On OES

NSA Gonzales bats anew for Monsod-style poll automation to avoid national disaster

NATIONAL Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales yesterday urged anew the Commission on Elections to seriously consider the “open election system,” the poll automation scheme proposed by former election chief Christian Monsod, in the face of the possibility that the country will have to go back to manual elections in 2010.

“Reverting to manual elections next year is now a distinct possibility that we cannot allow to happen. It would be disastrous for the country to have a 2010 presidential election with questionable credibility,” Gonzales said.

The specter of manual balloting in the forthcoming national and local elections surfaced after the Comelec announced it has disqualified all seven bidders for the poll computerization contract.

Gonzales said the sorry status of the bidding process for the country's poll automation contract only shows the great risks involved in the giant leap from manual voting to full automation that the Comelec wants the country to make.

The national security chief noted that many of the country’s poll computerization experts are greatly concerned about the Comelec’s ability to implement fully automated elections in 2010 given its lack of experience and its present deficiencies in information technology.

Gonzales said that instead of courting national disaster by sticking to an ambitious plan that may not work, the Comelec should take a second look at OES, an alternative scheme that is simpler, much easier to implement but much more transparent, more fraud-proof and just as speedy.

“We are running out of time for the preparation for full automation, but we still have adequate time for OES,” Gonzales added.

OES retains manual voting and precinct-level counting but automates the canvass process. It is designed to keep the transparency of manual voting and precinct-level counting but at the same time address dagdag-bawas which occurs at the canvassing for national elections.

Gonzales noted that this scheme, half-way between manual and fully automated elections, is more fit to the present readiness not only of the Comelec but more so of the country's electorate, particularly the elders most of whom have not touched a computer.

The system is being pushed by a group of electoral reform advocates and computer experts led by former Comelec chair Christian Monsod and it is being backed by the national security chief and at least 38 Catholic bishops.

The group of Monsod points out that the full automation system that the Comelec chose to adopt makes voting, counting and canvassing internal and instantaneous thus removing the transparency of manual voting and counting. The group reminds that most voters would trust a system more where they can actually see the counting of ballots.

The proponents of OES have also been pointing out that government can save at least P7 billion from the P11.3 billion approved supplemental budget for full automation of 2010 elections if Comelec opts to adopt OES instead. – (30)