OPPOSITION Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to be honest and transparent with the Filipino people and say once and for all if the planned automation of the May 2010 polls can still be undertaken.
“It is the Comelec’s obligation to be honest with the people and tell us if the May 2010 poll automation can still be implemented. Speculations are rife again that the Comelec will not be able to pull it off and the feared confusion come May 2010 may lead to a failure of elections,” Escudero said.
“Kaya ba o hindi? Uubra ba o hindi? Kung kakayanin, ipaliwanag at sagutin ang mga duda sa automation. Kung hindi, aminin ngayon pa lang at gumawa ng mga alternatibong mga plano upang masiguro ang mapayapang pagsasagawa ng halalan sa May 2010,” he said.
Lawyer Harry Roque, Jr. and nine other petitioners filed a supplemental motion for recommendation with the Supreme Court last week over “relevant supervening events” that included:
• The alleged inability of Comelec, Smartmatic International and TIM to comply with the automation contract because of their failure to provide telecommunications facilities that will assure 100 percent communications coverage at all times during the May 2010 polls;
• The move by Smartmatic and TIM to resort to subcontracting for the manufacture of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, which has now been subcontracted to a Chinese company called Quisdi after it was first subcontracted to Taiwanese supplier Jarl-Tech. This, the petitioners said, violated the Comelec’s own bidding rules as well as RA 9184;
“Time and time again, I have welcomed full automation of our electoral process. But we must deliberately calibrate its implementation in accordance with the law, and taking into consideration current developments,” Escudero said.
The opposition senator warned that the Comelec could find itself with a bigger “Mega-Pacific” scandal in its hands if it chooses to pursue poll automation under questionable circumstances.
The co-chairman of the Committee on Oversight on the Automated Election System stressed the need to “learn from the Mega-Pacific deal and make sure that we will not waste the people's money because of our desire to have automation for automation's sake.”
“We cannot and should not gamble with automation if it will not be ready by May 2010 because this is tantamount to gambling with our nation’s future,” Escudero said.
“The Comelec should realize that unless it adheres closely to the laws of the land relative to the automation of the May 2010 polls, it will defeat the very purpose of automation in the first place – to conduct honest elections and allow the true sentiments of the nation to be heard,” he added.
“It is the Comelec’s obligation to be honest with the people and tell us if the May 2010 poll automation can still be implemented. Speculations are rife again that the Comelec will not be able to pull it off and the feared confusion come May 2010 may lead to a failure of elections,” Escudero said.
“Kaya ba o hindi? Uubra ba o hindi? Kung kakayanin, ipaliwanag at sagutin ang mga duda sa automation. Kung hindi, aminin ngayon pa lang at gumawa ng mga alternatibong mga plano upang masiguro ang mapayapang pagsasagawa ng halalan sa May 2010,” he said.
Lawyer Harry Roque, Jr. and nine other petitioners filed a supplemental motion for recommendation with the Supreme Court last week over “relevant supervening events” that included:
• The alleged inability of Comelec, Smartmatic International and TIM to comply with the automation contract because of their failure to provide telecommunications facilities that will assure 100 percent communications coverage at all times during the May 2010 polls;
• The move by Smartmatic and TIM to resort to subcontracting for the manufacture of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, which has now been subcontracted to a Chinese company called Quisdi after it was first subcontracted to Taiwanese supplier Jarl-Tech. This, the petitioners said, violated the Comelec’s own bidding rules as well as RA 9184;
“Time and time again, I have welcomed full automation of our electoral process. But we must deliberately calibrate its implementation in accordance with the law, and taking into consideration current developments,” Escudero said.
The opposition senator warned that the Comelec could find itself with a bigger “Mega-Pacific” scandal in its hands if it chooses to pursue poll automation under questionable circumstances.
The co-chairman of the Committee on Oversight on the Automated Election System stressed the need to “learn from the Mega-Pacific deal and make sure that we will not waste the people's money because of our desire to have automation for automation's sake.”
“We cannot and should not gamble with automation if it will not be ready by May 2010 because this is tantamount to gambling with our nation’s future,” Escudero said.
“The Comelec should realize that unless it adheres closely to the laws of the land relative to the automation of the May 2010 polls, it will defeat the very purpose of automation in the first place – to conduct honest elections and allow the true sentiments of the nation to be heard,” he added.
