Mismanagement behind poll problems, ex-Comelec chair says

(Updated 11:09 a.m.) Mismanagement, and not a grand conspiracy to stay in power, is the reason why problems beset the Philippines' first nationwide automated polls, a former Commission on Elections chairman said Friday. In an interview over GMA News' Unang Hirit, former Comelec chairman Christian Monsod said he does not subscribe to the allegations of some quarters that Malacañang is behind the automation glitches that are threatening the credibility of the upcoming elections. "Ang pagkamanage, yung pagpapalakad ng Comelec dito maraming kakulangan (The management, the way the Comelec handled this, had a lot of loopholes)," Monsod said. "Lalo na nung umpisa medyo arogante ang Smartmatic atsaka Comelec din (Especially in the beginning, Smartmatic and even the Comelec were somewhat arrogant)." "Pero sakin walang vast conspiracy to make the elections fail or conspiracy to cheat (But for me, there is no vast conspiracy to make the elections fail or conspiracy to cheat)," said Monsod, who was chairman of the poll body during the administration of the late former President Corazon Aquino. Reached for comment, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told GMAews.TV that a conspiracy is definitely not the reason why they have been having problems so far. But Jimenez also said that they cannot yet determine whether the problem was the mismanagement of the elections. "There were certainly some things that we could have done better, but whether or not it is mismanagement, we have to be open to that possibility," he said. He said that they will conduct a comprehensive evaluation not just of the outcome of the project, but also of the implementation, after the elections. "We'll determine that after the elections," Jimenez said.
For President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to stay in power, she would have to conspire not just with the Comelec but the Armed Forces, the National Police, Congress and the Supreme Court — something that Monsod said is hardly possible because he does not believe the concerned institutions would agree to deliberately mess up the elections. "Maraming disenteng kawani natin sa gobyerno di naman gagawin yun (We have a lot of officials in government who will not do that)," he said. "Palagay ko si President talagang siya'y magbibitiw sa June 30 at hindi nya gustong ibahin yun (I think the President will really resign on June 30 and she does not want to change that)," said Monsod, adding he does not believe there is an "evil genius" behind the current problems besetting the conduct of the upcoming elections. Monsod urged the public to have more "patience" with the Comelec, even as he urged incumbent poll officials to be more transparent about their safeguards and contingency plans in case the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines that would be used to count and transmit votes do not function properly. Disclose preparations On Thursday, the Supreme Court gave the Comelec two days to disclose all its preparations for the May 10 elections. "The Court may, and given the alarming developments of late in the run-up to the May 10 2010 elections, should compel Comelec to disclose the complete details of its preparations," the court said in a 20-page resolution penned by Senior Justice Antonio Carpio and released Thursday. Among the details the high court wants the Comelec to make public are the nature and security of all equipment and devices, including hardware and software components, that will be used on election day; the source code for review by interested parties; and the terms and protocols of the random manual audit. The SC also ordered the poll body to show certifications that the entire automated election system (AES) is fully functional with all its continuity plans in place, and that the 240,000 Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) all over the country are trained to use the new election system. The certification on the AES' full functionality must come from the Comelec's Technical Evaluation Committee, while that on BEI training must come from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the court said. The resolution granted the petition filed by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., Protestant Bishop Leo Soriano, Quintin Doromal, Fe Maria Arriola, Isagani Serrano, and NBN-ZTE whistleblower Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada. The petitioners named the Comelec as the lone respondent. — with Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV