Comelec seen to junk parallel manual count

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expected to junk the proposal for a parallel manual count and push through instead with a random manual vote audit for the May 10 polls, according to sources.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the poll body has reached a unanimous decision and the ruling will be made public either today or tomorrow.

“The resolution is now awaiting signatures of all the commissioners, but we will release it today or Friday. Our decision is unanimous, but I just cannot speak in behalf of the commission,” Sarmiento said.

He stressed that the commission’s resolution will address the “totality” of the proposed parallel manual count.

He said the poll body weighed all the advantages and disadvantages and consulted various groups before coming out with the ruling on the controversial issue.

Although members of the commission declined to reveal the content of the six-page resolution, it was apparent that the resolution would be unfavorable for groups clamoring for the parallel manual count.

“The field officers were against it due to operational and other concerns. The advisory committee I believe is also against it,” Sarmiento said.

Earlier, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the agency is seeking the comments of the field officers because they are the ones who would be enforcing the proposal if ever the commission would allow it.

“Our field officials are very seasoned Comelec career officials, manual or otherwise. So, we respect their opinions,” Jimenez said, adding that the poll body also took into consideration the possible effects of parallel manual count on the whole election process.

Sarmiento further noted that the existing law on the automated election system does not have any provision on a parallel manual count.

“The law does not say anything about parallel manual count, only random manual count,” he said, but expressed hope that the proponents of parallel manual count would respect the decision of the Comelec.

“We have consulted all sectors before coming out with the decision, so I hope they would respect our decision,” he said.

Sarmiento said advocates for parallel manual count may elevate the decision before the High Court, but he also expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would side with them.               

The Comelec also said that the distribution of all precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, ballots and other election paraphernalia is now nearing completion.

Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said all the machines for the Visayas, totaling 17,077, and all the 18,202 units for Mindanao are now on their way to their destinations, with 12 days left before the May 2010 automated elections.    

Jimenez said 57 percent of the machines required in Luzon have already been shipped out.

Comelec also reported that 12,936 official ballots or 71 percent of the requirement in Mindanao are already in transit while 3,594 are now being delivered in the Visayas, or 21 percent of the required ballots in the area.

Locsin: No to manual count

Meanwhile, the House contingent in the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Automated Elections has asked the Comelec to reject proposals for a manual count of votes on May 10.

“We have recommended that the Comelec ignore these proposals,” Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. told radio dzMM’s Ted Failon and Pinky Webb.

Locsin chairs the House committee on suffrage and electoral reform and is co-chairman of the oversight committee with Senate counterpart Sen. Francis Escudero.

He said the law allows for a random manual audit of votes but not a parallel manual count, and raised the possibility that there would be a “conflict” between the results of the computerized canvass and a manual tabulation if the latter were permitted.

“We don’t want that to happen. It will create chaos and confusion,” he said.

Locsin urged the Makati Business Club, Philippine Bar Association and other groups and sectors pushing for a manual canvass “not to interfere with the automated elections.”

He said the trouble with these groups is that they are not confident enough that their candidates would win in the first ever computerized balloting.

“We are supporting the same candidates, Noynoy and Mar,” he said, referring to the Liberal Party ticket of Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Mar Roxas.

“Our difference is that I am confident that Noynoy and Mar will win with automated elections because they will not spend for cheating in a manual count. I myself was once a victim of cheating in a manual count,” he said.

He pointed out that it would be difficult for any candidate to engage in vote rigging in a computerized election.

Locsin assured the nation that the Comelec and the congressional oversight committee have taken all security measures to protect the integrity of the May 10 balloting.

He said the most important security measure is the provision of three different passwords for the “source code” of the software that would run the PCOS machines.

“This is a safety feature recommended by DOST (Department of Science and Technology), not Smartmatic (Comelec’s automation contractor),” he said.

Locsin holds one password; Escudero keeps another, while Comelec Chairman Jose Melo holds the third.

He said anyone wanting to cheat would have to convince all three of them to connive with him and give him the passwords so he could manipulate the software and the PCOS machines.

“We certainly will not agree. The trouble really is that if we forget the passwords and the sequence in entering them. It took sometime for us to memorize those things,” he said.

He added that he was confident that the winners in the elections, including the president and vice president, would be known in two to three days. 

Kapatiran’s contradictory position

In a related development, Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) presidential candidate Jose Carlos de los Reyes clarified yesterday that they are supporting the parallel manual count of ballots during the May 10 elections, in contrast to the statement of his vice presidential running mate during an interview with editors and reporters of The STAR last Tuesday.

“The official stand of the AKP is for a parallel manual count. In fact I am one of the presidential candidates who signed the letter to the Comelec,” De los Reyes said.

He said the position aired by his running mate Dominador Chipeco Jr. was his personal opinion and did not represent the party’s stand.

De los Reyes said that he consulted the party leadership before he signed the letter and the general consensus is to have a check and balance mechanism during the election, which is the parallel manual count.

He said Chipeco was not present in the meeting and was not also officially informed of the decision adopted by the party.

However, he said he asked for another meeting to reconcile the conflicting stands on the issue and they will listen to Chipeco’s argument and again subject the issue to a vote by party members.

“We are adopting democratic processes in deliberating issues that affect the coming election.”

Chipeco said that he supports full automation and described the idea on manual count as foolish and unrealistic.

US closely monitoring developments

US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas, meanwhile, presented his credentials to President Arroyo yesterday and expressed optimism that the Philippines would successfully hold peaceful and honest automated elections on May 10.

Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza, on the other hand, appealed to the media as well as to the public to support the Comelec and to remain vigilant to ensure the success of the polls.

He said Thomas gave indications of his government’s confidence in the conduct of the country’s first nationwide automated polls during his separate meetings with Mrs. Arroyo and himself at the Palace.

“Our President actually informed the Ambassador that we are prepared for this elections and we have seen to it that all the institutions that have been deputized by the Comelec are well provided to ensure that elections would be successful, honest, orderly and peaceful,” Mendoza told a news briefing shortly after the meeting.

He said while Thomas had not directly stated it, he got the impression that the US envoy was satisfied with the preparations for the May polls.

“He is quite comfortable with the manner we are preparing for this elections and he knows fully that this is the first time we’re going to hold an automated elections,” Mendoza said.

He said Thomas told him about the arrival of observers from the US to monitor the conduct of the elections and also shared experiences on electoral “troubles” in the US that the government was able to overcome. – Jess Diaz, Perseus Echeminada, Paolo Romero