Melo assures no 'Hello Garci' in May polls

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Jose Melo on Wednesday assured that because of automation, there would not be a "Hello Garci" vote-rigging operation in the May polls. Melo said that even if there were election personnel linked to the "Hello Garci" scandal who are still with the Comelec, they wouldn't be able to cheat the automated polls. "They may be just sleeping here (but) even if there are Garcis here, they cannot do anything more," he said in an interview with reporters. The poll body chief issued the statement after Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel said that he wants a Comelec official who reportedly has links with controversial former poll body Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano to be removed from office. (See: Pimentel wants poll exec linked to 'Garci' sacked) The senator was pertaining to Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional director Ray Sumalipao, a supposed Garcillano protégé who was allegedly part of an operation that rigged the results of the 2004 elections to favor administration bets led by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The alleged vote manipulation was exposed through the so-called “Hello Garci" recordings, which contained wiretapped conversations between a woman presumed to be Mrs. Arroyo and a man she called “Garci," presumed to be Garcillano. But Melo said that such a thing cannot happen again because there won't be a manual transport of the election results and statement of votes to the canvassing centers. "Wala na yun eh, kasi manual yun. Kaya nga nag-automate tayo para ma-short circuit yang system na yan. (We won't have that anymore, because that’s during manual elections. That's why we automated, to short-circuit that old system)," he said. He added that with automation, not just anybody will be able to rig the results of the elections. "The less human intervention, the safer the system will be," he said. The Comelec had earlier said they would be reshuffling some 50 election officers to cast away doubts of cheating in the May polls. Sumalipao has been transferred from one Comelec regional office to another—from ARMM to Davao. (See: Comelec reshuffle to affect ‘Garci boy,’ 9 other officers) —JV, GMANews.TV