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Thursday, January 15, 2004
Comelec to appeal SC ruling on ACM contract
* Senate summons Abalos, other Comelec execs to explain deal, brief senators on preparations for the polls
* Roco says Abalos, other commissioners should resign
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will contest the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday to nullify the contract entered into with the Mega Pacific eSolutions on the automation of the May 10 elections for being irregular.
Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said Wednesday the ruling of the High Court "only indicates that the commissioners are not criminally liable because not all of the 15 SC justices are convinced that they should be held accountable for the alleged illegal deal."
"We are to seek consideration not only to clear our name but clear the institution we are representing," a teary-eyed Abalos said in a press briefing.
This, as the Senate has summoned Abalos to shed light on the automation contract.
Abalos said the Comelec is ready and can still shift to manual counting after the SC scrapped the P1.3 billion contract for automated counting system. Part of the contract is the purchase of 1,991 automated counting machines (ACMs).
"We were assured of getting the budget should we go manual. We will proceed with the elections as mandated by law," Abalos said, adding that they have already met with President Arroyo and Senate President Franklin Drilon who promised to allocate funds for the manual counting of the election results.
Drilon, for his part, said it was agreed durin the meeting that there was no need to postpone the elections because the Comelec has ample time to implement the manual system.
"We told Chairman Abalos that the Comelec should prove to the people that it is still capable of holding clean, honest and orderly election in May. The Comelec will have to project that it can regain the people's faith and confidence that it is capable of holding credible elections," Drilon said.
For his part, Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and electoral reforms, has summoned Abalos and the other Comelec officials to appear before the Senate Thursday to explain the preparations being done for the coming elections.
The Comelec needs at least 106 to 120 days to prepare for the manual system of elections.
Will not resign
He rejected calls for him and the other commissioners to resign following the SC decision. He maintained that there was nothing illegal or improper in the contract with Mega Pacific consortium.
"No one is resigning. I am taking it as a challenge if only to prove my desire of redeeming the name of the Comelec," he said.
Abalos said the Comelec is studying the SC ruling in order to prepare their counter-defense.
He said further that the decision to have them investigated by the Ombudsman is not proper since they are an independent body and they can only be investigated once impeached.
For his part, presidential candidate Raul Roco said Comelec officials should step down because even if there is an election, the credibility of the electoral process would be put into doubt.
Roco, who is a former education secretary and senator, said during a press briefing held at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that President Arroyo must ensure that those who will replace the commissioners are not only knowledgeable but also with untainted credibility.
He suggested that the President should tap retired Comelec officials like former Comelec Chairman Christian Monsod as well as computer experts and lawyers to run the commission. Marie Neri/JPM
(January 15, 2004 issue)
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