'Plot to subvert 2010 elections will fail'

MANILA, Philippines - Former ombudsman Simeon Marcelo warned yesterday that any plot to subvert next year’s elections would fail.

Speaking at his inauguration as Philippine Bar Association president at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila in Makati, Marcelo said the country is in a “very critical and perilous period,” considering the “grave threats” to democracy.

“To those conspiring to destroy the rule of law; to those plotting to frustrate the electoral will and cause a failure of elections; we, the members of the PBA, all say: you will not succeed,” he said.

Marcelo, also a former solicitor general, warned conspirators in government or those who “place self-interest over and above the demands of public service and the interest of our people.”

“You will not succeed; at every turn and every corner you perform your despicable acts, you will be met and challenged by the PBA and its members,” he said.

Marcelo said plotters will not find support from the people or the uniformed men and women of the Armed Forces.

“Let the hallmark of my presidency of this association be the zealous defense and audacious pro-active promotion of the rule of law, in order that we may fully, and truly, secure for our children, and our children’s children, a society that is just, true, orderly and peaceful,” he said.

The Philippine Bar Association is the country’s oldest and largest voluntary association of lawyers.

Earlier, several information technology experts warned that next year’s automated elections could fail due to potential threats from hackers and other technical vulnerabilities.

Retired Gen. Virtus Gil, head of the government’s cyber-security agency, said the system is vulnerable to attacks.

There was no foolproof electronic voting system in the world, he added.

Gil urged the Commission on Elections to heed warnings from experts and assure the public that safety guarantees were available to protect the integrity of next year’s polls.

“Electronic voting also increases the potential for large scale fraud,” he said.

Jose Tolentino, Comelec executive director, said the poll body has strengthened its security protocols, using a 128-bit encryption system to make hacking difficult.

“You will need one trillion combinations before you can grab the data we are transmitting,” he said.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said automated tallying of ballots could speed up the slow counting of votes but cannot remedy man-made problems like vote-buying, intimidation and terrorism.

“This will be quite a historic event,” he said.

“We want to do away with all the ills of manual elections.”