Comelec: Resibo di puwede, on-screen verification ok

Nagpasya ang Commission on Elections na di mag-isyu ng voting receipt para sa parating na halalan, pero pinayagan ang paggamit ng “on-screen verification.”

Pinili ng komisyon ang on-screen verification kaysa sa pag-iisyu ng resibo matapos pag-aralan ang “cost, benefit, and risks” sabi ni COMELEC Chairman Andres Bautista.

“This (on-screen verification) was one feature which, we thought, really increases transparency. It also will build confidence because at least, the voter, just like in an ATM machine, would see how the machine is counting or assessing the vote, without having to print a receipt which can be the evidence later on for vote-buying,” sabi ni Bautista sa pulong-balitaan kahapon.

Bibigyan aniya ng COMELEC ang mga botante ng di lalampas sa 15 segundo para silipin ang mga laman ng kanilang balota sa isang screen, kung ito ilalabas ng vote-counting machines.

Ayon kay Bautista, may “agam-agam” ang komisyon na dahil sa prosesong ito ay maaring masilip ng mga botante ang mga laman ng balota ng iba, at mapatagal ang botohan sa isang presinto nang 2 oras at 30 minuto.

Pinangangambahan rin aniya ang COMELEC na may mga botanteng di sasang-ayon sa makikita sa screen, at may mga kandidatong manggugulo sa halalan kapag napansing sila’y natatalo na.

“We recognize that there are risks involved. And yet, we aired on the side of transparency, believing that, this will be better for the credibility of the elections. For so long as it is not abused, we think that it will work,” ani Bautista.

“I must admit that there is a bit of a gamble in this regard, but I think, there is also a higher purpose that we are trying to achieve, which is to provide more comfort to the voter that his or her vote is being counted properly,” aniya pa.

Ipinaliwanag naman ni COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez na matapos makita ang laman ng kanilang balota sa screen ay dalawang uri lang ng pagkakamali ang maaaring “iwasto” ng mga botante — mga item na di namarkahan at yaong mga kulang ang marka.

“The mark [voters] cannot correct is an overvote. If a mark is already read as a vote, that cannot be changed,” ani Jimenez.

Minaliit naman ni Jimenez ang pangamba ng ilang grupo na madadaya ang on-screen verification sa pamamamagitan ng mga “pre-loaded” na larawan ng balota.

“The fear of pre-loading has been around since the start of automation, it has been there since 2010, it was there in 2013, and it’s here again now. In 2010 and 2013, they said the fear of pre-loading would be removed if you have verification, now we have verification they are saying, ‘ah, it’s the verification that is giving us this fear.’ That’s kind of a circular argument already,” ani Jimenez.

Sinabi naman ni Bautista na naniniwala siyang maaari pa ring magkaroon ng halalan kung saan may iniisyung resibo, pero hindi ngayong Mayo 9 dahil may mga kailangang baguhin sa sistema ng eleksyon.

“We should change this concept of having a synchronized elections for both national and local, we should rethink as to whether or not why do we only have elections for one day, why cant we have elections for several days? And if it is a longer time we need to elect, I think we have time also to print out the receipts,” aniya.

Ayon kay Bautista, ipinadala ng COMELEC kahapon sa Korte Suprema ang sagot nito sa mga petisyong humihiling na pag-isyuhin ng voting receipts ang komisyon.

Una dito, naghain sina senatorial candidates Richard Gordon at Greco Belgica, pati na ang partido ni presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte na PDP-Laban, ng magkakahiwalay na petisyong humiling sa Korte Suprema na utusan ang COMELEC na maglabas ng voting receipts.