THE Genuine Opposition yesterday described as "an unconstitutional infringement" on press freedom an order of the Commission on Elections for TV networks to stop conducting quick counts.

GO spokesman Adel Tamano said GMA-7 and ABS-CBN are doing the public a great service with their quick counts.

"It is a public service because the people want information," Tamano said.

Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos on Wednesday ordered the TV networks to stop their quick count operations because they are not accredited by the Comelec.

Only the National Movement for Free Elections and the National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines have been accredited by the poll body.

Abalos also said TV stations are not supposed to show unofficial tallies because this could result in "trending" and might "create confusion among candidates, their supporters and the people."

The two TV networks stopped their quick counts on Tuesday, before the Namfrel-Nassa quick count started.

Tamano said Abalos’ statement that TV networks could report but not collate votes "is plainly illogical."

"Vote collation involves simple arithmetic and is but a synthesis of the votes that Chairman Abalos admits the press can report on," Tamano said.

"The counts are a matter of public interest and cannot be prohibited on a mere suspicion by the Comelec that the count will be used for trending," he added.

Team Unity deputy spokesman Tonypet Albano said he is not against the airing of media count if the networks practice "fair play."

At the weekly, Kapihan sa Senado, Albano said GMA-7 and ABS-CBN failed to air the canvassing of ballots in areas where administration candidates are doing well.

"For us, we are not hitting the media per se. But we are finding fault that if you can see the media surveys, the exit surveys that they are conducting, they do not report where the election returns that they’ve gotten the numbers are from," said Albano.

Furthermore, Albano said the distribution of percentage of election returns that the media networks have gathered "is not proportionate to the voting population of the whole Philippines."

"Ilabas muna nila yung resulta sa Visayas at Mindanao, payag na kami," he said. It is in those two areas that TU says it will bury GO candidates.

He questioned the credibility of the quick count operation being conducted by one network, which he said is being supervised by a GO candidate. He refused to name the network.

Tamano said GO was not trying to influence the quick counts. He said GO has no connection with either TV network.

"The track record of these quick counts, historically, has been quite accurate. And just because it doesn’t favor one side, it seems unfair for that side to cry foul when in 2004, that side was saying okay yung mga quick counts because it showed that they are winning. I think we just have to consistent," Tamano said. – JP Lopez