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Sunday, January 08, 2006
Poll body chief hits opposition to modernization program
COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos on Saturday expressed dismay over the rejection of the agency's modernization program.
Speaking at weekly "Kapihan sa Sulo" forum, Abalos said the Comelec would not ask the Congress for a budget for its modernization program this year and instead let manual elections prevail.
He also said the Comelec will no longer buy new ballot counting machines for computerized until the government and the court allow the use of the existing equipment.
Abalos believes that the 2004 elections would not have been so controversial if only the government allowed the Comelec to proceed with the conduct of computerized elections.
He said election fraud, like flying voters, could have been detected easily by the use of biometric machines and that the canvassing would have been finished within 12 hours through the use of the automated counting machines (ACMs) purchased by the Comelec from Mega Pacific e-Solutions.
The use of the machines in the 2004 elections was disallowed after the Supreme Court ruled that the contract entered into by the Comelec with Mega Pacific was null and void.
The Senate, for its part, questioned the purchase of the machines, which the Upper Chamber deemed as overpriced and did not pass proper bidding procedures.
Abalos said the cost of the machines, particularly the ACMs, is thrice lower than those offered by the other bidders.
Aside from the counting machines, the Comelec also procured biometric machines to screen registrants and a transmission machine to send canvassing results to an intended recipient.
The equipments are kept in the Comelec office since the company where it was bought refused to get it back. (JPM/Sunnex)
(January 8, 2006 issue)
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