Good bye automated polls, hello again garci et al

Excerpts from ambush interview with Sen. Richard J. Gordon on October 9, 2007

ON AUTOMATED POLLS

Sir, reaksyon sa barangay polls, nang binigay mo kay Sen. Zubiri ang pag-sponsor..?

SEN GORDON: He is a senator dapat iginalang nila si Sen. Zubiri. Wala naman sa rules yun at saka dapat mag-debate sila at paglabanan nila yung isyu at hindi yung hinaharang mo. Ano ba ang kinakatakot nila kung magkakaroon ng automated election? Dapat nagdebate sila, lalo’t tamang-tamang si Zubiri dahil si Zubiri daw ang nangdaya doon sa Mindanao. Dinaya daw si Koko Pimentel. Maganda talaga na sila ang maglaban dahil yun ang magsasabi kung talagang dapat o hindi na i-automate. Hindi pinagbigyan so ang nangyari ngayon ay wala na naman tayong automation.

Sinabi nga ng iba d’yan na nadaya sila hindi lang isang beses kundi dalawang beses pa. Yung pang nadaya ang ayaw ng automated elections? Hindi ko yata maintindihan yun? Ang isyu dito ay automated elections. Trabaho ng Comelec na i-automate. Sinabi ko na dito yan ng ilang beses. Pinababayaan ang Comelec to get away with not implementing the law.

Ang Senado is where you have 24 men who will debate the great issues of the day, you don’t block the debate by technicalities. Is that good parliamentarism? You make decisions. What decisions are we making here in the Senate. Is IPU more important than automation of election?

Pati ba admin block hindi sumusuporta?

GORDON: Ayaw din ng Malacanang ito. Ang totoo ang sabi ng Malacanang ayaw naming ng automation tapos nang kinausap sila ni De Venecia bumaligtad ang Malacanang. Ang sabi, ituloy uli pero ang totoo ayaw ng Malacanang itong automation. Ayaw ng Malacanang ng i-postpone. Ang ginagawa nilang isyu postponement. Hindi yun ang isyu, ang isyu dito automation. Ang isyu dito ay malayang halalan para ma-testing natin. Ang totoo ‘yan, naglolokohan lahat. Anong gagawin natin. May batas tayo—automation of election law. Hindi natin papairalin? Without anybody being accountable? There is a law and we don’t implement it? There is a goal 2010 full automation for presidential election. Hindi ba natin gusto na kapag natapos ang election ay nagko-concede yung mga presidente katulad ni Gore na nag-concede siya kay Bush kahit sinabi niyang may butas because tapos na eh. Walang gulo. Dito pag nanalo ini-impeach nang ini-impeach. Seguro nga dayaan dahill hindi nga tayo segurado sa sistema. That is why we want a system change.

Sino sa tingin ninyo ang mga humaharang?

Gordon: Pimentel. He doesn’t want it. I don’t know why?

Sir pu-push ninyo pa rin?

Gordon: No wala na eh. I came here knowing that it is never going to happen but I still attended. I’m here but my colleagues are not here. There are no debates. It was never given a chance. Do we want now a Senate that goes by consensus? “O sino ang sasama dito?” Gusto lahat dito consensus. They don’t want to debate. You don’t have a Senate. You have a consensus. There is no Senate anymore, there is no Congress anymore because paramihan lang. Wag na natin pagdebatehan. Kaya qualification anymore does’nt matter.

Iniwanan ko kay Zubiri para maka-attend ako ng napakahalagang meeting ng Red Cross sa Geneva at bumalik agad ako. Pero hindi pinayagan si Zubiri. Zubiri was the right man for Pimentel because sinabi niya dinaya siya ni Zubiri.

Sir, wala daw kayong pormal …?

Gordon: There is no such thing as formality here. We are all senators. Actually ang rule noong araw, unwritten, if the chairman or the sponsor is not around, the majority floor leader can sponsor any bill. That is the rule. Unwritten. Kaya nga may majority floor leader because the majority must be ble to push the legislation because the sponsor can not be present all the time.

Is the automation part of Sen Villar’s legislative agenda?