Comelec: ARMM polls to be conducted manually

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said they will no longer be able to automate the Aug. 8, 2011 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections because of preparation delays caused by the proposals to postpone the polls. "There will be no automated elections anymore for (the) August 8 (ARMM) elections," Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes said during the day's Senate hearing on the proposals to postpone the ARMM elections. Brillantes explained they not have stopped preparing for the polls but admitted they had slowed down the procurement process of the voting machines since the House of Representatives last Macrh approved House Bill 4146, which seeks to postpone the August polls. "We slowed down and did not sign any formal contract," he said. According to a position paper by the Comelec, the uncertainty of the postponement caused them to withhold the signing of contracts with poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM, reset the period for the filing of certificates of candidacy and the commencement of the campaign period. The Comelec said the overall cost of automating the ARMM elections would be P1.5 billion. On the other hand, Brillantes said conducting the polls manually would only cost P600 million. Brillantes admitted that there are more risks in conducting elections manually. "Kaya naman. Mas maraming risk kaysa automated (We can do it, but there are more risks in manual elections than automated elections)," he said. As of posting time, the hearing was still ongoing. — RSJ, GMA News