Congress to start canvassing votes on Wednesday

Congress will finally start at 2 p.m. on Wednesday the official counting of the votes cast for president and vice-president.

The Senate and the House of Representatives convened as the National Board of Canvassers on Tuesday to approve the rules on the canvassing of the results of the country's first automated elections.

After long deliberations on the Rules of the Joint Public Session of Congress on Canvassing of the Votes Cast for the President and Vice-Presidential candidates, both Houses approved it before 5 p.m.

While the 12 senators have been proclaimed based on the tally of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), the Constitution mandates that the National Board of Canvassers count the votes and proclaim the winners of the presidential and vice-presidential elections.

The Comelec tally--which comprises around 90% of precincts nationwide--shows that Aquino will win the presidential election with around 14 million votes. His closest rival, former President Joseph Estrada, has around 9 million votes.

The vice-presidential election, however, is still too close to call. Leading candidate Makati Mayor Jejomar "Jojo" Binay has a slim lead of 800,000 votes over Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II. Binay has 13.6 million votes so far. Roxas has 12.8 million.

(See ABS-CBN tally:)

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said they will proclaim the next president and vice-president on or before June 15, or two weeks before the positions will be constitutionally vacant on June 30.

Delays

The joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives started at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, but the process was delayed when congressmen questioned the rules of canvassing. New rules were drafted for the first nationwide automated elections.

The senators quickly approved the Rules of the Joint Public Session of Congress on Canvassing of the Votes Cast for the President and Vice-Presidential candidates, but congressmen expressed various concerns on the authenticity of the electronically-transmitted election results.

The House approved the rules at 4:54 p.m.

Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen questioned the alleged absence of digital signatures on the certificates of canvass (COCs).

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman asked what ought to be done in case of discrepancies between the electronically-transmitted results and the printed COCs.

The Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine used in the May 10 elections printed the election returns and then sent the results electronically to the various servers.

Based on the rules, the National Board of Canvassing will consider both the electronic results and the printed COCs.

While House Speaker Prospero Nograles allowed the congressmen to express their concerns before the joint session on Tuesday, he ruled that these issues will be dealt with if the problems arise during the canvassing.

"We will follow the provisions of the law," vowed Nograles.

Nograles himself filed before the Comelec an election protest against the proclamation of his rival, Sara Duterte, in the mayoralty race in Davao City.

Joint Panel

Instead of the entire Congress, the senators and the congressmen created a joint committee panel to compose the National Board of Canvassers. The Senate and House have nine members each in their respective panels.

The members from the Senate are Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Rodolfo Biazon, Alan Peter Cayetano, Aquilino Pimentel, Gregorio Honasan, Edgardo Angara, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Joker Arroyo.

Representatives Prospero Nograles (Davao City), Arthur Defensor Sr. (Iloilo), Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan), Neptali Gonzales II (Mandaluyong), Jesus Crispin Remulla (Cavite), Roilo Golez (Parañaque), Didagen Dilangalen (Maguindanao), Michael John Jack Duavit (Rizal), and Matias Defensor (Quezon City).

The alternate members of the board are Senators Francis Pangilinan, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Estrada, Pia Cayetano, and representatives Simeon Datumanong, Teodoro Locsin, Rufus Rodriguez, Lorenzo Tañada III, Liwayway Chato, Pedro Romualdo, Joseph Emilio Abaya, Eduardo Zialcita, Giorgidi Aggabao, and Darlene Antonino Custodio.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/25/10/congress-start-canvassing-votes-wednesday