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Friday, January 26, 2007
Arroyo signs into law automation of 2010 polls
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed into law the bill amending the election modernization law and providing for fully automated elections on May 10, 2010.
Arroyo signed Republic Act (RA) 9369 last January 23, 2007.
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The law takes effect two weeks after publication in two major national dailies but it still has to have implementing rules and regulations.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. has told the Senate that there is no sufficient time to implement the law in the May 2007 senatorial and local elections.
The law provides that before the automated system is implemented nationwide in 2010, it should have been pilot-tested in at least two highly urbanized cities and two provinces each in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao in the 2007 elections.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal also said there is no time to implement partial automation even in a highly-urbanized area.
The law provides that in places where an automated election system shall be adopted, at least a member of the Board of Election Inspectors shall be an information technology-capable person who shall be trained or certified by the science department.
The Comelec shall deputize information technology personnel from other government agencies to help out in the automated elections system.
The Comelec shall create an advisory council, which shall be headed by the chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), a member each from the science and education departments and from the academe, three members representing CICT professional organizations, and two members from non-governmental electoral reform organizations.
The advisory council shall recommend the most appropriate and cost-effective technology to be applied in the automated elections at a specific point in time.
An independent technical evaluation committee was also created to determine the country's readiness to use an automated election system.
The committee shall be chaired by a representative of the science department with an official each from the Comelec and CICT as members.
The law provides for a continuity plan in case of a systems breakdown that would result in a delay, obstruction or non-performance of the electoral process.
The back up plan will be activated in the presence of representatives from political parties and the Comelec's citizens' arm.
RA 9369 provides for a random manual audit in one precinct per congressional district in each province and city.
Any difference between the automated and manual count will result in the determination of the root cause and initiation of a manual count for those precincts affected by the computer or procedural error.
It states that six months before the actual automated elections, the Comelec shall undertake a widespread education and training program to educate the public about the new system.
Any person who violates the provisions of the law, except those found guilty of electoral sabotage, shall be imprisoned from eight years to one day to 12 years without possible parole, and perpetual disqualification from voting and holding public office.
Tampering with votes shall be considered as an electoral sabotage, which shall be punishable with life imprisonment.
A joint congressional oversight committee shall be created to composed of seven members each from the Senate and the House of Representatives to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the law.
The amount of P2.6 billion for the automated election system shall be charged against the Comelec's modernization fund for this year.
This is aside from the P3 billion necessary to carry out the manual system which shall also be charged from the Comelec's budget. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (January 26, 2007 issue)
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