Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Washington-based organization National Democratic Institute (NDI) is urging the Philippine government to create a comprehensive plan that will address a possible failure of election during the May 2010 presidentialpolls.

"The delegation encourages Comelec (the Commission on Elections) to fulfill its legal obligations in this area without delay," it said in a March 13 statement.

The NDI quoted Section 13 of Republic Act (RA) 9369 which requires "a continuity plan in case of a systems breakdown or any such eventuality which shall result in the delay, obstruction or non-performance of the electoral process."

RA 9369 is the Philippine law that mandates the Comelec to use a fully automated system when conducting local and national polls in the country.

"The Comelec is required to furnish this (continuity) plan to political parties and candidates as well as publish it in major newspapers. This had not yet been done," the NDI added.

The NDI statement was released after a delegation that it organized concluded an eight-day visit to the Philippines to review the political environment and framework for the upcoming national elections in the country.

While based in the United States, the non-profit non-government group works with several other nations that include Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Namibia, the Netherlands Switzerland, and the European Union.

It receives funding from the US Agency for International Development, the US Department of State, several international development agencies, private foundations and donations.

NDI’s work upholds the principles enshrined in United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It works to establish and strengthen democratic institutions and practices by, among others, building political organizations, and safeguarding elections in various countries.

The Philippine elections in May will be the first ever election in the country that will be fully computerized. Voters do not need to manually list the names of their chosen candidates on paper anymore.

Instead, registered voters will be given ballots that have security markings embedded on the paper. A marking pen provided by Comelec should be used to shade the names of their preferred candidates. Filled up ballots are then inserted into a precinct count optical scan and is validated and tallied electronically.

The process is expected to improve the election process in the country. RA 9369, which mandates this new process states, "…The results shall be fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people."

But many fear that this automated election exercise might fail. A failure of election happens when no president or vice president can be proclaimed after election exercises.

This could result in a constitutional crisis for the Philippines since terms of all elected officials all end at the same time.

Business leaders in the Philippines have warned that thos could affect the performance of the economy and potentially push investors away.

Filipino-American community leader Loida Nicholas-Lewis recently told Asian Journal that she thinks the country is not ready for automated elections.

"What I observed is very, very frightening. Our rush to automation is not going well, I spoke to a mayor where there was a trial of these machines and he said it’s (failed). It doesn’t work" she said in recent interview. She instead recommended reverting back to manual election.

Even a number of presidential candidates are themselves worried of a possible failure of elections as they noted delays in preparations for the automated system.

Administration presidential bet Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said logistics in transporting the machines to the precincts nationwide could pose a problem. He described as "ambitious" the poll automation project.

Liberal Party standard-bearer Sen. Benigno Aquino III said failure of the machines would not mean failure of elections, but the Comelec must assure the public that it is on track on poll automation.

Sen. Jamby Madrigal who is also running for president said there is little time left to go on full automation nationwide. She expressed fear the system could be hacked.

Environmentalist and presidential aspirant Nicanor Perlas, for his part, said he supports moves to call on the Comelec to also prepare for manual counting as he cited the possibility of cheating in a more sophisticated way with poll automation.

The nine-member international delegation that made the recommendation to Comelec consulted 30 organizations in 27 meetings during their week-long stay in the Philippines .

"It is clear that substantial efforts are being carried out by governmental agencies, political parties and civil society to organize an election process that enjoys the confidence of the people of the Philippines ," the NDI said in its statement.

"(But) suspicions and lack of trust among the political competitors and toward authorities, combined with insufficient inclusiveness and transparency, have inhibited public confidence in the elections and generated anxiety about the automated election system," it added.

Meanwhile, other recommendations made by the delegation include public dialogues with presidential candidates about the automated system, random manual audits of machines, non-partisan election monitoring, security services provided by the armed forces and national police department, and voter and civic education.

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published MArch 18, 2010 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A1 )