Automation options

According to Tinsay, there are a number of options for automating the elections, and the two options PCS is considering are a "fully automated voting" system and a "computer-assisted manual voting" scheme.

Other alternatives include the use of voting machines or the "Botong Pinoy" system donated by Mega Data Corp. The administration is also looking at the possibility of using of the automated counting machines (ACMs) which the Supreme Court banned in its January 2004 ruling declaring as "illegal" the bidding process the Comelec conducted for purchasing the machines.

Last Aug. 23, the SC rejected the petition filed by President Gloria Arroyo's election lawyer Romulo Macalintal requesting that the ACMs be used for the May 2007 elections.

"Assuming the SC allows a motion for reconsideration filed by the petitioner, the preparation for the use of the ACMs should immediately start now," Tinsay said. "If we lose a few more months, it won't be technically viable anymore."