Speaker bucks manual polls in 2016

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. opposed yesterday the proposal of some groups to return to a manual system of balloting in the combined presidential-congressional-local elections in May 2016.

He said returning to the manual system is not an option for the nation after it has successfully automated the balloting process in 2010, when then Sen. Benigno Aquino III won the presidency, and in the 2013 midterm polls.

He said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should ignore groups calling for a return to the cheating-prone manual balloting.

“They are just making noise and looking for what’s most advantageous to them,” he said.

One group that is advocating the old system of election is reportedly identified with a former Comelec commissioner who was frequently at odds with Chairman Sixto Brillantes.

The House of Representatives has approved a budget of more than P10 billion for the automation of the 2016 elections.

The Comelec plans to use the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines it deployed in the 2010 and 2013 polls.

Brillantes has said they would also pilot-test a newer technology similar to touch screen mobile communications devices.

Like Belmonte, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is against a return to manual balloting.

He said he initially was against the use of PCOS machines in 2010 but witnessed its accuracy when he sat as a member of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal in the last Congress.

“It’s really accurate and reliable. It made our job of resolving election cases easier and faster,” he said.

Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, who chairs the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, said critics of previous automated elections should present convincing proof of fraud.

“They should present incontrovertible evidence to substantiate their claim. Otherwise, there is no reason why stakeholders would want a return to manual voting,” he said.

He said by and large, the Comelec handled the two previous computerized polls very well.

He suggested that instead of criticizing the automated system, election watchdogs should help the Comelec improve it.

He pointed out that in this age of modern technology, the country would have to take advantage of automation to lessen if not eliminate irregularities that marred electoral exercises when voting was manual.

LP presidential bet

Liberal Party secretary general and Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento said yesterday party members would definitely toe the line on President Aquino’s choice for his presidential and vice-presidential candidates in 2016.

“The President will definitely make his decision on the basis of his consultation with LP members without setting aside the people’s best interest. His decision will be based on principled politics,” Sarmiento said.

Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas on the other hand said Aquino’s endorsement in the 2016 presidential polls would have a huge impact on the outcome of the election.

Marinduque Rep. Regina Reyes agreed that whoever will be the choice of Aquino for his presidential and vice-presidential candidates will be also the choice of LP members, but admitted that she is praying that he would endorse Roxas.

Sarmiento also said that LP is not considering Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe as its presidential candidate in 2016.

He told a news conference that the dominant potential candidate of the administration party is still Roxas.