No more delays in canvassing, Zubiri assures

The Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, has pushed through with its canvassing of votes for president and vice-president Monday afternoon, and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri vowed there would be no more delays this time. "Napagkasunduan sa loob na tuloy na ang bilangan, hindi na ide-delay, bubuksan na ang [Certificates of Canvass] mula sa ibang probinsya at wala nang makakapigil sa atin," Zubiri told reporters in an interview after a caucus. (We agreed to push through with the canvassing. We will open the COCs from the provinces. Nothing can delay us anymore.) The NBOC on Monday afternoon started opening all the electronically transmitted certificates of canvass (COCs). When it started the canvassing last week, the NBOC opened the manually prepared COCs, mostly from the overseas absentee voting, since its authenticity and due execution were easier to prove. Objections Zubiri said objections that would be raised would be subjected to the Section 19 of their rules, which states that objection to the inclusion of the COC, which must be submitted in writing together with supporting evidence, shall be raised at the time it is being considered. It further states that the Senate President and House Speaker may order the deferment of the canvass of the contested COC and the joint congressional canvassing committee shall resolve the objections by a majority vote, with each panel voting separately. In case of disagreement, the decision of the Senate President and House Speaker shall prevail. "Ang sabi natin unless na meron silang maipapakita na mabigat na ebidensya, hindi hearsay, hindi lang dahil may nagsabi sa kanila ng IT expert, hanggang walang maipakita dito sa plenaryo, sa canvassing committee, wala po tayong magagawa. Kung merong silang maipakitang equipment na pwedeng ma-manipulate ang resulta, with the absence of that tuloy ang bilangan," Zubiri said. (According to the rules, only a legitimate complaint, backed by strong evidence and not just a claim from an IT expert, can stop the canvassing.) He added that they would allow their colleagues to express their concerns, "but eventually they have to stop." "We are a canvassing body not an investigating body," Zubiri said. The NBOC has already been criticized for delaying the canvassing by probing first allegations of poll fraud. Demonstration The NBOC resumed the canvassing after officials from Smartmatic, the technology provider in the recently concluded automated elections, demonstrated how the machines used in the elections work. Section 18 of the Rules states the joint committee shall proceed to pen the corresponding electronically transmitted COC and a printed copy thereof shall be generated from the consolidation and canvassing system (CCS), which has been in the custody of the House from the start of the elections. Once the committee ascertain that the number of votes cast for each presidential and vice presidential candidate in the printed COC and in the electronically transmitted COCs are identical, they would continue with the canvassing. But if there will be discrepancy, the canvassing will be deferred. - KBK, GMANews.TV