Manila Bulletin - Friday, November 6
Senate Majority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. has expressed fears the Commission on Elections (Comelec) may not be able to complete full electoral automation as the equipment for the May 2010 elections have not arrived.
Pimentel told journalists at the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt in Quezon City that Smartmatic and its suppliers may not be able to use the equipment on time since the manufacturer in Taiwan had been damaged heavily by recent typhoons.
The manufacturer has actually shifted the production to factories in China, he added, and we have to know exactly if they could deliver the goods in time.
"This should lead to delays. We should also expect problems with the quality of machines and we have to know exactly if the machines can perform as expected and that their quality is not compromised," he added.
Pimentel said he support automation since it represents an advance in the electoral process that could "end the career of new Garcillanos but we have to have the machines so officials could learn how to use them as well as the voters who need to be educated about the process."
Actually, he added, the machines have been customized to provide the "paper trail needed so everything could be checked and counterchecked to ensure the integrity of the process."
Lawyer Rafael Vicente R. Calinisan, former President Estrada's spokesman, also revealed that there is no stopping the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) from pushing with the candidacy of the former chief executive.
"It's all systems go. There's no turning back," Calinisan told the Manila Bulletin.
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Senate Majority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. has expressed fears the Commission on Elections (Comelec) may not be able to complete full electoral automation as the equipment for the May 2010 elections have not arrived.
Pimentel told journalists at the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt in Quezon City that Smartmatic and its suppliers may not be able to use the equipment on time since the manufacturer in Taiwan had been damaged heavily by recent typhoons.
The manufacturer has actually shifted the production to factories in China, he added, and we have to know exactly if they could deliver the goods in time.
"This should lead to delays. We should also expect problems with the quality of machines and we have to know exactly if the machines can perform as expected and that their quality is not compromised," he added.
Pimentel said he support automation since it represents an advance in the electoral process that could "end the career of new Garcillanos but we have to have the machines so officials could learn how to use them as well as the voters who need to be educated about the process."
Actually, he added, the machines have been customized to provide the "paper trail needed so everything could be checked and counterchecked to ensure the integrity of the process."
Lawyer Rafael Vicente R. Calinisan, former President Estrada's spokesman, also revealed that there is no stopping the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) from pushing with the candidacy of the former chief executive.
"It's all systems go. There's no turning back," Calinisan told the Manila Bulletin.
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