Gordon asks Comelec to submit supplemental budget for poll automation

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to submit to Congress its revised supplemental budget proposal for the full automation of the May 2010 presidential elections.

Gordon, author of the Amended Automated Elections Law, said the poll body should immediately give its final proposal to enable Congress to deliberate on the said budget.

"The Commission on Elections should let Congress know as soon as possible how much fund it would really need for the automation of the May 2010 elections. I am urging the Comelec to submit the revised supplemental budget so Congress could go over it," he said.

The Comelec has reportedly scaled down the budget it is asking for the poll automation after some senators thumbed down the P21-billion supplemental budget that it submitted to the Department of Budget and Management.

Reports said the poll body reduced the proposed budget to P13.9-billion due to the apparent difficulty of Malacanang and Congress in sourcing the funds for the automation project..

The senator is batting for the automation of the synchronized elections to ensure a clean, honest and credible elections.

He added that in modernizing the elections, the country could achieve change, closure and continuity.

Gordon, former chairman of the Senate constitutional amendments committee, noted that the Comelec is asking Congress to act swiftly on their supplemental budget but they have yet to submit the budget proposal.

"The Comelec wants us to take immediate action on the budget, but we do not have it yet. We are still waiting for their proposed supplemental budget," he said.

Gordon added that Comelec officials reportedly warned that they should already have the necessary funds by February if the planned automation of the 2010 polls is to push through..

"The Comelec officials, themselves, are aware of the time table that they have to adhere to and yet they still have not submitted a proposed supplemental budget," he said.