PCOS pullout may negate poll protests — Macalintal
By Marie A. Surbano 06/16/2010 Election protest cases, including one that defeated vice presidential bet Sen. Manuel Roxas II, plans to file, may come to naught since the more than 82,200 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines that the government leased from automated poll equipment contractor will be pulled out by the end of this year. Based on previous cases, it takes more than two years to resolve challenges on the result of elections and even those involving local candidates filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) are not decided on until near the next election period. Protests on the presidential and vice presidential votes are filed with the Presidential Election Tribunal (PET) composed of members of the Supreme Court and past protest cases took close to three years to resolve. According to election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, the expiration of the contract between Comelec and the supplier Smartmatic Corp., and Total Information Management Corp will also result in the pulling out of the computers. “These protest cases, Including that of Mar Roxas against (vice president-elect Jejomar) Binay, may not be possible at all since by December 31 the PCOS machines will be gone,” Macalintal said during a forum. “Everything should be accomplished while the PCOS machines are still here… If not, it would be goodbye to all protest cases in the country,” he added. Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100616hed2.html |
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