Comelec eyes fallback positions for automated polls

MANILA, Philippines — Following the disqualification of all seven bidders for automated elections next year, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is now mulling its “fallback positions." Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said these fallback positions include a second bidding and cutting back on its requirements for automated elections. “Kung walang mag-qualify ang fallback position, let’s call for another bidding. Kung sasabihin ng kung sino mananalo gipit kami sa time, babawasan natin ang ating requirements (If no one qualifies in our fallback position, we’ll call for another bidding. If the winning bidder says they lack time, we’ll cut back on our requirements)," he said in an interview on dzRH radio. But Melo also admitted the disqualification may also affect its timetable of preparations for next year’s polls. When asked if the delay can affect their preparations for automated polls, he said, “that’s a possibility," but did not elaborate. Melo said the first fallback position is to wait for the disqualified bidders to file their appeals. If there is none, it will call for a second bidding. “Mahigpit ang labanan, walang collusion among the bidders, all seven of them ... Some of the grounds for disqualification, sa documentation lang ho (The competition among the seven bidders was tight. And some of the grounds for disqualification only involved documentation)," he noted. If the second bidding is successful but the winner may not have enough time to set up its equipment and personnel, he said the Comelec can “fall back" to a central count instead of a precinct count. This involves counting votes at the central level instead of the precinct level, he said. “Hindi tayo pwede mag-stay with the discredited manual system (We just cannot afford to stay with the discredited manual system)," he said. Earlier, the Comelec branded as premature all talk of a failed bidding process, at least for now, saying it will exhaust all means before having to resort to manual elections in 2010. “The Comelec believes it’s rather premature to talk about failure of bidding. Nevertheless, in the unlikely event that a failure is declared, what can be done? Obviously, we cannot rule out manual elections in 2010. But this doesn’t mean that we are giving up. The Comelec will do everything it can - within the bounds of the law, practicability, and propriety - to ensure that we have automated elections next year," it said on its blog site (www.bagongbotante.ph). A manual election looms next year after all of the seven firms that took part in the bidding for the automated election were disqualified. But the Comelec said that while this was a “sad development," it could not be helped. “Who comes to a bidding without a Securities and Exchange Commission registration anyway?" it said. Still, the Comelec said there is still the appeals process where the disqualified bidders have the chance to prove the Special Bids and Awards Committee wrong. “In the meantime, while those appeals are pending, speculation is rife as to what comes next. Quo vadis, as it were," it said. - GMANews.TV