Palace welcomes Supreme Court concerns on poll automation

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang welcomed yesterday the concerns raised by the Supreme Court about the reliability of the automated election system in next year’s elections.

Secretary Gabriel Claudio, the Office of the Executive Secretary officer-in-charge, said the early inputs of SC justices would give the Commission on Elections (Comelec) a chance to address possible problems in automation.

“I’m sure the Comelec will be mindful and attentive to suggestions made by the justices,” he said.

“The net effect will be a gathering of observations and suggestions that will be able to strengthen the process and tighten up the implementation of the automated election system.”

Claudio is confident that the Comelec would be able to respond to the concerns of the justices, especially since they have more than enough time.

“I believe that the Comelec has all the time to address the concerns and plug whatever loopholes there are in the current system so that we can be assured of a reliable automated system for the 2010 elections,” he said.                  – Marvin Sy