Congress to conduct recount

determine PCOS accuracy

to

MANILA, Philippines - With the accuracy of the

precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines used
by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) still
being questioned less than two years before the
next national elections, Congress will be conducting
a recount of the votes of three precincts to see if the
system should be retained.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Joint
Congressional
Oversight
Committee
on
the
Automated Election System, said he would lead his
colleagues in the Senate and the House of
Representatives in supervising the recount of ballots
of three precincts in Gapan, Nueva Ecija on Aug. 28.
The Comelec offered to reopen the ballots in the
three precincts in response to allegations from
supporters of evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who
ran and lost in the senatorial elections of 2013.
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. gave the
oversight committee in its hearing yesterday his
side on the claims of supporters of Villanueva, which
appeared in the article of The STAR columnist Jarius
Bondoc.
Brillantes said he has responded to Bondoc to prove
that there were no issues with the results of the
voting in those three precincts.
Bernardo Aranas and Arlan Esteban, supporters of
Villanueva, filed a civil case in the Gapan regional
trial court, not to protest the results of the senatorial
election in the province, but to show discrepancies
in the count in favor of the religious leader.
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Brillantes noted Gapan RTC Judge Celso Baguio

ordered a physical count of the ballots in the three
precincts, which showed a discrepancy of over 100
votes in one and seven each for the other two.

He pointed out the physical ballots could be

tampered, especially since the election took place
over a year ago.
Its over a year since election, why hasnt Brother
Eddie filed a protest if he believes that he won. We
could have opened these. Why is he complaining
now and through an RTC judge through a civil case?
Brillantes asked.
If what theyre claiming is correct that the
physical count made by the judge would prevail
over the count of the PCOS then I will resign as
chairman even today, he added.
A motion to dismiss was filed by the Comelec based
on the argument that the RTC in Gapan had no
jurisdiction.
Pimentel said the recount of the three precincts in
Gapan during the next hearing of the joint oversight
committee on Aug. 28 would present a clearer
picture to the public on the accuracy of the PCOS
machines.
Once and for all the joint congressional oversight
committee on the automated election system will be
the one to conduct a recount because we have been
hearing a lot of talk that the count of the PCOS
machines is inaccurate, Pimentel said.
So let us look at this because Bro. Eddie Villanueva
was able to open three ballot boxes, which were
recounted by the RTC so the congressional
committee of the House and the Senate will do the
counting so that we would know once and for all just
how accurate are the PCOS machines because we
are getting conflicting reports, he added.
For 2015, the Comelec has a proposed budget of
P16.8 billion, out of which P3.76 billion would be
used to purchase 41,800 PCOS machines based on
the briefing paper on the 2015 national budget
submitted by the Department of Budget and
Management.

For the two precincts where discrepancies of seven

votes each were recorded, Brillantes said he was
sure that the people who counted the ballots
included the over votes for Villanueva, which
should not have been included in the first place.

The Comelec Advisory Council, led by Louis

Napoleon Casambre, has recommended the current
system using the PCOS machines be used for the
2016 elections because it would be a more
judicious use of public funds and the electorate
already has experience with the system.

He explained that over votes consisted of ballots

that contained more than 12 votes for senators,
which should not be counted and were not counted
by the PCOS machines.

Casambre said though the Comelec should seriously

consider the use of multiple or mixed technologies
to
promote
inter-operability
and
encourage
innovative solutions.

For the other precincts where there were over 100

discrepancies recorded, Brillantes said he has not
yet seen the records but believes the ballots were
tampered.
I am about to decrypt all this, but we are going to
reset this so the public would see. When we decrypt
this, my own feeling is that this precinct, where
there was over 100 recovery by Villanueva, has
been tampered. Physical ballots were tampered. We
will see this in the decryption, Brillantes said.

Mix of old, new voting systems eyed for

2016
MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections
yesterday welcomed the recommendation of the
Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) to use mixed voting
technologies in the 2016 presidential polls.

