The much-anticipated election automation will not possibly happen in the next national and local elections.
This was the assessment of Sen. Loren Legarda, in response to whether finally, Congress and Senate ratify the scheme and implemented in the 2010 presidential, vice presidential, senatorial, congressional and local elections, usually marred by controversies during and after manual counting of votes.
“The previous Congress enacted the law but due to funding controversies, it was shelved,” the Senator said, who was here as guest of honor and speaker during the Foundation Anniversary rites of La Union, yesterday.
However, Legarda said that the Commission on Elections may pilot certain areas for the computerization “but almost improbable in 2010.”
She added that when she rejoined the Senate last July, the plan was never discussed at all.
“Having been a victim of electoral fraud, I really support automation,” the Senator said, alluding to her pending protest filed before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal against Vice President Noli De Castro.
She added that automation would provide quicker counting of votes during elections and to know the true will of the electorates.
A manual system, she said, would give bigger chances to cheaters; the dag-dag-bawas- where a vote subtracted from a candidate is added to another candidate; ballot-snatching and switching; and even the altering of results contained in the ballot boxes.
“It is indeed very important,” Legarda said. |
