Chance to prove auto fraud FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/10/2010

Chance to prove auto fraud

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/10/2010 At least two candidates who lost in the last elections have filed protests, one on the local level, by former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, and another on the national level, by former Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas, who ran for the vice presidency last May, and lost to Vice President Jojo Binay. With these two protests, there may finally be evidence obtained to prove allegations that electoral fraud was committed, both in the local and national levels. More importantly, these protests, expensive as they are, will very likely will take too long a time for the specific ballot review bodies to resolve, given past experiences with protests and their resolutions. But these protests will also check on the reliability and accuracy of those very expensive leased precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and just how cheating can be done. But there appears to be a move to thwart even this, as the latest report has it that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be using the PCOS machines to resolve election protest cases filed before this body even saying that Roxas’ protest is a waste of time. Chairman Jose Melo was quoted as saying that should there be cases requiring a recount, the poll body will be using the machines for the recount, as the commission will forgo the manual counting of the ballots. “It is going to be a machine count. There is no way there will be a human count,” Melo said, adding that conducting a manual count would bring back the risk of committing human errors in the process. “That will bring back the human intervention problem in the manual system again. No way. After the 2010 automated elections, manual counting is obsolete,” Melo added. .... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100710com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL No coincidences, these FRONTLINE Chance to prove auto fraud focus As polls loom, Obama is dealt tough hand