We welcome that and well be having a special en

banc meeting to discuss the recommendation, said
Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle.
During the joint congressional oversight committee
hearing on Thursday, CAC chair Louis Casambre
announced the councils recommendation for the
Comelec to reuse the precinct count optical scan
(PCOS) machines in the coming elections.
The CAC, however, proposed to the Comelec to also
use other voting systems, like the direct-voting
electronic technology, as long as they are
compatible with the canvassing system.

problems in the countrys educational system are

resolved.
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Under Republic Act 10533 or the K to 12 Basic

Education Program Law, the additional years in high
school will serve as a specialization period for senior
high school students (Grades 11 and 12) whether in
vocational skills, music arts or sports.

The council also proposed that Comelec holds open

public bidding for the other technologies.

DepEd said it is addressing the prerequisites for

successful implementation of the succeeding
stages, including the introduction of senior high
school and the construction of around 30,000 new
classrooms for Grades 11 and 12.

But Tagle said the Comelec would rather have a new

voting technology if it would be given sufficient
budget.

Public and private colleges and universities have

also
rejected
Trillanes
proposal
to
defer
implementation of K to 12 program.

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Jose Paulo Campos, president of the Philippine

Association of Private Schools, Colleges and
Universities, said the delay in the implementation of
the K to 12 program would only make the
Philippines less competitive than other countries in
Southeast Asia.

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We asked for P16 billion for new technology but the

DBM (Department of Budget and Management) said
we can only have P10 billion. That would not be
enough if we want to have new machines, new
voting system, he noted.
I think this will all depend on the budget that will
be given to us, he added.

Noy urged to
implementation

postpone

to

12

MANILA, Philippines - A group of parents yesterday

called on President Aquino to postpone the
nationwide implementation of the enhanced Basic
Education Program or K to 12 Law in 2016.
Rey Vargas, founding chairman of the Parents for
Childrens Education (PACE), also pushed for the
review of the law, which adds two more years to the
four-year high school curriculum.
Majority of consultations were conducted with
members of the academic community, such as
school administrators and teachers. Public hearings,
if there were, do not substantiate actual and
realistic parental concerns, Vargas said.
He also urged the government to ensure that
academic institutions are prepared before it fully
implements the senior high school program in June
2016.
PACE will convene parents in a forum on Aug. 16 at
the Malate Catholic School in Manila to discuss the K
to 12 law and its impacts.
Earlier, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV had also urged the
Department of Education (DepEd) to suspend
implementation of the K to 12 program until basic

Energy watch: No need for emergency

powers
MANILA, Philippines - Government Watch led by
industrialist Raul Concepcion is urging the
government to implement other solutions to avert
the looming power shortage next year instead of
declaring a state of emergency in the power sector.
While he recognized the power shortage that could
cripple next years economic growth, Concepcion
said there are other solutions the government can
implement instead of invoking Section 71 of the
Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA),
the landmark power reform law.
Earlier, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla
proposed to invoke Section 71 of EPIRA, which would
give the President emergency powers to address
next years critical power supply.
Under a state of emergency, the government would
be able to rent bunker-fired power generators to
provide additional power capacity.
But instead of declaring a state of emergency,
Concepcion said the government can conduct full
and accurate auditing of existing power plants,
carefully manage the scheduling of maintenance
shutdown so that overlaps are avoided, conduct

inspections to see if these plants are being properly

maintained and impose heavy penalties on
violators.
The group also noted that power generators that
exceed their outage allowances should be required
to source power at contract cost, regardless of
source, instead of passing through the higher cost
from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),
the countrys trading floor for electricity.
They also urged the government to address
permitting
issues
and
other
bureaucratic
impediments, so that new power plants come online
as scheduled.
Furthermore, the group said the government should
fast-track the rehabilitation of one unit or 300
megawatts of the Malaya Thermal Power plant in
Rizal in time for summer 2015 and facilitate the
entry of the 100 MW Avion natural gas plant of First
Gen Corp. to early March instead of April 2015.
The government should also continue to implement
the interruptible load program (ILP), which proved

effective during periods of tight supply in the

Visayas and Mindanao.
In the midst of a looming power shortage in 2015,
Govt Watch appeals for sobriety. While the threat is
real, there are solutions, many of which do not
involve granting the President emergency powers,
they added.
Government Watch warned that rotating blackouts
that could hit the country next summer would be
bad for the economy.
If the power supply situation does not improve we
may be faced with a power crisis that could cause
higher electricity prices, or worse, rotating
brownouts during the summer months in 2015. We
must act now in order to avert an energy crisis in
2015, the watchdog said.