The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday said it would initiate preparations for a back-up precinct distribution plan should it have to resort to manual voting, following the Supreme Court order for it to issue ballot receipts during the elections.
In a four-page resolution, the Comelec said it will “prepare a contingency Project of Precincts (POP) with a cluster of 400 voters each—or half the current number—in the event that it would have to undertake manual polls to ensure that the elections push through on May 9.”
Despite such a measure, Comelec Chair Andres Bautista could not say which was the better option: Holding manual elections or postponing the polls.
“I cannot answer that now, it has to (undergo) consult(ation) first,” he told reporters. “Maybe there is no need to talk about manual elections for now because we still have time left. But we hope the Supreme Court immediately decides on it, and that we’d be given directions as soon as possible.”
Half-baked elections
The Comelec filed its motion for reconsideration before the high court through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Friday. It also asked for a chance to demonstrate the printing process in hopes of changing the minds of the justices about the need to issue voter receipts.
Citing complications in the printing of voter receipts, Comelec Commissioner Arthur Lim said it would be better to defer the elections, as “a half-baked election is a prescription for total chaos.”
The Comelec said the Supreme Court’s order on voter receipts could set back some three months its preparations for the May polls.
But the Commission en banc also made several recommendations meant to carry out the high tribunal’s order, among them, “rebuilding” the code that would be used for the vote counting machine (VCM) system, procuring the necessary supplies, and inviting bidders for the 1.1 million rolls of thermal paper needed for the process.
Clear and powerful
It is also looking at a “widespread voter education campaign,” “refining” standard operating procedures in polling places, and revising the published general instructions for Boards of Election Inspectors.
Malacañang meanwhile urged the Supreme Court and the Comelec to resolve the issue of voter receipts to make sure that automated elections would go as scheduled.
But while the Supreme Court decision was “clear and powerful,” Presidential Communication Undersecretary Manalo Quezon said the Comelec also had the right to question or seek clarification of the SC order as part of the judicial process.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate took the Comelec and its vote counting machine provider, Smartmatic, to task and said that they “should have been prepared for the SC decision.”