place just in case problems occur,” said Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga.

Sen. Franklin Drilon, for his part, also downplayed possible effects of a power outage on the coming polls.

“I don’t think it should be any cause of concern and the PCOS machines have their own batteries which can operate for 12 hours even on blackouts so there is absolutely no cause for concern,” Drilon said.

But Alonzo said a potential problem would be power overload at polling precincts.

Meralco vice president and head of Central Business Area Ferdinand Geluz said teachers and poll watchers at polling precincts should conserve electricity as a precaution against overload.

He said Meralco, through posters and streamers at polling places, would discourage the use of non-essential electronic devices at polling precincts like rice cookers and coffeemakers.

“The generators have a limited capacity so we must conserve energy when it is working,” he said.

Alonzo also explained that their election preparations covered only Meralco franchise areas, which include Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

The public may report line trouble by texting 0920-9176211 and 0917-5516211 or calling hotline numbers 632-8118.

‘Daang madilim’

For United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) spokesman Toby Tiangco, last Wednesday’s blackout “brought anxiety and panic to the voting public, bringing back the grim scenario of the 2004 and 2007 elections which were marred by wholesale electoral fraud.”

He said that with the recent blackout, the nation may be trudging the daang madilim (dark path), a play on the administration’s daang matuwid (straight path) slogan.

He said a power outage might compound other election related issues like possible technical glitch in PCOS, political harassment, vote buying and other violations of election rules.

“There is reason to be hopeful. We have a President that has shown admirable integrity, the champion of tuwid na daan. We are confident that he wants clean elections as much as we do,” Tiangco said.

“But what worries the public are the less than honest characters around him who have a different agenda, and who have been schooled in the art of election rigging,” he added.

“UNA votes can be shaved in areas where they are strong, and administration party votes can be padded in their bailiwicks. This may not happen, but we can never underestimate the venality of those who have lofty ambitions, and whose loyalty are not with the President but with themselves alone,” Tiangco said.

“Yet they are capable of peddling the lie that what they are doing is for his party,” he added.

Tiangco urged the President to crack the whip on errant partymates.

“We are calling on the President to be true to his principles. He can discern the motives of his lieutenants, be wise to their platitudes and maneuverings, and crack the whip to make them toe the straight line,” he said.

He said the administration should take the lead in ensuring credible polls. “After all, they have the greater influence and resources to impose their will on many aspects that can affect the conduct of the polls,” he said.

He said they find it disturbing that the Comelec is already ruling out the likelihood of PCOS machines getting tampered with.

“The poll inspector-teachers (three per precinct) will not be able to key in their personal passwords to boot the 82,000 PCOS units – Comelec technicians trained by Smartmatic will do it for them,” Tiangco said. “It does not inspire confidence that one person with access to the compact-flash card carried by any one of the machines can corrupt the result. A recipe for dagdag bawas.”

He said the compact flash cards that would be used in the machines are not the “write once-read many” (WORM) type but the rewritable type.

“This means the embedded program can be altered. And the PCOS machines no longer have the vote verification receipt with which voters can check if his ballot was read right,” Tiangco said.

“The vital source code of the voting machines has finally been made available to political parties and other qualified groups, but it is too late for IT experts to test the software in time for Monday’s balloting. Such testing usually takes at least four to six months,” Tiangco claimed.

“Add to that the more traditional ways of influencing local leaders and voters, and tampering with the ballot, and you have a recipe for disastrous elections.”

‘Chilling incident’

House assistant majority leader and Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna called Wednesday’s blackout “a chilling and disturbing incident” that must be immediately addressed by Malacañang.

“We owe it to the people to give them clean, honest and orderly elections, one way of doing that is giving them peace of mind that there won’t be power interruptions once they are inside their respective precincts and that their votes would be properly counted once their ballots are scanned by the PCOS machines,” Tugna said.

“I hope the DOE (Department of Energy) and Meralco can explain what happened and what caused yesterday’s blackout for the sake of transparency. This is to dispel any doubts that yesterday’s blackout is connected to the upcoming election,” he said.

“Five days before the elections and something like this happens? A lot of people would definitely jump to conclusions. Which is why a clear and succinct explanation is needed in order to stamp out any reservations,” he said.

Two priests have similar apprehensions.

“It’s dubious. How come it is only now that we have this blackout? It’s as if the minds of the people are already being conditioned so that they will no longer be surprised if this happens again on Election Day,” Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said.

“It’s a very grave concern especially that elections are automated,” Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. blamed the government’s lack of foresight for the country’s erratic power situation.

“This is part of the problem why the poverty rates have been shown to have not improved. This is because the government has made no public investments in basic infrastructure, which we need for the economy to be more equitable,” Marcos said in a statement.

“This is symptomatic of what an economist described as the ‘paralysis of decision-making’ in the government,” he said.

But for Team PNoy senatorial candidate Juan Edgardo Angara, the no-election scenario is “electrifying as a piece of coffee shop conversation.”

“The May 13 election will be conducted successfully and will be a vote of confidence on President Aquino’s efforts to safeguard the integrity of the country’s electoral exercise,” Angara said.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, meanwhile, said Comelec should take a cue from last Wednesday’s blackout and prepare for the worst.

“The success of the elections will depend a lot on reliable power supply. Without electricity, the PCOS machines will not work. They will not accept the ballots, count the votes and transmit them to the Comelec and local tabulation centers,” Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, for his part, said. With Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Iris Gonzales, Jess Diaz, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano