Poll preparations behind by a month - Comelec

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is lagging behind in its preparations for the May 2010 elections by a month from its original timeline, an official said on Tuesday. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the delay is in the survey of polling precincts and delivery of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines that would be used in the elections. Larrazabal blamed the case filed by the Concerned Citizens’ Movement (CCM) with the Supreme Court asking the tribunal to void the allegedly illegal P7.2-million poll automation contract between the Comelec and the Smartmatic/TIM for the delay. The court ruled in favor of Comelec. According to the commissioner, they would have been able to start with the site surveys sooner if it hadn’t been for the case and the recent deadly cyclones that ravaged the country. If it hadn’t been for these reasons, he said, the PCOS machines which are set to arrive by the end of December would also have been delivered at the beginning of the same month. Smartmatic/TIM will supply the 82,200 PCOS machines for the 2010 elections, with 2,500 machines serving as backup. One machine will cover about 1,000 voters. Larrazabal said that initially, the machines were supposed to be delivered in four separate batches instead of two. He said 42,200 machines would be delivered in late December and the rest in January. Melo had also earlier expressed concern over a possible delay in the delivery and configuration of the PCOS machines that will be used in next year’s elections. No worry Melo however still assured that the automated elections – the first ever in the country on a nationwide scale – would push through as scheduled on May 10, 2010. Larrazabal also said that they have already taken the necessary steps to adjust their previously set schedule. “We’re taking measures, we’re actually working overtime," he said. He said their personnel are working double time so that they will be able to cover as much ground as possible, noting that they have already checked the signals in polling precincts in Regions 7, 8, ARMM, and some parts of Luzon. If their personnel are not able to send data through the signal acquired in the area, the poll body official said Smartmatic/TIM will be the one to work it out with the telcos. During the elections, the signal is needed for the transmission of election results to other precincts and poll offices. As for the delivery of PCOS machines, the Comelec has already said that it will send a two-man team to Shanghai in China to inspect the manufacturing of PCOS machines there early December. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the team will evaluate the state of readiness, the production schedules, and the possibility of making the scheduled delivery dates on time. Smartmatic, through spokesperson Gene Gregorio, also assured the poll body that it has nothing to worry about, noting the company’s experiences in handling automation processes. The poll body has also consistently denied requests for extension of registration, saying that they need the time to complete the voter’s list. It said it is still collating the complete list of registered voters for 2010. But if worst comes to worst, Melo said they will have to conduct a partial manual and partial automated elections. 50,000 tech support reps needed In a statement, Smartmatic/TIM said it would be hiring close to 50,000 technical support representatives for next year’s elections. “Smartmatic-TIM is tapping manpower firms Placewell, MANRED, and Ventureslink for the hiring of the 50,000 tech support personnel who will be deployed on the ground for the elections," said Bonifacio Belen, Smartmatic/TIM regions manager. Belen said the poll automation project is probably one of the biggest hiring jobs undertaken in the country. “There is no shortage of patriotic and IT-savvy Flipinos who want to be part of history," he said. Other election inspectors? On the other hand, some public school teachers have asked the Comelec to give them the option of not serving as board of elections inspectors (BEIs) during elections. Melo said he understands how the teachers feel as they have been the target of harassment in past elections. He assured them, however, that their workload this time around would be much easier. “After the election, they won’t have to do anything anymore. I think the work of the BEI in an automated election system will be much easier and lighter," he said. In the 2007 elections, the Comelec had to tap private school teachers to serve as members of the BEIs due to the lack of public school teachers. Records of the Department of Education (DepEd) showed that it had only 500,000 teachers during that most recent election, short of the 750,000 teachers required to serve as election inspectors. While Smartmatic/TIM promised to send their own computer technicians to manage the voting machines, the Comelec said such technicians won’t be allowed inside polling precincts. Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento earlier said the law specifically states that only BEI members and the IT-capable persons are allowed inside polling precincts. - GMANews.TV