Monsod: Don't rule out clean manual polls
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/30/2009 11:59 AM
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MANILA - Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Christian Monsod on Tuesday urged the public not to rule out the possibility of holding clean manual elections in 2010 as automated polls were put in peril following an internal dispute between the partners in the winning consortium, Smartmatic and Total Information Management (TIM) Corp. .
In an interview over radio dzMM, Monsod said that the Comelec was able to show in 1992 and in 1998 that it is capable of holding clean and honest elections under a system where vote are counted and canvassed manually.
Monsod criticized the thinking that clean and honest elections are only possible under an automated poll system. He also said the Comelec has wide powers to fight electoral fraud and violence, adding that it should not blame others if the polls fail.
He pointed out that it was only in the 2004 presidential elections when the polls were discredited by the "Hello Garci" scandal involving conversations between President Arroyo and former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
The party-list group, AKBAYAN, has warned "massive cheating would take place if automation is junked" by the Comelec.
“Manual election in 2010 means another Garci,” AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros said. “The 2010 election is a make-or-break for the country. If we don’t automate, two words would once again decide the fate of the nation: ‘Hello Garci’.”
In a statement issued after the squabble between Smartmatic and TIM broke out, Hontiveros said that a "foiled automation would benefit the administration camp."
“It has already perfected the art of cheating during the 2004 elections. Without automation, the administration could easily cheat its way to power again, especially with its desperation to prolong the stay of GMA in Malacañang,” she added.
She said manual election could lead to chaos. “Massive electoral fraud in 2010 would definitely spark a revolt. A manual set up makes it difficult to have a peaceful transition of power,” she added.
Horror stories
Meanwhile, officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have started emergency meetings to think of "innovations" that can be introduced to prevent "horror stories" that have accompanied manual elections.
"The possibility of staying manual is looming large. There's a very big possibility, although our commitment is to continue with automation," Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda," on Tuesday.
Jimenez said the Comelec has started to assume that the 2010 national elections will be held manually. He said Comelec Chairman Jose Melo has asked all officials of the poll body to think of innovations that will prevent cheating in 2010.
Initial suggestions of sending through facsimile or SMS (short message service or texting) the results of the elections to the Comelec have come up during the meetings.
"One of the things Chairman Melo said was, if we have to go manual, we will have to introduce innovations that will prevent cheating," he said.
However, he said that the poll body is still dedicated to automation. He said the poll body is looking at various possible solutions to avoid the breakdown of the automation plan.
One of the possible solutions is the rebidding of the multi-million automation project to losing bidders, or the Comelec entering into a partnership with the winning bidder, Dutch-Venezuelan Smartmatic.
The Dutch-Venezuelan company had a falling out with its local partner Total Information Management Corp. (TIM), putting the automated elections in peril.
Jimenez said that while the two companies are settling the matter, the poll body is busy preparing for contingency plans.
Don't be sidetracked
Lawyer Howard Calleja, legal chief of the poll watchdog, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said the Comelec should not be sidetracked by the Smartmatic-TIM consortium dispute.
Calleja reminded the Comelec of its "big and broad powers" that can be used to pursue the automated elections.
"We have experienced several horror stories in manual elections... We have to work hard so the automated elections will push through in 2010," he said.
The Comelec's advisory council will also conduct an emergency meeting on Tuesday to look at the possibilities and several options that can be used to push through with the automation, he added.
Irreconcilable differences
TIM president Jose Marti Antuñez told the Comelec en banc Monday that the firm is pulling out from its joint venture with Smartmatic due to irreconcilable differences.
These differences revolve around issues on who has control over the consortium’s finances and who has the final decision over the technical aspects of the P7.2 billion project.
These differences were the reasons why the two partners have not yet finalized a proof of their legal personality: their joint venture incorporation papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Comelec chairman Jose Melo said the incorporation papers of the winning bidder was a requirement for the contract signing set for next week.
“We are going to ask Smartmatic/TIM to submit its joint venture incorporation papers by Friday (July 3). If they are not able to come up with their SEC registration, we may call off the whole thing because it will be too late,” Melo told ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) on Monday afternoon.
He ruled out the possibility of having another bidding for the project. “We cannot call for a second bidding. We are running out of time.”
In an interview over ANC on Monday, Melo confirmed the partners’ squabble. “I think the trouble between Smartmatic and TIM, and this is just a guess, is [about] control of the corporation. TIM will be 60 percent while Smartmatic will be 40 percent, but it could be possible that most of the financing would be coming from the minority, the 40 percent,” said Melo.
Criminal liability
“If you are going to put your private interests above that of the national interest, which is the election, that's it. I don't want anybody monkeying around with the Comelec,” said Melo of his talks with TIM.
As it is, the Comelec chief noted that the negotiation has already been delayed as it was stated under the rules that the contract should have been signed seven days after the notice of award was given to the winning bidders.
“The notice of award was awarded on June 10, and up to now there is no contract yet,” he said.
The poll chief warned Smartmatic and TIM that they could be held criminally liable for failure to comply with the requirements preparatory to the final award of the contract.
Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, in a separate interview, said officials of the consortium could face imprisonment of six years to 15 years under Section 65 of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Act. -- With Aries Rufo, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
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