Automation critics happy to be wrong

MANILA, Philippines - Critics have conceded that the automated election system (AES) used in last Monday’s polls was a success.

The Concerned Citizens’ Movement (CCM) of University of the Philippines law professor Harry Roque Jr., one of the groups that earlier opposed the AES before the Supreme Court (SC), admitted that it was “absolutely thrilled to be wrong” about its earlier fear of failure of election due to glitches in the automated system.

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and the Financial Executives of the Philippines (Finex) issued a statement yesterday congratulating “the Filipino people who were all engaged in exercising their right of suffrage,” the Commission on Elections (Comelec) “for a job well done” as well as “the teachers, the military, the police and all those involved in the elections.”

The two business groups also congratulated presidential frontrunner Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and offered their support for “his quest for honest, transparent and good governance.” 

MAP member Manuel Alcuaz Jr. said they are not going to apologize to the Comelec for doubting the elections and have already thanked the poll body but maintained that their fears were justified.

“We are happy to be wrong. There is no substitute for vigilance,” Alcuaz said.

The CCM said that despite their worse apprehensions, the elections did not fail. “Credit should be given to both the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM for this triumph of democracy. As we have repeatedly stated, we would be more than happy if history were to prove us wrong. And by God, we’re absolutely thrilled,” the CCM said in a statement yesterday.

But Roque stressed that the success of the AES could be attributed to the vigilance of the public and poll volunteers.

“In hindsight, failure was averted because of the timely intervention of our public school teachers and the media. In precincts where the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines did not work and a replacement was not immediately forthcoming, the teachers proceeded with the voting sans the machines, anticipating that a replacement would arrive by end of the polling day,” he explained.

The CCM also thanked the media for “exhorting the electorate to be patient as at stake is the future of democracy in the country.”

The Philippine Bar Association led by former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo also took back their earlier criticisms of the new poll system.

In a phone interview, Marcelo agreed to the popular perception that the national elections held last Monday were successful.

“I’ll give it a passing grade. Most of the commissioners, including Chairman (Jose) Melo, did their job well,” he commented.

But Marcelo believes that it is the “eternal vigilance” of the public, teachers and volunteers that was key to the success of the AES.

“It’s really just a miracle in the last minute that made it a success,” he added.

The Legal Network for Truthful Election (Lente) also lauded the poll body for a job well done.

“The Comelec, its deputies and the teachers deserve a high mark for being able to push through with the conduct of the polls despite the apprehensions and doomsday scenarios painted by some sectors,” Lente founder and former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod said.

Asked if the country can now do away with poll watchers because of the speed in transmission, Monsod said it is false to assume that speed would deter fraud but qualified that “speed with proper safeguards deter fraud.”

He also praised the teachers who were able to innovate and make up for the shortcomings of the Comelec.

Kudos to poll’s unsung heroes

The Department of Education (DepEd) said that the public school teachers deserve much of the credit for the “generally successful” automated elections.

Jonathan Malaya, DepEd assistant secretary for special projects and programs and department spokesman, said that the more than 229,000 teachers who served as Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) had done the department proud for doing their tasks efficiently and professionally.

“Our teachers have shown professionalism and patriotism at its finest during this election. We commend them for a job well done and we are proud of them,” Malaya said.

He pointed out that teachers showed their efficiency in handling the PCOS machines and inspired trust and confidence among voters with their efficiency, especially in voting precincts that encountered problems with their machines.

“They were the ones who operated the PCOS machines. They were the frontliners. They were there on the ground,” Malaya pointed out.

Former DepEd secretary Jesli Lapus also expressed pride in the teachers’ performance in last Monday’s polls.

“I’m mighty proud of our DepEd teachers, school heads, supervisors and superintendents for their excellent work and patriotism in this first automated elections,” Lapus said.

“Our computer literacy trainings and timely election primers prepared us well. The entire nation owes you,” Lapus told the teachers. -- Rainier Allan Ronda, Evelyn Macairan, Helen Flores, Elisa Osorio