MANILA, Philippines - Amid delays and security threats in connection with the May 10 automated elections, House Speaker Prospero Nograles expressed confidence in Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman and former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo.
 
"Let's trust him. I know that he's a good man. He will perform his duties as chairman of the Comelec," Nograles said in a press conference on Tuesday.
 
"In fairness to Justice Melo, his reputation has preceded him. I believe in his integrity. I don't think that he will want to tarnish his reputation after all these years in the judiciary," Nograles added.
 
Before joining the Comelec, Melo served as Supreme Court associate justice. He also headed the "Melo Commission," a body created by President Arroyo to investigate political killings in the country. His appointment to the Comelec was backed by poll watchdog group Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.
 
The Comelec recently expressed concerns about reports that 5,000 cellular phone jammers have been brought into the country.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez fears they may be used to delay transmission of elections results. The transmission will highly depend on the telecommunication signals of Smart, Globe, and Sun.
 
This security threat has surfaced as the Comelec is rushing to meet its poll automation timeline and deadlines. Comelec has yet to train teachers who will serve as election inspectors. The printing of ballots has also been delayed supposedly to improve quality control.
 
Hands off

At this point, Congress can no longer interfere in the conduct of elections, Nograles said.

"You know, this is a problem that only the Comelec can decide. Remember, the constitutional provision is nobody else is in charge of the conduct of elections except the Comelec. Nobody else, not Congress, not the Supreme Court, not the executive branch. The conduct of the elections--to ensure free, honest, orderly, and clean elections--is in the hands of the constitutional body known as the Comelec," Nograles said.
 
"As Speaker, I can only advice Comelec. 'Can we do it this way? Can we do it that way?' But all else is really up to them. We cannot force them to do something they don't want to do. If they tell us they are fully confident and ready for the full automation, what is there for us to do except accept it. Wala tayo magagawa dyan," he added.
 
Word of Caution

Still, Nograles cautioned Comelec to carefully study its options with respect to the May 10 elections.
 
"Yun lang, we're just cautioning him (Melo). Congressman Pablo Garcia (Cebu) and the House leadership, we are just cautioning the Comelec, as we have been cautioning them on the floor many times, kapag hindi tayo sigurado sa ginagawa nating automation, medyo pag-aralan nating mabuti," Nograles said.
 
In last year's all-member caucus, many congressmen expressed concerns over full automation of the presidential elections. Garcia proposed hybrid automation. He wanted voting and local canvassing to be manual while the transmission of election results to the national level will be automated.
 
There are also proposals to automate elections only in areas with strong signals. Based on a yet-to-be-completed survey by election machine provider Smartmatic-TIM, around 30% of the precincts nationwide don't have reliable signals from Smart, Globe, and Sun.
 
Despite all these hitches, Comelec has pushed for 100% full automation. However, it has also decided to print manual forms to accommodate 30% of the total precincts in case automation partly fails. Comelec said this is only a contingency plan. - by Marielle Dianne S. Misula, Newsbreak intern