LAWMAKERS on Monday urged Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to convene an all-party caucus to discuss possible options to avert a possible no-election scenario next year even as an election watchdog pushed for the prosecution of former Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes.
Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Romualdez, leader of the House independent bloc, said congressional leaders should map out plans to help the Commission on Elections in pushing through with the May 9, 2016 elections after the Supreme Court junked the Comelec’s controversial deal with Smartmatic-TIM.
“We need to consult and put together all possible options we can have and take the best choice or decision to ensure that no-election scenario in next year’s midterm polls will not happen,” said Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association.
Romualdez’s position was supported by Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez, head of the Visayan Bloc and Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, senior member of the House Minority Bloc.
“We should have contingency plans in place to ensure that the scheduled elections next year will happen,” Albano, House contingent head for the minority bloc of the Commission on Appointments, said.
Benitez said Romualdez was correct in saying that a no-election scenario should not be an option, stressing an all-party caucus is needed to get the pulse of all lawmakers regarding the SC ruling.
“We can sit together in an all-party caucus to map out plans and arrive at best possible option we can to address this looming crisis (no-election scenario),” Benitez said.
Benitez said his group is planning to file a resolution for Congress “to find ways how to help the Comelec expedite the rebidding of the contract that nullified by the SC.”
“We need swift congressional intervention to avoid a no-el scenario and prevent manual voting which is vulnerable to cheating,” Benitez said.
“What if there is really no enough time for the rebidding? Can Congress come in and shorten the process and give special powers to Comelec to expedite the rebidding process through a legislative action? These things should be studied and consider by lawmakers at this stage now through a caucus,” Benitez added.
At the same time, election watchdog Automated Election System Watch called on the Comelec and Brillantes to explain a Commission on Audit report claiming the poll body had unliquidated cash totaling P3.214 billion.
“Under Brillantes, the Comelec has been turned into a milking cow for officials and its favored (Precint Count Optican Scan) vendor Smartmatic, making poll automation in the country the most expensive single computerized election project in the world,” said AES Watch spokesman Dr. Nelson Celis.
“The SC ruling should send a clear message to the officials of Comelec and government agencies entrusted with public funds that crime does not pay and they should not to tinker with the law,” he said.
The election watch dog cited the COA report tagging the Comelec as the government agency with the biggest unaccounted cash advances in 2013, the year of the mid-term automated elections.
AES Watch said the Comelec failed to account for a third of the total unliquidated cash advances incurred by several government agencies amounting to P10.136-billion.
The group also cited that during a yearly audits prior to 2013, the Comelec also failed to liquidate or account for “several hundreds of millions of pesos” of unconscionable expenditures.
AES Watch coordinator Evite Jimenez for her part also questioned the Comelec on the P30-million intelligence fund they have received from President Benigno Aquino III befgore the 2013 Senatorial elections to allgedly “spy on election critics.”
“Where did the cash advances go? Why were Brillantes, et al allowed to leave without accounting for the billions of pesos including the P30-million intelligence fund they received from Malacanang before the 2013 elections to spy on election critics?,” Jimenez said.
The poll watchdog also said that in the same 2013 COA report, there are other cases of no bidding during Brillantes’ stint, including the printing of the Voter’s Information and Instruction sheet at P72.3M used for the 2013 automated elections.
“It (COA) criticized the Comelec for its arbitrary decisions because of lack of planning as shown in the procurement of items not part of Comelec’s 2013 budget,” the AES watch said.
Brillantes on the other hand slammed AES Watch’s allegations and challenged the latter to file case against him.
He explained that it is normal that every election day, the unliquidated funds are increasing due to the several payment that needs to be made for the Comelec regional offices, military and police budge, and the teachers.
He said that when he assumed the position in January 2011, the Comelec had a P4-billion unliquidated cash advance funds but he was able to lessen from 2012 to 2013.