THE Commission on Elections yesterday ordered
the full automation of the August 2008 elections in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), saying this would
be a good gauge of the feasibility of automated polls in 2010.
In Resolution 8415 issued last Feb. 6,
Comelec ordered the use of two systems: one for perennial
problem area Maguindanao and another for the rest of the region.
"The use of different kinds of automated
election systems will allow Comelec to evaluate the suitability
of the two different technologies of the Philippine setting
preparatory to designing an automated election system for
nationwide use in 2010," said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez.
The two technologies to be used are the
Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) which allows voting through
touch-screens, and Optical Media Reader (OMR) which will
requires voters to fill up ballots to be tabulated by special
machines.
Jimenez said the designation of Maguindanao
as the test area for DRE was based on the commission en banc’s
consideration of the province’s development level as well as the
"contiguous" nature of its geography.
He said Resolution 8415 contains almost the
entire recommendation of the advisory council that was mandated
by the election automation law to suggest what technology to use
in automating the elections. "The only difference in the
recommendation was in the scope of the DRE. The recommendation
was originally only for two cities in the ARMM," Jimenez said,
adding that the Comelec en banc considered the suggested
coverage too limited.
Maguindanao is the province where the results of the 2007
midterm elections were allegedly manufactured after the
administration’s Team Unity swept the Genuine Opposition, 12-0
in the senatorial race. ARMM, composed of Basilan, Lanao del Sur,
Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, has a
population of 2,803,805 and 1,504,024 registered voters. –
Gerard M. Naval
