The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is prepared to deploy Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) as a contingency measure should the Supreme Court (SC) ask it to stop the implementation of a resolution on remote online voting for overseas Filipino voters.
"May 16,000 na excess na makina kami. Mayroon lang naman tayong more or less 93 Posts abroad. So kahit magpadala tig-isang makina, kahit pa may contingency. Yung balota naman napakadali namin maimprenta (We have 16,000 excess machines. We only have about 93 posts abroad. So even if we send one machine to each, we should be fine, even with contingencies. As for the ballots, we can print them very easily)," Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in an interview on Thursday, April 3.
This was after a petition was filed by the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and several individuals, that asked SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would stop the enforcement of four Comelec resolutions – Resolution Nos. 11061, 11076, 11079, and 11081.
The four Comelec resolutions, the SC was told, were unconstitutional as these were issued beyond the poll body’s legal power or authority and in violation of the provisions of Republic Act No. 9369, the Election Automation Law, and RA 10590, the Overseas Voting Act of 2013.
The petitioners also asked the SC to compel Garcia and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Austria Manalo to properly enforce Section 31 of RA No. 9369 which mandates manual counting of ballots at the precinct level, and the provisions of RA No. 10590 which mandates an on-site counting and canvassing process.
Garcia said that they have expected their move to be questioned in the past two years, so as to find out if their action was correct and that they will be guided by the SC.
He also stated that this method was warmly welcomed by Filipinos including various embassies and consulates around the world.
He cited RA 10590 which states that the poll body can venture into other mode/modes of voting.
Garcia also said that they had made proper consultations regarding this when they defended Comelec's budget in the House of Representatives and four times before the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms.
According to the poll chief, voter turnout is usually low when the only available mode is in-person voting. Before Comelec introduced internet voting, the only modes were in-person voting and postal voting.
"Noong nakaraang eleksyon 40.59 percent lamang ang nakaboto sa atin pong dalawang modes of voting. Yan po ay 600,000 sa 1.976 milyon na botante abroad (In the last election in 2022, only 40.59 percent of our voters participated using two modes of voting. That amounts to 600,000 out of 1.976 million voters abroad)," Garcia said.
In that election, he said that Comelec spent almost P600 million which is roughly P1,000 per overseas voter, which is higher than the amount regularly spent when voting in the Philippines. So far, Garcia said that almost 19,000 have enrolled for internet voting.
He said the petitioner could have filed this earlier since overseas voting would begin 10 days from now by April 13. Nonetheless, Comelec said that they would comply with the SC's ruling on the petition.
Overseas voting will last for a month from April 13 to May 12, coinciding with election day in the Philippines.