May 2016 polls to push through, Palace vows

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday dismissed speculations that there will be no presidential elections in May 2016, following fears the Supreme Court (SC) might scrap the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s negotiated contract with vote-counting machine supplier Smartmatic.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the no-election fears raised by veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal are without basis, although he did not categorically say whether the polls would still be automated or would revert to the manual system.

“I believe it’s speculative at this point. That’s the opinion of attorney Macalintal although he is an election law expert. But as of now, it’s with the SC and we defer to the SC on the decision,” Lacierda said.

According to Lacierda, the Comelec in itself “is mindful of its responsibilities.”

“So we will defer to Comelec, whatever and however action that they will take. This is a speculation on the part of attorney Macalintal.”

Lacierda believes though that the SC “will find a judgment based on the merits of the case.”

Macalintal raised the specter of having no synchronized polls in 2016 following the high tribunal’s decision stopping the implementation of the Smartmatic contract that could cause delays in Comelec preparations for the 2016 elections.

The P238-million contract is for the repair and refurbishment of 81,000 vote counting machines.

“We will have elections in 2016. It’s stated in the Constitution. We don’t have a plan to stay a day longer than June 30, 2016. So we would like to ensure the elections would push through,” Lacierda said.

Macalintal surmised that the SC ruling might cause “unreasonable delay” and adversely affect the timetable set by the Comelec for the national and local elections in May 2016.

“If this happens, we can say goodbye to an automated election because the Automated Election Law does not allow the conduct of a manual count unless lawmakers amend the rules,” Macalintal said.

“The diagnosis and maintenance of these PCOS machines could be undertaken by Smartmatic pending final decision on the petition so that if SC says the contract is valid, then no time is lost in diagnosing and maintaining these machines,” he said.

PCOS refers to the precinct count optical scan machines that were used in the May 2010 polls.

The Comelec, meanwhile, said the voter’s registration would be suspended on April 2, 3, 4 and 5 in certain parts of the country in observance of Holy Week.

In Resolution No. 9938, the Comelec said on April 2 and 5, the registration would be suspended in local Comelec offices in Metro Manila and highly urbanized cities.

In other cities and municipalities, registration would be suspended on April 2, 3 and 4.

This developed as Comelec spokesman James Jimenez reiterated the appeal to the public to register, validate and update their voter’s registration early and not wait for the deadline.

Jimenez said this would be for the registrants’ own convenience and it will also allow the Comelec more time to attend to their application for voters’ registration.

He added that there are still some four million voters who may be disenfranchised in the May 2016 polls for not having their biometrics data taken by the Comelec.

Voters’ registration ends in October 2015. – With Sheila Crisostomo