Thursday, October 12, 2006
Senate passes poll automation bill (4:20 p.m.)
By Camille P. Balagtas
MANILA -- The Senate approved on Thursday, the last day of the Senate session, the election automation bill.
The bill's three principal opponents--Senators Sergio Osmeņa III, Manuel "Mar" Roxas III, and Ma. Ana Consuelo "Jamby" Madrigal--failed to attend the session while Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, who tried to hold off the voting on the measure, went along with the majority vote.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Richard Gordon.
Under the new election automation law, a committee will be created to decide on the technology to be used to transmit the results of the voting process.
Gordon added that election returns and certificates of canvass transmitted electronically and digitally signed shall be considered as official election results and shall be used as basis for the proclamation of the candidate.
The system will be pilot-tested in six provinces and six cities - a province and a city in Luzon, a province and a city in Visayas, and a province and a city in Mindanao - in next year year's mid-term elections in preparation for its full implementation in the 2010 elections. (Sunnex) |
