Gordon urges passage of bill for computerized voters' list

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon on Friday called for the immediate passage of a bill seeking to provide a mandatory biometric registration as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) prepares for the automation of the 2010 polls. Senate Bill 3065, which Gordon filed in February, seeks to amend RA 8189 or the Voter’s Registration Act of 1996, by requiring new registrants or voters previously registered under the old application procedure to submit their biometric information. He said the measure will address irregularities in the present voters’ list by computerizing the registration process. He said there is a need for a reliable voters' list, side by side with poll automation, to achieve the people’s dream of clean, honest and credible elections in May 2010. Just as the Senate saw the need for poll automation to rid the country of cheating-marred elections, it should also act with dispatch on the biometrics registration bill since it will further ensure honest and credible elections, he said. “The automation of the 2010 elections will be a game-changer in Philippine politics. But by passing the measure calling for mandatory biometrics registration, we will further ensure that our elections next year will no longer be marred by cheating," Gordon said. Last May 5, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a bill pushing for the mandatory biometrics registration for the 2010 national elections but Gordon’s proposed bill has yet to be debated on the floor. The Comelec was set to computerize the registration process in 2004 by capturing the biometric information of all voters under the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and enable it to purge the voters’ list of double or multiple registrants. However, several years after the program stated, the biometric information of only a small portion of all registered voters nationwide has been taken due to alleged lack of budget. On the other hand, Senator Francis Escudero warned the poll body against entering into a “negotiated contract," which the Comelec said it would do as a last resort after it rejected all seven bids for the P11.3-billion project. “A negotiated contract does not necessarily consider the cheapest, the best and most responsible offer. There is obviously less transparency in the process," said Escudero, who heads the Senate oversight committee on poll automation. He said the Comelec should instead implement automation only in key areas as provided for in the automation law. “However disconcerting it may be, the failure of bidding gives everyone an opportunity to revisit the plan for full automation," Escudero said, adding, “The Comelec must now seriously look at implementing poll automation on a limited scale." He said the poll body can undertake the alternative automation plan in two highly-urbanized cities and two provinces each in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. He also cited concerns expressed by former Comelec chair Christian Monsod about the capability of the Comelec in undertaking full automation nationwide for the 2010 elections. Monsod has advocated for partial automation because “there could be many possible problems that could happen in a one-step full-fledged nationwide automated election right away." “Prudence dictates that we implement this unprecedented undertaking in a rational, transparent, and efficient manner," Escudero said. - GMANews.TV