P1.9B to run ARMM polls--Comelec
MANILA, Philippines--A ranking official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) today said the government would shell out P1.9 billion if the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) polls push through.
Commissioner Gus Lagman said the national government will need almost P2 billion to hold the ARMM elections.
"We'll need about P1.9 billion to run the ARMM (elections)," Lagman told a weekly media forum in Greenhills, San Juan City this morning.
As this developed, Lagman said it would be possible to hold a manual elections in ARMM with an automated polls is already too late.
"The law only authorizes the Comelec for a automated polls but it is not mandated," said Lagman, an IT expert before being appointed by President Benigno Aquino III to the poll body post.
He noted that purchasing and using the PCOS machines used during the 2011 national polls would be higher than renting it out.
"It is two and a half times higher than last year's elections," he said.
The P130 million will only be for the 4,000 PCOS units, aside from the P755 million for IT services, Lagman said.
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