ALL eyes of our nation were focused on the planned automated elections for 2010. There were high hopes that this would finally lead to a long-awaited clean and honest election. A contract was going to be signed with a reputable foreign company (Dutch!) that has a record of providing safe automated elections in many countries all over the world, I read in the newspapers. All of a sudden, the deal falls through.

The Filipino counterpart of the joint venture is backing out. The company cannot make enough profits in the deal! That is typically doing business the Filipino way. It puts on the spot not only the foreign company, Smartmatic, but what is worse, our very own Comelec that is bound to lose its credibility when it has to call off the full automation for the coming elections. I can foresee already the reaction of many people including myself: If there is no automation, let us forget about the elections altogether.

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This is the scenario I envision: keep Gloria in her self-imposed quarantine for some time more, if she is not yet infected by the swine flu, anyway. Senator Biazon can keep her there if the military is not willing to cooperate. Then, install a transition or interim government composed of civil society personalities including our proposed alternative presidentiables. Its first priority must be to sue the delinquent TIM and to sign a new contract with Smartmatic, putting up the necessary capitalization for a local counterpart company. Then, we will have full automated elections and this will finally produce the New Government that we have been aspiring for so long.

I want to make an appeal to civil society: let us get our act together and move right away, before it is too late!

(For your comments e-mail arnvv@yahoo.com.)