Comelec Chair George Garcia shows a sample of the electronic ballot during the Local Source Code Review of the Automated Election Systems (AES) at the Circuit Corporation One building in Makati city on October 11, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Former Comelec commissioner Gus Lagman has once again asked Election chairman George Garcia to consider their proposal to have a manual counting of votes to ensure transparency this coming midterm polls.   

Lagman attended the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) general membership meeting on Wednesday, where Garcia was the guest speaker. 

According to Lagman, this has been their cry since 2017 when he wrote a letter to the commission and suggested to have manual counting of votes under and automated elections. 

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“The law R.A. 9369, the law says that the election must be honest, orderly, peaceful and transparent and I believe that our election since 2010 have not been transparent. Nobody witnesses, no voter witnesses any of these steps in the entire process. The counting at the precincts which is the most crucial is not witnessed by the voters. You feed the ballot and then at 7 o’clock in the evening the machine counts the votes - nobody sees how their votes are counted,” Lagman said. 

“In many other countries the counting are manual - everybody believes that elections to be sound must be transparent. You removed the counting in the precinct the transparency is lost. Can we do something about that?” Lagman asked Garcia. 

Chairman Garcia explained that he and Lagman have different perspective as a lawyer and an IT expert, respectively. 

According to Garcia, there is a need to pass a law that will require the commission to conduct or go back to manual counting of votes. 

“Dapat po kasi maunawaan natin yung role ng Comelec….the Comelec is a constitutional body - it is not the duty of Comelec to promulgate laws to amend, revise, reverse a legislation. Yung sinasabi ni sir Gus, that should have been properly taken care of by an amendment of 9369 ( Republic Act). If the Comelec will attempt to even change the provision of the law then that is legislation - that is usurpation on judicial authority and power and therefore that is impeachable,” Garcia explained. 

Lagman believes that it only takes one day just like in other country to do the manual counting of votes, but Garcia has a different perspective.   

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“Kaya sabi ko sa inyo, I am not referred to argue on a point of law, because siyempre you will have your opinion, I will have my own opinion, lawyer ako - hindi po kayo lawyer… therefore, may problem po tayo sa interpretation sir Gus - siyempre iba yung interpretation ko, iba yung interpretation niya as an IT expert,” Garcia told Lagman. 

The poll chief explained that additional working hours for the teachers who will serve as electoral boards during election needs additional honorarium and therefore, the commission needs additional budget. 

”Kapag nagdagdag tayo ng isang layer sa ating sistema, kakailanganin…una ng batas, number 2 - kailangan natin ng budget kasi hindi naman papayag yung mga gusto na hanggang kinabukasan sila na magbibilang pagkatapos walang dagdag na budget,” Garcia said. 

Garcia made it clear that he is not against the idea of having a more transparent conduct of election, but the law must be passed first. 

“I am really for a hybridized system of election at least yung binabasa, sinusulat ng teacher, pinapasok sa makina… But our present law does not allow that unfortunately,” Garcia said.