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Monday, March 01, 2004
Iloilo eyed as among cities in automation plan for polls
* The commission is looking into the possibility of implementing automated canvassing of votes in the NCR, Armm and some cities in the Visayas
ILOILO City is among the cities in the Visayas to be included in the plan to conduct automated elections in selected areas of the country on May 10.
Comelec commissioner Resurreccion Borra earlier said the commission is looking into the possibility of implementing automated canvassing of votes in the National Capital Region (NCR), Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and some cities in the Visayas. The matter, however, still has to be taken up by the Comelec en banc.
But Borra decided to go slow on the plan after being threatened with contempt by the Supreme Court (SC).
He had earlier said they want to utilize the 1,991 automated counting machines (ACMs) supplied by Mega Pacific since the equipment already passed accuracy testing by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Of the 1,991 ACMs, Borra said they might use 1,400 of them with 200 to be deployed to Armm, 750 will be deployed to NCR along with back-up machines and the remaining machines will be utilized in selected municipalities and cities of Visayas.
In Iloilo City, 15 ACMs were earlier earmarked for use in the May elections.
The SC earlier annulled the automation deal entered into by the Comelec and Mega Pacific eSolutions for being anomalous.
Borra said he when he raised the possibility of conducting selective automated elections, it was "just his personal opinion" and the plan has yet to be approved by the seven-member commission.
The commission, meanwhile, held an en banc meeting Thursday to discuss the recommendation of a technical committee on partial automation without violating the SC's decision.
"We have been hearing objections left and right and that's why this is being brought to the commission en banc so that it will be done by a collegial body so a decision could be reached and implemented. We will discuss at the earliest possible time because time is running out. The elections are just around the corner," said Borra, who heads the commission's automation committee.
(February 28, 2004 issue)
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