Hybrid polls to resurrect 'Garcis' in 2010 - Melo

MANILA, Philippines - Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo warned yesterday that a “hybrid” exercise of combined manual and automated counting of votes in next year’s polls would further disgrace the electoral process and allow cheating to continue.

Melo expressed concern that another scandal-ridden election like the 2004 presidential polls could occur again if the 2010 exercise is done manually.

He stressed the hybrid system of elections would resurrect “other Garcis and that is the great danger,” referring to former elections official Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano who was widely believed to have been responsible for rigging poll results in Mindanao in the 2004 presidential elections.

Melo said the Comelec is opposed to the proposal of lawmakers to use a combination of manual and automated systems because this would defeat the purpose of computerizing the polls.

“If we revert back to manual, even partial only, we would not be able to eliminate electoral fraud. Cheating will once again be easy to do,” Melo said.

He insisted full automation of elections is the only way to finally get rid of electoral fraud.

Melo pointed out the “hybrid” system, as proposed by some lawmakers, would also require another P2 billion, on top of the P11.3 billion allocation being requested by Comelec from Congress.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez led congressmen in proposing the hybrid system in the 2010 general elections.

Golez said Comelec should not totally abandon the use of the manual system since it is mandated in Republic Act 9369.

Golez proposed that the local elections – from councilors to congressmen – should be done manually while those for national elective positions should be automated.

To automate next year’s polls, the lawmakers wanted to amend the provisions of RA 9369 before allocating a separate budget to be used by Comelec.

Melo added that with the hybrid scheme, Comelec would still have to put up automating machines in each poll precinct and another sets of ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia for the manual voting.

“That would be more expensive. It would be like conducting two elections,” Melo pointed out.

Melo also expressed disappointment over the delay in the passage of the supplemental budget that would finance the automation of next year’s much-anticipated elections.

Inching closer

The House of Representatives inched closer to approving the supplemental budget for next year’s elections on second reading.

However, the computerization of the balloting remains uncertain because congressmen tied the hands of Comelec on the use of funds.

Lawmakers imposed the condition that the Comelec can only use the money “after Congress shall have passed the necessary special legislation to make the May 10, 2010 elections free, clean, honest, orderly, and credible.”

Final and third-reading approval of the automation budget by the House is expected next week before Congress goes on its month-long Lenten break.

After that, the budget goes to the Senate when lawmakers resume their session on April 12 after the Holy Week. If the Senate approves it, it is senr to President Arroyo for her signature.

As for the special legislation, Speaker Prospero Nograles said he has created a special panel to craft the proposed measure.

“We will approve it next week before the break together with the automation budget. The present election laws have to be adjusted to the automation program,” he said.

Like the computerization outlay, the special election will also have to be sent to and approved by the Senate.

Before approving the automation funds, the House voted to require the Comelec to conduct a biometric registration of voters.

The Comelec has warned the automation budget should be made available next month or the project would be delayed.

Melo has accused congressmen of taking too long to approve the budget, noting that they started floor debates on the proposal three weeks ago.

Most House members initially wanted that a bill on reforms in the election process, from the registration of voters to the counting of votes, be passed ahead of the automation budget.

They said even if the funds were made available to the Comelec for computerizing the elections, the balloting might still become chaotic as in the past if reforms are not introduced and election laws are not adjusted to the automation program.

There were also fears that given the time constraint, the Comelec might not be able to go on nationwide automation.

This has apparently prompted Golez and other congressmen to propose that if nationwide computerization were not possible, the election of national officials would be automated, while the manual system would be used for the local election.

In response to prodding from the Comelec, the House has agreed to focus on the approval of the P11.3-billion automation budget and would attend to the proposed reforms later.

However, it imposed one condition: that the Comelec would not be able to use the funds without the bill on reforms being enacted into law.

This condition could further delay the automation project as approval by the House and the Senate of the proposed reforms could take weeks, if not months.

During last night’s and Tuesday night’s debates on the automation budget, opposition Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City said Congress could not impose a condition on the use of funds by the Comelec.

“That would be unconstitutional, since the Comelec has the sole discretion over funds appropriated for it. In fact, the Constitution requires that funds appropriated to the Comelec are to be released automatically,” he said.

Rodriguez raised another obstacle to the approval of the budget.

He said the required certification from the national treasury on the availability of funds does not accompany the budget proposal.

“What the treasury issued is a certification that funds will be raised to support the automation budget. But the Constitution requires that if funds are to be raised, there should be an accompanying tax measure,” he stressed.

Rodriguez has another problem on the planned automation of the May 2010 elections: the counting of votes for local elections would be done at the Comelec central office in Manila.

He said Comelec officials have told them that votes cast for all officials would have to be tallied in Manila since this would be a faster process.

“We cannot accept that. What happens if there are protests at the local level? Who will resolve them?” he asked.

After Nograles called his colleagues to a caucus last night, Rodriguez withdrew his objections to the automation bill.

The planned automation of the 2010 polls appears to hang in the balance with congressmen still undecided on the approval of the proposed P11.3-billion automation budget.

With only three session days to go before Congress goes on its month-long Lenten break next weekend, it’s not sure if the House can finally pass the budget.

Even if the House finally approves it, it will still have to go to the Senate when lawmakers resume session on April 12 after the Holy Week.