Ex-Comelec exec warns of delays in transmission

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A former official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has warned of a possible delay in the proclamation of winners as a result of the changes made by the poll body for the transmission of election results.

Former Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that based on Comelec Resolution No. 10103, the Board of Canvassers (BoC) cannot transmit the results of the canvassing until those from all main secure digital (SD) cards have been imported.

Larrazabal said such a procedure could result to delays in the canvassing of votes and subsequent proclamation in the succeeding levels of the municipal/city BOCs, such as the provincial BOC and the national BoC.

“It appears that the city or municipal board of canvassers cannot transmit the results of the canvassing results of their board, until results from all main SD cards have been imported. Which means that the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) will not receive any consolidated results from that BOC.

“The result would mean that the PBOC or even NBOC will not be able to complete its canvassing, and will not be able to proclaim winners on the provincial level (which includes all provincial positions and members of the House of Representatives). This also means that the PBOC will not be able to complete the canvassing for the position of president and vice president,” Larrazabal, who is also the consultant of Nationalist People’s Coalition, told reporters.

Responding to the issues raised by Larrazabal, the poll body admitted that it is willing to sacrifice the speed in proclaiming the winning candidates for the sake of having more credible and transparent results in the May 9 polls.

In an interview, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the commission is not worried that it may not be at par with the proclamation speed seen in the 2013 polls as long as it can have credible results.