Enrile pleads for 'orderly' canvassing

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile urged lawmakers to observe "complete decorum" as both chambers of Congress convened again on Wednesday for the canvassing of votes for president and vice president.

"The function of this proceeding is in accordance with the Constitution. It conforms to the function of a national canvassing board, for no other purpose than to determine who won in the last elections for president and vice president. This proceeding is not a board of inquiry," Enrile clarified in his opening statement.

He asked lawmakers and senators present, including members of the joint canvassing committee, to avoid raising inquiries with "hearsay evidence" and ask questions in "an orderly manner."

"Nobody is going to insult anybody. Nobody’s going to be insulted... We are not going to allow dilatory tactics or effort to delay any proceeding," he said.

He added that only those with concrete facts will be allowed by the committee to inquire with members of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Smartmatic-TIM, who were invited to clarify concerns about the supposed discrepancies in the automated elections.

The canvassing committee was expected to grill Comelec and Smartmatic officials and initially talk about the supposed absence of digital signatures in election returns (ERs) churned out by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines during the elections.

There are suggestions that without the digital signatures, the ERs cannot be considered as official election documents and legal bases for the proclamation of winning candidates, including those who ran for president and vice-president.

This is based on the Comelec's resolution issued last March 4, ordering the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) not to affix their digital signatures on the ERs before the transmission of votes to canvassing centers.

The Comelec has explained that the BEIs' digital signatures would be a redundant feature since the PCOS machines already have the same security feature.

Some lawmakers believe the Comelec's resolution was in violation of the Automated Elections Law and the E-Commerce Law.

'Hell will break loose in Congress'

Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen, a member of the House canvassing panel, earlier told ANC's Headstart on Tuesday that he expected chaotic proceedings once congressmen and senators start throwing questions at Comelec and Smartmatic officials.

"Maraming magtatanong dyan. Imagine 274 congressmen... I tell you, hell will break lose in Congress, pero hindi ako kasama dyan," Dilangalen said.

He said he sees a chaotic scenario because of the joint canvassing committee's decision allowing poll fraud complainants, mostly losing congressmen, to grill Comelec and Smartmatic officials.

He said the complaints of poll fraud should just be tackled in a joint public hearing.

Dilangalen insisted that the joint canvassing committee's task was simply to count votes for president and vice president and determine the authenticity of the election documents that will be used as basis for the proclamation of the winning candidates.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/26/10/enrile-pleads-orderly-canvassing