MANILA, Philippines?Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo views the recent US presidential election wistfully because of its sharp contrast with Philippine elections.

Melo said he was impressed by how the campaign period unfolded and how smoothly the voting and counting process went, even if different voting machines were used.

With less than two years before the 2010 Philippine presidential election, Melo said he hopes that Filipino politicians and voters would take note of how the US campaign focused not so much on personal attacks but on issues.

?On the behavior of the candidates, they talked about issues and not personalities. Maybe we should be like that,? Melo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview.

Melo said it was refreshing to see a campaign where there were spirited discussions on the problems and issues facing the candidates.

He chided local politicians for putting gimmicks and attacks at the forefront of their election campaign, instead of their political platforms.

In 2010, the election chairman urged candidates to ?put the campaign on a higher level.?

The US presidential election was of immense interest to the Comelec in light of plans to automate the 2010 Philippine elections.

The Comelec is pushing for the automation of the elections, saying it would minimize large-scale vote tampering.

Based on the complaints of voters, Melo admitted that automated voting would not be problem-free.

He cited the ?terrible mess? in Florida, where some ballots were not read by the machines. There were also complaints that some machines misread the voter's choices.

Melo said the problems voters faced in the US elections could be magnified and multiplied in the Philippines.

?They have more money and more machines, but the lines were still long,? he said. ?Here in our country, we have fewer machines, so the lines will probably longer.?

Melo said the Comelec was also thinking of introducing an early voting system to lessen the lines on Election Day, "but that would take an amendment of the laws.?

If that is not possible, Melo said, the Comelec could cluster precincts into bigger polling places.