DFA, Comelec to test e-voting

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections for Overseas Absentee Voting (OAVS) signed an agreement yesterday to test Internet voting for 26,804 registered Filipino voters in Singapore.

Poll Commissioner Florentino Tuason, who is pushing for Internet voting in the May 14 elections, defended yesterday the online polls, saying it is the cheaper way to conduct overseas absentee voting.

Tuason pointed out that the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s budget for online polls or e-voting in Singapore is only P23.5 million or P877 per voter, compared to the P91 million or P1,400 per voter the government spent for overseas absentee voting during the May 2004 elections. The P91 million included the purchase of machines.

"This is very cheap for a form of modern technology. And this includes the software, information dissemination and voters’ education," Tuason said.

The United States, Australia, Canada and Italy were also considered for Internet voting but Singapore was chosen for pilot testing since the city-state has a high Internet link in the world with 60-70 percent Internet connection.

He expressed optimism that Internet voting will be implemented for the May elections as provided under Republic Act 8436 or the amendment to the election modernization law.

"Let’s put it this way, 80 percent I’ll implement it and 20 percent not, if I find serious legal obstacles then I’ll resort to voting by mail," he said.

Tuason explained that Internet voting should not be connected to the modernization of the local polls, because it is different from absentee voting abroad.

"The setting in the local scenario is entirely different. The Filipino voters almost, always are residing far from the embassy and consulate. With Internet voting, you can vote in the Internet café, kiosk, the embassy and consulate," he added.

A total of 504,814 Filipinos abroad have registered as of Oct. 31, 2006 in 87 diplomatic posts in more than 50 countries. The 30-day voting will start on April 14.

"We’re seriously considering Internet voting. With the passage of RA 8436 amending the modernization law, I’m studying the legal implication of the law in implementing the Internet voting," he said. "If there are no legal obstacles, I’ll go on with the implementation."

Meanwhile, Makati City Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos and the other commissioners cannot be impeached or dismissed from office if they refuse to implement the New Automation Law in the May 14 polls.

"They (Comelec officials) can’t be impeached because they cannot be held liable for an impossible crime. It (automation law) has never been implemented and nobody impeached them," Locsin told reporters in a briefing.

Locsin, a lawyer-journalist before entering politics, is the chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms. He was instrumental in the passage of the bill before it was signed into law by President Arroyo last Jan. 23.

Locsin agrees with the position taken by the Comelec that it can no longer implement the law due to time constraints because the election is just four months away.

"If it can’t be done, it can’t be done. I cannot even imagine how to do it. We can’t force the Comelec to do something that the advisory council said it could not. I really feel that we should step back and make the Comelec decide," he said.

Locsin took a swipe at the Senate, where the poll automation was delayed before it was finally approved into law.

"The Senate delayed the bill so long that there is no more time to demonstrate. The fact that the Senate delayed the passage of the bill shows there’s bad faith," he explained.

Locsin also wants the New Automation Law amended that would include neophyte but qualified bidders to participate in the process, where they will be given the chance to prove their worth and help automate the May 2010 presidential elections.

He lamented that senators, before the measure was signed by Mrs. Arroyo, inserted a provision in the law that only allows firms that have "track records" to join the Comelec bidding.

This developed as the Comelec said the P155 million is a very minimal amount to spend for the procurement of security papers to ensure tamper-proof elections.

Jose Tolentino, Comelec director for operations and also the poll body’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairman, admitted that the agency awarded the bid for the purchase of security papers to the bidder with the higher price but the company offered more safety measures.

"It is correct that Lamco Paper Products Corp. offered a higher price but the other bidder Advance Computer Forms failed to comply with our specifications," Tolentino explained.

He said the Lamco security paper has additional security features like the afterglow spots that appear in the dark when the paper is exposed to fluorescent light and chemical-sensitive features, which the paper from Advance Computer does not have.

Lamco’s bid is P23,899 per ream of paper or a total of P310,543,600 compared to the Advance Computer bid of P14,999 per ream or a difference of P8,999 per ream.

The Comelec en banc approved the recommendation of the BAC in its resolution dated Jan. 23, 2007. The award was allegedly given to Lamco under questionable circumstances since no representative from the concerned bidders or any technical expert was present during the evaluation for the security features of the paper samples provided by Lamco and Advance Computer.

In another development, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. welcomed the Comelec’s accreditation of the Parish Pastoral Council for responsible Voting (PPCRV) as the citizen’s arm.

Pimentel said the accreditation of PPCRV is a significant step to realize the objective of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to prevent widespread cheating in the polls.

Pimentel said the credibility of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), which had been the citizen’s arm in the past, was severely eroded because of allegations that it demonstrated partiality for President Arroyo during the Operation Quick Count in the 2004 presidential elections. – With Delon Porcalla, Mayen Jaymalin, Marvin Sy