GORDON ON ELECTION AUTOMATION OPPOSITORS: IT IS FINISHED

Senator Richard J. Gordon, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, yesterday said consumatum est (It is finished) in reaction to Senator Pimentels statement that the newly approved Automated Election System (AES) bill will be rescrutinized when the regular session resumes on November 6.

Im so sorry that Senator Pimentel will resort to this sort of statements after so long in the Senate. If a neophyte senator attempted the same thing, Im sure that he would lash at this neophyte for not respecting the legislative process. We accepted 32 pages of amendments from Senator Osmea alone, and it took a year from the introduction of this bill in plenary session to its approval on third and final reading by the Senate. The idea of going back and scrutinizing the bill in the Senate floor after its final approval is ludicrous because it is inconsistent with the legislative process. It cannot be done, said Gordon.

The senator stated that it is too late for those opposing this bill. Given that they were given every chance to ask questions and propose amendments, they should respect the results of the vote. The next step for the AES bill is the bicameral conference where the Senate and House versions will be reconciled.

We are already behind the times. Other countries have already implemented this system. We dont have the luxury of time. What are we so afraid of? asked the Senator.

The senator also said that it is the powerful, the mighty and the wealthy who want manual elections because they are the ones with the money to buy the votes.

Manual elections are so easy to cheat. We are proposing this bill to make sure that we have fast, clean, honest, fair and transparent elections, said Gordon.