Sunday, August 10, 2008 Police, military ready for Monday's Armm polls By Danilo Adorador III
MONDAY'S election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) will be a preview of how efficient automated elections will be in future polls, Malacañang said Saturday.
Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez Jr. said the August 11 election would mark the first time that the Philippines adopted an automated system.
"Dito mapapakita ang efficiency ng automated elections (Here we will see the efficiency of automated elections)," he said over government-run dzRB radio.
He also said the police and military are now ready with their security preparations for the elections.
Monday's regional election, the sixth since 1990, is a pilot test for computerized elections in 2010.
"The more you delay a count, the shakier the mandate (of the candidate). If your count is speedy, you decrease the distrust heaped on the winner. If it's fast, there is no opportunity for malicious intent to operate, no opportunity to monkey with results," James Jimenez, Comelec spokesperson told participants of the 4th Mindanao Media Summit Friday afternoon.
A total of 18,000 personnel, 11,000 of them military and the rest police, have been deployed to strategic areas in the Armm, he said.
But Jimenez also announced that the region registered zero in terms of election-related incidents since the campaign period started.
The campaign started on June 27 and ended Saturday.
Jimenez said a total of 887 areas are listed as "areas of concern" due to the history of intense political rivalry there but the number of "areas of immediate concern" has dropped from more than 200 to only 49.
Monday's election is the third time computerization is being tried in the region.
The first was in 1996 under Republic Act 8046 authorizing the pilot testing of a Computerized Election System in the Armm. Nur Misuari ran unopposed for Armm governor.
The second was in the 1998 presidential and senatorial election when only the elections in Lanao Del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were automated.
Problems were encountered in Sulu though not because of the voting machines but the ballots.
Jimenez was quick to admit however that machines cannot solve the problems of manipulation, coercion, vote buying, and disenfranchisement.
"One step at a time towards 2010. Modernization is a continuing process," he said.
Two kinds of technology will be used in the Armm polls - the DRE or Direct Recording Electronic and the OMR or Optical Mark Reader.
A total of 1,516,775 registered voters are expected to troop to 1,903 polling centers for the August 11 polls.
The voters are to choose five candidates only - governor, vice governor and three assemblymen.
Seven filed their certificates of candidacy for the position of Armm governor: reelectionist Datu Zaldy Puti Uy Ampatuan (Lakas-CMD); Jupakar Pindah-Asia Arabani (Independent); Ismain Berto Ibrahim (Independent); Alvarez Silal Isnaji (Independent); Guimid Panalangin Matalam (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino); Ahmad Darping Nooh (Independent) and Ali Jumadil Omar (Independent).
Matalam and Omar also ran for Armm governor in 2004.
Matalam was Vice Governor to Nur Misuari, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chair who became Armm governor from September 30, 1996 until his arrest in November 2001 off Sabah, Malaysia.
Those who filed their certificates of candidacy for the position of Regional Vice-Governor are reelectionist Ansaruddin-Abdul Malik Alonto Adiong (Lakas-CMD); Kadra Asani Masihul (KBL); Kursid Hajirie Sampang (Independent); Alex Andul Qayyum Langco Ambor (Independent) and Ailani Jr. Tan Susulan (Independent).
