Folders for Ballot Secrecy: A Price to Pay

This coming election will be the first automated election for our very young, yet exhausted Philippine Republic. With the corruption taking places in almost all levels of government transactions, it isn't surprising at all to learn about the Overpriced Ballot Secrecy Folders Deal which was uncovered by the vigilant Philippine Parish Council for Responsible Voting.

Now that it's out in the open, everyone involved are trying to clean their hands:

The Comelec, however, claimed the contract was yet to be signed when the anomaly was discovered.

In a resolution, the Comelec en banc headed by Chairman Jose Melo, however, ordered the cancellation of the questionable contract with OTC Paper Supply after it was discovered that the price of the folder “was extravagant and beyond the ordinary needs of the commission.”

“Upon closer review of the Comelec Resolution 8795 dated March 15, 2010, it was discovered that the Bids and Awards Committee recommendation was a product of incomplete staff work for the reason that the total number of ballot secrecy folders recommended to be purchased (1,815,000) exceeds the total number of ballot secrecy folders that may actually be used during the election,” the three-page resolution signed by the en banc and promulgated yesterday stated.

Comelec director James Jimenez clarified that while they awarded to OTC Paper the supply of the ballot secrecy folders, the Comelec had yet to sign the contract. (Tribune Online.Org)

This washing of the hands came a day late after the Holy Week and yes, after the men in clothes unearthed this sinful deal. The Pontius Pilates of the controversy are doing everything now to twist (and shout) the story. But on my home tonight, I heard from Anthony Taberna's radio show the side of the contracted party for the deal. The lawyer of the company said they have all the papers that shows everything has been signed and have passed all the legal procedures when their project proposal was approved. I almost fell off my chair when I learned during the radio interview that the folders have all been produced and are now ready to be distributed for use on election day.

This is a big waste of resources whether we use the folders or not. Imagine the materials and man hours used to produce these folders. Even Anthony Taberna was apologetic to the company representative he was interviewing but he insisted that we do not need these expensive folders.

Election day and all the expenses our country will spend is the price we have to pay for the illusion of freedom to exercise our right to choose our leaders. A very costly exercise for a nation that has a budget deficit of PhP 298.5 Billion for 2010.

How much should a burdened nation like ours spend for a one day automated election?

Something I picked up from my conversation this morning with my colleague, Ms. Shaola Guttierez:

"The fight for democracy is the fight of Jose Rizal and his kind of people. And farmers are not his kind of people."