MANILA, Philippines -- The possible failure of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to computerize the 2010 elections would be a big setback to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's much hyped 10-point agenda laid out in her State of the Nation Address in 2004, an ally in the House of Representatives said.

Quezon province Representative Danilo Suarez acknowledged that the feud between Smartmatic Corp. and the Total Information Management Inc., which won the automation project with a P7.2-billion bid, has put in limbo the fate of full automation in the country.

“The President wants maximum compliance… if you will fail, it would be a very big setback to her administration,” Suarez, chairman of the oversight committee, told Comelec officials in a hearing called by his committee Thursday to assess the compliance of agencies to the 10-point agenda.

Comelec chairman Jose Melo and the poll body’s commissioners failed to show up in the hearing, but were called again to appear next week.

Esmeralda Ladra, director of the Comelec planning department, said that the poll body would await the outcome of the discussions between Smartmatic and TIM until Friday, but added that top officials were “studying alternative mode of procuring the system.”

Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez said that under the automation law or Republic Act 9369, the automated system should be held in at least two highly urbanized cities and two provinces each in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to be chosen by Comelec.

Camarines Norte Representative Liwayway Vinzons-Chato said the Comelec should first clean up its voters list before automation could be in place.