Palace submits P11.9-B budget for poll automation

Malacañang submitted to the House committee on appropriations yesterday an P11.9-billion supplemental budget for the automation of the 2010 elections.

“Poll automation is a priority concern and program of the administration to ensure clean, orderly and credible elections in 2010,” said Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio.

He said President Arroyo is likely to certify the budget program as urgent.

Claudio said he does not see any reason for lawmakers to delay its passage.

“This (supplemental budget) will not affect the existing provisions in the proposed (P1.415-trillion) national budget. There won’t be any need to realign allocations,” he said.

Of the P11.9 billion, P9.9 billion would be for the acquisition of the necessary automation equipment and P1.3 billion for preparatory activities for the 2010 elections.

Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo said Thursday he was confident of getting at least P8 billion for poll automation.

Senators, including Sen. Richard Gordon who is the principal author of the automated election system law, have expressed concerns that delays in the approval of the budget would undermine the automation program.

There are also speculations that Malacañang is deliberately delaying the submission of the supplemental budget as part of a supposed plot to defer or cancel the 2010 elections.

The Arroyo administration claims automation of elections is one of its priorities and is in fact included in its 10-point agenda.

Mrs. Arroyo, burdened by accusations of cheating in the 2004 elections, has been pushing for full automation of the country’s elections.

With full automation, electoral fraud is expected to be minimized or eliminated as poll results would be known within hours after votes are cast.

Pilot testing of automation was done in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao last August. The elections have been generally considered a success.

Meanwhile, Melo said requiring voters to dip their index fingers in indelible ink would be more effective against fraud than just getting their fingers smudged with the ink.

He said his proposal, if adopted, would make up for the lack of Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) machines which are supposed to cross match voters through their thumb marks.

“I think the secret is for you to dip your finger into the ink,” he told reporters.

Earlier, the poll chief admitted that the Comelec – despite its data capturing machines – might not be able to totally flush out voters with double or multiple registrations from the voter’s list.

The machines allow the Comelec to get voters’ biometrics data like photographs, signatures and thumb marks.

Melo explained that to identify double or multiple registrants, the Comelec needs an AFIS system for which the poll doesn’t have a budget.

He is optimistic that the Comelec would be able to acquire AFIS machines in time for the 2010 elections.

He stressed that having multiple registrants should not be much of a problem.

“The problem is not really on removing of the so-called flying voters by purging the voters’ list. The problem is with those who do double or multiple voting,” he said.

A voter can have double or multiple registrations if he transfers residence and registers again with the Comelec.

There are 48 million registered voters but only half of them are covered by the biometrics system. –Paolo Romero and Marvin Sy with Sheila Crisostomo, Philippine Star