May 9 polls to start at break of day

Voters may start making for the polling stations at daybreak on Election Day, as the Commission on Elections is considering an early start to the voting—at 6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m.—to allow more time for the printing of the voter verification receipts.

Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim, who heads the steering committee for the 2016 elections, said it was proposed that voting hours be designated as 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., instead of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The proposal to move the voting hours would still have to be approved by the Comelec en banc, Lim told a hearing of the joint congressional oversight committee on the automated election system.

Under the Comelec’s plan, the Board of Election Inspectors could begin preparations for the voting, which includes starting up the vote-counting machines, at 5 a.m. so they would be ready for the voters by 6 a. m.

Comelec Chair Andres Bautista said the poll body wants to take advantage of the daylight hours. “As much as possible, we’d like to start and finish while there’s still daylight,” he said.

The Comelec decided to extend the voting hours after the Supreme Court ordered the poll body to issue printed voter receipts so the voters could check if the counting machines had recorded their choices correctly.

 2 features

The Comelec initially planned to do away with the printing of receipts and just use onscreen verification. But the Supreme Court ruled that it must issue printed receipts.

Bautista said the Comelec could no longer disable the onscreen verification feature on the vote counting machines as this would entail another lengthy process.

Hence, there will be two voter verification features, one onscreen and a printed receipt, which Sen. Koko Pimentel described as an “overkill.”

Voters who see discrepancies between their ballots and the voter receipt may file an electoral protest.

Amid fears that this might be abused, the Comelec law body is considering making it an election offense for a person to file a false claim of discrepancy between the receipt and the ballot.

“It might impact the credibility of the elections if there will be many people complaining,” Bautista said.

Meanwhile, Pimentel said he was disappointed that the Comelec has to procure scissors for the cutting of the receipts from the vote counting machines.

A machine that costs P38,000 to rent should at least have the capability to cut the receipts properly, Pimentel said.

The Comelec has approved a budget of P28.9 million for the purchase of 100,000 pairs of scissors and 93,000 receptacles  for the printed voter receipts so they would not be brought out of the precincts.

Interested bidders have until April 13 to acquire bid documents at a cost of P1,000. Submission and opening of bids to supply the scissors has been scheduled for the same day.

For the 93,000 plastic receptacles, interested suppliers have until April 11 to obtain bid documents at P25,000. Total funds allotted is  P27.9 million, or P300 per receptacle.

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)  said it would  help ensure that the voter verification receipts are not taken out of the polling stations to prevent vote buying.

Call for volunteers

PPCRV national chair Henrietta de Villa called for more volunteers as the group has to double the number of watchers since the voting hours are expected to be extended with the issuing of voter verification receipts.

The PPCRV will need 400,000 volunteers to man the 92,509 precincts nationwide, she said. But the group is aiming to recruit 800,000 volunteers nationwide, De Villa said.

The ideal ratio of PPCRV volunteers to precinct is four to one.

Aside from those assigned at the precincts, volunteers would be needed to man assistance desks at the voting centers and to monitor the transport of ballot boxes.