Comelec has to decide soon on poll machines for 2013

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will have to decide whether or not to buy the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that were used in the 2010 elections or get a new service provider by February.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Monday told a news forum at the Kapihan sa Diamond Hotel that the poll body would have to decide by Valentine’s Day next year at the latest so that it could prepare for the May 2013 elections.

“We have to reach a decision in January or at the very least February so we can prepare for May 2013.  The Comelec Advisory Committee (CAC) has to convene and make a recommendation on what system we would use,” Brillantes said.

The CAC recommendation would then be submitted to the Comelec en banc.

“So we are requesting the CAC to convene immediately to study all the angles, all the technical requirements and hope that they come up with something by January. So it could be submitted to the commission en banc and we can decide with some sort of finality what to use and if there would be a new provider,” he said.

The Comelec en banc will come up with the specific terms of reference, including whether to buy the used PCOS machines from Smartmatic with slight technological innovations or if there would be a new bidding for a new service provider, or if additional ballots would have to be printed for use in 2013.

Should the Comelec decide to buy the PCOS machines,  Smartmatic would have to give a guarantee that the equipment would still work and the deficiencies corrected.

Brillantes revealed that the Comelec would only pay 30 percent of the price for the used PCOS machines since it had already paid 70 percent in the form of a lease.

He pointed out that should the poll body decide to hold a bidding for a new service provider, there would have to be another information and education campaign on the technological requirements.

“It would be a major decision … whether to go and purchase the PCOS machines or look for a service provider,” Brillantes said, adding that there was a proposal to revert to the manual voting system with automated canvassing.

“Personally, I do not want to go back to the manual system… We will go back to the same old problems,” he said.

“All of this we have to complete by Valentine’s Day. We should come out with a resolution so we would know what to do and the preparations for the elections would be underway until 2013,” Brillantes said.