The Commission on Elections is not well prepared for the automated election system (AES), according to the different religious leaders belonging to the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF).

Composed of Catholic and Protestant leaders, the EBF particularly cited three reasons why they think the poll body is not well-prepared for the AES, namely, lack of quality and effective preparation in technical and logistics aspects; readiness of Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs), electorate and candidates; and insufficient time and budget for Comelec to discharge their duties and responsibilities in preparation for the May 10 polls.

The Comelec, they said, should make use of the remaining days to massively educate the BEIs and electorate on the AES and in use of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and on transparency.

While EBF is appreciating the effort of Comelec to pursue the implementation of AES so as to eliminate clerical and human errors and to also remove conditions for opportunities such as “dagdag-bawas” or wholesale cheating, the group said there is still the need for the public to be vigilant.

EBF called on all major political parties, party-list groups, the Catholic Church, National Council of Churches in the Philippines member-churches and other church denominations, government organizations, non-government organizations, peoples’ organizations and other concerned groups, and the people at large not only to be vigilant in safeguarding the vote of the Filipino people but to also conduct principled nationalist electoral education.

“The elections this year are too important for the Filipino people and the nation for effective governance and to improve the quality of life of the people. All efforts must be exerted to make the elections free, clean, honest, credible and acceptable to everybody,” said EBF in a statement.

The statement signed by Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Bishops Marino Inong and Elmer Bolocon of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and Bishop Benjamin Justo of the United Methodist Church was a product of the EBF’s two-day seminar-workshop in La Union last March 22-23.