Commission on Elections Director James Jimenez said there is no stopping poll automation in next year’s elections.

Jimenez reiterated that all the 82,200 voting machines will be in place for the May 2010 exercise and stressed that teachers and other poll personnel will be trained in handling the equipment by January 2010.

At the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt in Quezon City, Jimenez also said he would look into the case of Editha Domaoal, head of the Tineg, Abra Election Registration Board (ERB), who was allegedly slapped by barangay captain Ryan Luna several months ago for not acting on the transfer of the voter registration of his brother, Cromwell, the municipal administrator of Lagayan, Abra, to Tineg.

He expressed surprise about the case and said he was unaware that a complaint had been lodged with the Comelec about it.

Jimenez stressed that the Comelec had been worried about private armed groups not only in Abra but also in Maguindanao and other provinces.

Tineg, Abra Mayor Edwin Crisologo has complained about the presence of these private armed groups in Abra.

He added that the poll body is insisting on a “no exemption” policy when the gun ban is implemented during the election period and explained that the ban covers newsmen as well.

Jimenez said he is cocksure automation will be implemented in May since the “production line for the voting machines was completed in October and the rate of production is one machine for every 10 minutes.”

The poll official said testing of the machines has been going on since June and 20 machines have been built in Taiwan and sent to the country for testing in October.

“We don’t doubt the efficiency of the machines. To do so would be to doubt the integrity of our own cars, TV sets and refrigerators which were all built through production lines. The fact that the production site was transferred to China from Taiwan does not mean the equipment would not perform up to par,” he said.

He derided the critics of automation for engaging in a virtual fishing expedition for filing complaint after complaint just to hinder the implementation of the system in May 2010.

Jimenez said the final list of candidates will be out by December 2009.