By: Kristine L. Alave, Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
It’s full speed ahead for the computerized general elections on May 10, 2010, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Jose Melo said Thursday.

“We are ready. There will be full automation nationwide,” Melo said at a press briefing Thursday after the Senate passed the House-approved P11.3-billion supplemental budget for the automation of the elections on May 10, 2010.

The Senate approval of the measure at midnight Wednesday finally discarded the fraud-prone manual counting of votes in the country.

Instead of writing on ballots, voters will shade the spaces allotted for the names of candidates. The ballots will then be inserted into the optical machine readers to be placed in clustered precincts all over the country.

Melo said the Comelec would pursue the nationwide automation of elections, despite opposition and skepticism from certain lawmakers and information technology professionals.

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