Most bets against poll postponement

MANILA, Philippines - Despite technical glitches in the voting machines that have prompted calls to postpone the May 10 polls, most presidential candidates want the elections to push through.

Standard-bearers Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP), Sen. Manuel Villar of the Nacionalista Party (NP), former President Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), Gilbert Teodoro of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD and John Carlos de los Reyes of Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) opposed a postponement.

On the other hand, Sen. Richard Gordon of Bagumbayan, Eduardo Villanueva of Bangon Pilipinas and independent candidate Nicanor Perlas supported various forms of postponement.

 Aquino and his running mate Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II said postponing the elections would spark a crisis.

They said they accepted the assurances of the Commission on Elections that automated elections would push through on Monday, but stressed that the Comelec should also prepare for a full manual count in the event that the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines fail on election day to ensure the credibility of elections.

“Elections must push through on Monday, May 10, as mandated by law. Our people want a new leadership. The risk of elections not pushing through at all becomes much greater with a postponement. It is our sacred obligation to say ‘no’ to these proposals to postpone elections,” Aquino said.

He added a postponed election increases the possibility of yet another postponement, “bringing us closer to a potentially disastrous crisis of a leadership vacuum on June 30.”

Villar, for his part, said a postponement “would plunge the country into greater uncertainty” and allow the term extension of President Arroyo.

Estrada and his running mate Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay also opposed the proposal.

Estrada said he would consider postponement for a few days to allow the Comelec to prepare for a manual count, but not to extend preparations to use the PCOS machines.

Estrada said he would prefer the traditional way of counting the votes rather than using computers.

Estrada asked the Comelec to be honest in admitting the real state of its preparations for the elections.

Grand scheme

Teodoro pointed out that it could not be possible to postpone the elections in the absence of any law allowing the deferment.

Changing the rules at this crucial stage of the election period will only bring the country undue humiliation before the international community, he said.

“I hope that this (call for postponement) is not a prelude to a grand plot of some vested groups who just want to take the Filipino people for a ride to serve their own vested interests,” Teodoro said.

He said the Comelec should have tested the counting machines long before so as to allow the necessary adjustments.

De los Reyes said the Comelec must be made accountable for the failure of the PCOS machines, and suspected that it could be part of a scenario to justify the postponement of elections.

He said if some insider in the Comelec sabotaged the tests then a criminal case should be filed.

The only woman presidential candidate, Sen. Jamby Madrigal, said the glitches in the PCOS machines only vindicated her position against automated elections.

“Under these conditions of lies and deception, it is hard to tell what is going to work,” Madrigal said. It was not clear if she was against a postponement.

Macalintal quits

President Arroyo’s election lawyer Romulo Macalintal earlier suggested the postponement of Monday’s elections to prevent a possible failure of elections because of the failure of the PCOS machines.

After Malacañang said he was expressing his own opinion, Macalintal announced yesterday he was quitting as the President’s lawyer.

Fears of a possible election failure grew stronger after last Monday’s test run, prompting the Comelec to recall the software.

Gordon said he is in favor of postponing the elections to allow the Comelec more time to fix the problem.

Villanueva also said he is supporting a two-week postponement of the elections.

Villanueva said his lawyers are preparing to file a petition before the Comelec seeking the postponement of elections.

Perlas said he would file a similar petition before the Supreme Court. Perlas earlier called for the postponement of the elections, pointing out the Comelec’s failure to address questions on the automated voting system, including the need for a manual count.

Sen. Joker Arroyo, on the other hand, said the glitch in the PCOS machines could justify any decision by the Comelec to suspend the elections until the problem is remedied.

Though the law had set the date of elections and could not be changed unless by legislation, Arroyo said the Comelec is empowered under the law to reschedule the elections in exercising its broad and extraordinary powers.

“The timing of the re-scheduled elections should then allow Congress the time to convene in joint public session to canvass the votes 30 days after the elections, as mandated by the Constitution, and proclaim the elected winners before the end of the term of the incumbent administration on June 30,” Arroyo said.

Unless the Comelec is able to remedy the glitch in the PCOS machines, Arroyo said the ominous prospect of failure of elections looms in the horizon.

Arroyo pointed out there is no law or provision in the Constitution that allows the incumbent President to remain in office in a holdover capacity. And if there were a failure of elections, then the Comelec would not be able to proclaim the 12 senators-elect that would mean the Senate would be incomplete.

“The House of Representatives cannot convene without the concurrence of the Senate and vice versa. In short, the two political departments of the government, the executive will be leaderless and the legislature will be unable to convene,” he said.

Arroyo said the country would face a worst scenario in a failure of elections since there would be no elected President, no 12 senators elected and the government would be paralyzed.

“We won’t have a commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and the uniformed services to maintain the peace,” Arroyo said. –Aurea Calica, Christina Mendez, Pia Lee-Brago, Rainier Allan Ronda, Jaime Laude, Evelyn Macairan, Mike Frialde, Perseus Echeminada, Jess Diaz, Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano