THE Commission on Elections again missed its self-declared deadline to start the printing of official ballots for the May elections, the third time it has had to do so. The new target date is Feb. 15, the poll body said Monday.
At a press briefing, Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim said it was “automation or bust” for the May elections, since there was no longer enough time to go back to a manual system.
While expressing confidence that the Comelec will be able to automate the elections, he said technical problems could cause a postponement in some provinces.
In the same briefing, the director of operations at SLI Global Solutions, Traci Mapps, said the delay in printing was due to a compatibility error found in the consolidation and canvassing system, a system that consolidates and canvasses the election returns from some 92,000 clustered precincts.
He said fixing the problem would affect the common code that is also used in the election management system, and the Comelec has decided to change the final trusted build or code for the machines.
Lim said the problem could lead to a postponement of elections in some provinces.
“The problem is that it’s all related,” Lim said in Filipino. “Let’s say there are many problems and that by May 7 we are still configuring the machines. If they do not reach an area by May 9, they won’t have an election.”
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said that they will submit the revised source code to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday afternoon after SLI certifies the new code.
Bautista said that it was a “blessing in disguise” that they were able to detect the compatibility error three months before the Election Day.
Bautista said this would not “materially” affect the preparation for the coming elections.
“We are just going to move [the printing of the ballots] to maybe a week later,” he said.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate committee on electoral reforms, said he was disappointed that the Comelec did not prepare earlier for the polls.
“It’s worrisome.. It’s a very short period of time, because anything can happen… They’re still compiling the source code now and building the program. Who knows if there will be a bug that will be discovered?” Pimentel said.
“I’m disappointed at the many delays they are encountering. With anticipation and foresight, they could have foreseen these,” he added.
Also on Monday, Bautista warned all candidates for national office that they would strictly monitor their finances for overspending as the campaign period begins.
Last month, media research firm Nielsen Philippines reported that the top four presidential candidates have already spent nearly P1.6 billion on television advertisements in 2015.
Vice President Jejomar Binay shelled out P595,713,000; with Senator Grace Poe came in at second with P448,166,000; Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II was at third with P424,870,000; and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte spent P115,423,000.
Aside from the Comelec and its deputized agencies, the poll body has tapped the public to become pro-active against candidates engaged in illegal forms of campaigning.
“We are embarking on a shame campaign. We want to involve the citizenry. We are challenging our countrymen to take a picture of what they believe as illegal campaign materials of candidates,” Bautista had said last week.
Three of the five presidential candidates opted to hold their proclamation rallies Tuesday in Metro Manila as the 90-day campaign period begins.
The Partido Galing at Puso led by Poe and her vice presidential running mate Senator Francis Escudero invited the public to their proclamation rally at Plaza Miranda in front of Quiapo Church in Manila.
ҬVice President Jejomar C. Binay will launch his presidential campaign at the Welfareville Compound in Mandaluyong City as an expression of solidarity with poor Filipinos.
“Vice President Binay wants to launch his campaign with ordinary Filipinos who have been left behind and continue to struggle with poverty, hunger and unemployment,” said Office of the Vice President Media Affairs Division chief Joey Salgado.
“The vice president chose to hold his proclamation rally at Welfareville because he wanted to share with the masses his vision of a nation where rich and poor share the benefits of economic growth,” he added.
The tandem of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senate Alan Peter Cayetano chose Tondo, Manila for their official campaign kick off.
Peter Laviña, head of Duterte’s media group, said in a statement that this is where they intend to start a new beginning for the country and its people.
“Tondo mirrors the squalor, the neglect by government, the disparity between rich and poor that characterize the state of our nation,” he said.
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and her running mate, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had chosen Batac, Ilocos Sur as the venue for their proclamation rally, also on Tuesday.
Batac is the hometown of Marcos who is running under the Nacionalista Party. Santiago is seeking the presidency under her own party, the People’s Reform Party.
Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II and his running mate Leni Robredo will be in Capiz for their proclamation rally. With Macon Ramos Araneta