The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

The specter of an “electronic Garci” was raised in a forum on Monday in which six of seven presidential candidates feared there would be glitches in the automated elections in May and some suggested going manual as an option.

Only Sen. Richard Gordon was confident the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would do its job.

But even the administration standard-bearer, Gilbert Teodoro Jr., decried “big logistical difficulties” in the Comelec’s implementation of the first nationwide computerized balloting.

Other presidential candidates present in the debate were Senators Benigno Aquino III and Jamby Madrigal, environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Councilor JC de los Reyes.

Sen. Manuel Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party, and former President Joseph Estrada were invited but failed to attend due to other engagements.

Perlas proposed a manual-count option in a hybrid balloting, noting that even Germany and the Netherlands scrapped automated elections last year after finding out that a high school student could hack the voting machines.

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Estrada a no-show, cites PDI’s ‘bias’ against him

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 2) Eight candidates showed up at the first ever presidential debate organized by the Philippine Daily Inquirer held on Monday, a day before the start of the official campaign period.

In attendance were frontrunners Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar, administration bet Gilbert Teodoro, Senators Richard Gordon and Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, evangelist Eddie Villanueva, Nicanor Perlas and JC de los Reyes.

Former president Joseph Estrada did not attend the debate, citing “bias” against him by the paper.

The event is being held at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman Quezon City.

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