By BUENA C. BERNAL
COMING on the heels of the botched multimillion-peso ballot secrecy folder contract, a poll watchdog group has asked the Commission on Elections to explain how the P16.5 billion fund for the May elections is being used.
The National Citizens’ Movement For Free Elections said Comelec should exercise a “policy of disclosure.”
“The public needs to know. The public has a right to know,” said Namfrel national chairperson Jose Cuisia Jr. at a recent press conference.
Comelec, under Republic Act 9525, received a sum of P11.3 billion as supplemental budget for the Automated Election System (AES). This is separate from the P5.12 billion regular allocation for election expenses given every three years in the General Appropriations Act.
Namfrel discussed the alleged “undue haste and lapses” of Comelec’s election spending.
Among those cited were the lack of oversight earlier this month in the pricing of the 25-inch ballot secrecy folders, which would have cost the government some P690 million.
A total of 1.815 million folders, priced at P380 each, were supposed to be purchased. But the contract was cancelled after Sen. Aquilino Pimentel questioned the overpriced folders.
Namfrel also brought up Comelec’s leniency to Smartmatic International Corp.’s late deliveries and the propensity of awarding contracts without bidding.
Overbudget?
Based on the disclosed Notices of Award by Comelec, the expected election expenses as of April 12 is only at P1.6 billion sans the P7.2 billion Smartmatic-TIM bid to computerize the May 10 polls.
A breakdown of the goods and services purchased by Comelec showed the bulk of expenses went to logistics and technical support.
In a statement, Namfrel quoted Section 44 of the Automated Election Law (RA 9369) stating that if funds “shall not be fully utilized,” they shall still be appropriated for “electoral modernization” and “shall not revert to the General Fund.”
This, it said, was a “generous provision” and another reason why disclosure is important.
Apart from the disclosed acquisitions, Namfrel’s Bantay ng Bayan Research reported that P243 million has also been spent for approximately 77,000 ballot boxes. These were reportedly purchased from Smartmatic last Feb. 1 without undergoing the necessary bidding required by law.
Limited fund for voters’ educ
Namfrel also emphasized the lack of both a provision in the law and an appropriation in the budget for voter education.
Of the P1.6 billion disclosed expenses on the Award Notices, Comelec has spent only P620,000 for voter education, specifically for the printing and delivery of 82,500 pieces of printed out instruction to voters.
“There is a need to familiarize voters on how to vote so they will not be disenfranchised,” said Damaso Magbual, chair of the Namfrel Membership Committee at a separate press conference.
Magbual said a voter who is “minimally informed” regarding the process of voting in an automated system can cause “spoilage of ballots.”
“If the voter shades more than the required number of candidates to vote for or does not shade the oval properly, it will only render his vote void,” Magbual said.
When taken collectively, this can compromise the election results, he added.
The author is a student of the University of Sto. Tomas doing her summer internship with VERA Files.