Gordon bats for voters' education and training of Comelec officers and BEIs

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to devise a well-planned program for voters' education and training of local Comelec officers and teachers to familiarize themselves with the automated election system (AES) for the 2010 polls.

Gordon made the call as the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) observed the lack of time allotted for the training of local Comelec officers and teachers who make up the board of election inspectors (BEIs), as well as the education of voters in the use of the electronic voting machines during the Aug. 11 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) automated elections.

"Because of this little space for training many PPCRV ARMM Coalition volunteers lacked the necessary skills, which eroded their confidence, to monitor the conduct of elections as effectively as they should. It also allowed election operators some elbow room for fraud," said Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV National Chairperson, in her report submitted to the joint congressional oversight committee on AES.

In response, Gordon, Senate panel chairman of the AES oversight body, said that the conduct of a well-planned voters' education and Comelec officers' and BEIs' training would avoid confusion come election time and avert anomalies on the election system.

Gordon said the Comelec should allocate sufficient funds and set ample time for a strategic voters' education campaign and a systematized training for local Comelec officers and BEIs.

"The success of the automated elections does not lie on the machines alone. We also have to educate our people and properly train our teachers and Comelec officials on how to use these systems to have an orderly voting process," he said.

During the discussions on the Comelec's proposed budget for the 2010 national and local elections, Gordon called on the poll body to include in their budget adequate amount needed for the training of Comelec officials and BEIs not only to familiarize them with the computerized system, but also to improve their technical competency to efficiently carry out their functions during elections.

He explained that with all the election officers well-trained and all citizens properly educated on the use of the automated voting system, a truly peaceful and orderly conduct of the 2010 elections will no longer be impossible.

"The automated election is our hope for a clean, honest and credible election in our country. But having the machines is just part of the process. We have to take all the necessary steps to ensure that the automated election system will regain our people's trust and confidence in the electoral process," Gordon said.