Most Pinoys want polls computerized

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino voters are almost unanimously for poll automation, which they believe is the best defense against fraud, results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The survey, commissioned by party-list group Akbayan, showed 92 percent of Filipino voters in favor of poll automation while eight percent sees no need for the Arroyo administration to prioritize it.

Loreta Ann “Etta” Rosales, former Akbayan party-list lawmaker and now president of think tank Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms, said the government should take the cue from the SWS findings.

She noted that Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo appeared unenthusiastic about poll automation.

“It is unfortunate that the Election Automation Law has long been enacted by Congress but the Filipinos have yet to see its full implementation,” Rosales said.

“I find it very sad that chair Melo is actually not in favor of it and also of cleansing the voter’s list, saying that it’s too late already,” Rosales told The STAR.

But Melo, on a separate occasion, told reporters that he was confident of favorable action from lawmakers on a proposed P8-billion supplemental budget for poll automation.

Rosales called on both the executive and the legislative departments to provide and release the funding crucial to poll automation.

“If we really want change in the electoral system, we have to modernize the voting, counting and canvassing process. This is a test of political will,” Rosales said.

She said the SWS survey showed that the desire for automated elections runs across all segments of society.

Rosales stressed that while the effort may entail a huge cost, the result would be invaluable.

“Although the full implementation of the law may entail a higher cost, this investment is all worth it in the long run,” she said.

Rosales said that the pilot testing of automated voting in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao last August had shown that it could be done effectively across the country.

“If we were able to do it in ARMM, there is no reason why we can’t do it for the rest of the country. Our people do not want anything less than full automation,” Rosales said.

Senators Richard Gordon and Edgardo Angara had earlier assured Comelec of a budget allocation for poll automation.

“We cannot be haphazard in implementing the automation law. Comelec needs adequate time and resources to ensure that the Filipino voters, including our teachers and election officials, are ready for electronic voting,” Rosales added.

Rosales said the Comelec earlier estimated the number of “polluted” voters at 2.5 million.

“This is a conservative estimate of Comelec,” she said. “GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) won by 1.1 million over FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr). That’s far less than 2.5 million. The point is you have to clean up your registered voters’ list,” she added. “That means you have to set up biometrics and make sure you will remove double registrants which can be done in an automated election.” –Rainier Allan Ronda, Philippine Star