Manual elections would be a step backward

What is the likely repercussion of the Supreme Court ruling declaring null and void the P268.8-million deal between the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and technology provider Smartmatic-Total Information Management?

      

It would mean that given the tight schedule of  the Comelec to make adequate preparations, the May 2016 elections could be manual rather than automated.

And we all know what manual elections mean: the results would take days and even weeks to be known, with supporters of candidates very anxious to know if their bets would assume office or end up as losers.  

Manual elections would also mean dagdag-bawas, or vote padding and vote shaving, ballot box snatching, ballot box switching and the rule of guns, goons and gold on Election Day.   

The poll body will also have to start from scratch in its preparations for the forthcoming general elections.

What the Supreme Court said was that the Comelec’s extended warranty contract with Smartmatic for the diagnostics, repair and refurbishment of 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines was awarded without public bidding.

The SC justices pointed out that the Comelec failed to justify why it resorted to direct contracting instead of conducting a public bidding under Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The SC ruled that the all money paid to Smartmatic, if any, being public funds, should be returned to the government. The SC ruling is immediately executory.

We leave it to the Comelec to defend themselves from allegations that the deal with Smartmatic was railroaded. 

Our concern is that the Supreme Court might have failed to consider the time factor in their decision, thus unwittingly opening the door to massive fraud and violence that have been our sad experience in the past with manual elections.

Can the Comelec conduct a public bidding for the diagnostics, repair and refurbishment of the PCOS machines within the next few months or so? Perhaps not.

Then there's also the matter of Smartmatic claiming that only they can repair and refurbish the PCOS machines.

We all want honest, peaceful and credible elections. But manual elections could lead us to the very opposite: a fraudulent, violent and tainted voting process. This is a step backward that does not bode well for the future of  our democratic system. -end-