MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Bar Association (PBA) President and former Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo said an Acting President Arroyo coming into power as Speaker of the House of Representatives--should the automated elections fail at the national level fail--could lead to an easy shift to a parliamentary government.

Marcelo said an Arroyo-led House of Representatives could convene itself into a constituent body to force a shift to a parliamentary government.

However, he was quick to add any amendments to the Constitution are subject to a plebiscite for ratification.

“May danger syempre. They can convene themselves as constituent body to convert the form of government to parliamentary. Kailangan ng plebiscite, But I don’t think that will happen,” he said.
 
When asked if he thought that the President, who was once a private client in his law firm before she appointed him as Ombudsman, was addicted to power, Marcelo simply said, “It's human nature once you taste something good. I don’t know about her.”

Deliberate failed polls?

Citing the various hiccups in the preparations for the automated elections next month,  Marcelo said the numerous vulnerabilities and inadequacies of the preparations of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the May 2010 automated elections make it “hard not to think hindi ito deliberate sa dami ng palpak.”

Marcelo said those who are seeking a failure of the polls next month seem to be exploiting accidents of history to their benefit.

He recited these accidents to include the President’s long time campaign promise to automate the electoral system, and her appointment of members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Marcelo challenged the Comelec to dispel talk that it is a willing participant in a plot to sabotage the elections by  adopting their proposal for a parallel manual count.

In the PBA’s proposal, a manual count of votes at the precinct level will be prepared to counter-check the results of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines prior to transmission to canvassing centers.

Marcelo said that should there be differences in the manual and automated counts, the manual count should prevail because it will prove that the automated system is flawed.

Their proposal calls for a manual count and manual preparation of precinct election returns for the positions of president, vice president, governor, congressman and mayor, excluding the position of senator, as this will make the manual count more time consuming.

“Sabi ko nga, pag di nila inaccept proposal namin, in my own opinion, yun nga it's being exploited. Our proposal is very cost effective eh,” he said.

SC can legalize GMA holdover

While he didn’t directly tag that the President was behind attempts to sabotage the automated polls, Marcelo did say that the President could benefit from the scenario since the Supreme Court, where her appointees hold a majority, can legalize her as a holdover president should there be a vacuum.

Marcelo also said the Supreme Court can also uphold the legality of a military take over should elections fail.

He likened the scenario to what happens in a company whenever an annual stockholders meeting fails to convene and no new set of officers is elected. “Maraming andiyan sa corporate world, pag di tuloy stockholders' meeting, incumbent president (nag-stay).”
 
The military is currently headed by a chief of staff perceived close to the President, her former Presidential Security Group chief, General Delfin Bangit.

'Enrile plan unrealistic'

Marcelo also dismissed Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s proposal for him to convene the Senate to elect a new Senate president should elections fail just to secure the constitutional line of succession in case no winner is proclaimed by June 30,  the constitutional end of the current terms of President Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro, Enrile and House Speaker Prospero Nograles. 

Only these 4 posts are allowed to succeed to the presidency in case there’s a vacancy.

“Sorry, unrealistic ang Enrile proposal. Oras mag-failure, gulo na. I don’t think they will be able to convene yung power blocs. Kaniya kaniyang maniobra na iyan.”

Marcelo said their proposal for a manual parallel count will only entail the additional printing of forms for election returns for the manual count.

Marcelo said they are bothered by reports of PCOS machines bogging down during recent tests, the lack of a source code review, and the lack of some security features on ballots.

Marcelo said the Comelec still has time to adopt their proposal since they have yet to come up with a continuity plan, which is their contingency plan for the elections.