Anti-PCOS man joins Comelec

MANILA, Philippines -    President Aquino yesterday appointed information technology (IT) expert Augusto “Gus” Lagman as commissioner of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), replacing former Sandiganbayan justice Nicodemo Ferrer who retired last February.

Lagman’s seven-year term will end on Feb. 8, 2018, or two years after the next presidential elections in May 2016.

Just like chairman Sixto Brillantes, new commissioner Christian Robert Lim and all the other Comelec commissioners, he can only be removed from office though impeachment.

“The President really wanted to find the right person for the job. He (Lagman) is an expert in the field of IT and was very much involved in the (May 2010) automated elections. We’re confident he can discharge the duties of his office,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

Lagman – president of the Automobile Association of the Philippines – is a close friend of former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod. He was a member of the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) from 1992 to 2006.

He headed Namfrel’s systems committee from the time it was formed in 1984, all the way up to the May 2007 midterm senatorial elections. It was only in the May 2010 presidential polls that the country held a nationwide fully automated elections.

It is widely held that he was nominated by Namfrel and the Makati Business Club.

As per his curriculum vitae, Lagman – who spent his elementary and high school in San Beda College (SBC) but obtained his mechanical engineering degree from the University of the Philippines – is a “certified computing professional (CCP).”

He said he was “awarded by the Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals” in Des Moines, Illinois in the US.

Lagman was also an “Achievement Awardee for IT Industry Development” granted by the UP Alumni Engineers, a “Bedan of the Century Awardee for IT” by his alma mater SBC, and a “Centennial Awardee for Science and Technology” by SBC’s Alumni Association.

The new Comelec commissioner is presently the chairman of Vinta Systems Inc., a developer of AI (artificial intelligence)-oriented software products, and sits as director of STI College in Recto (Manila) and Biometrix Technologies Inc.

Lagman is also founding chairman of the STI College and its various college campuses. He is a director of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and “methods coordinator” of IBM Philippines Inc., among others.

He is the first Hall of Fame awardee of the Philippine Computer Society in 1992. His other affiliations include the Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines.

Lagman also sits as vice president, IT and services division and is director of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He used to be president of the IT Foundation of the Philippines (ITFP) in 1999.

The new commissioner expressed hope that he could work harmoniously with other poll officials despite his opposition to the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines used by the agency in the May 2010 elections.

“It’s a collegial body. I’m sure there’s going to be healthy discussion, as I would listen to them when it comes to questions on law. I hope they would listen to me when it comes to questions on technology. That’s my added value in the Comelec,” he said in an interview.

The 71-year-old Lagman has been critical of the Comelec when it used the PCOS machines in last year’s election. He was then pushing for the Open Election System where voting will be done manually while counting and canvassing are done by machines.

He said he believed that he was tapped by the President because of his expertise in IT.

“All the others are lawyers and there’s a poll automation law. That must be the reason I was put in there. But I would look not only into the automation but systems and procedures within the Comelec,” Lagman said, adding that he intends to push for the use of other poll automation technology in the country’s succeeding elections.

“As early as now we should already be looking for other available technologies. I’m personally willing and ready to listen to all other alternatives available. There might be new things, there might be new ideas now,” he added.

Lagman said he intends to “request” the Comelec to make public the source code and other documents concerning the automated election system last year.

“We have to follow the law. The law says that the source code must be released to any interested body. So I would obviously recommend to the en banc that the source code and other documents be made public. They are all lawyers so I know they know that,” he said.

Brillantes: Lagman is a welcome addition

Comelec chairman Brillantes welcomed the appointment of Lagman, saying the new commissioner’s expertise could actually contribute a lot to the discussions concerning the automation of the country’s elections.

“Now we are complete. This is a welcome development,” he said in a telephone interview.

Asked about Lagman’s strong opposition to the use of the PCOS machines in last year’s election, Brillantes appeared unfazed.

“We are a collegial body,” he said.

The Comelec, however, might have to discuss how to deal with Lagman being a non-lawyer, since the bulk of the agency’s work involves resolution of cases.

“But I don’t think that would be a problem. It is not the first time for the Comelec to have a commissioner who is not a lawyer. If we can hire an IT expert to assist us in the automation, he may also hire a consultant,” he said, referring to former commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco, an academician.

For Consortium on Electoral Reforms executive director Ramon Casiple, Lagman’s inclusion in the Comelec would likely stir excitement at the agency.

But he said he wants to see how Lagman would fit in.

“Sometimes, it’s different when you are an outsider. Your opinion may be different (from those who) see the realities of the situation, those who are in the thick of things,” he added. – Sheila Crisostomo