IMUS, Cavite – Senator Noynoy Aquino assailed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Friday for junking the proposed parallel manual count, saying the agency’s decision is highly questionable because a manual canvassing of votes can help ensure the success of the country’s first automated elections on May 10.

The Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer said he remains unconvinced by the Comelec’s explanations for junking the proposal.

“I wonder why the Comelec insists on closing its door to the parallel manual count. Should the agency be reminded that it is their obligation to manage the election and make sure it is clean, credible and believable?” Aquino said in a statement.

He said the absence of a parallel manual count is yet another election safeguard that the Comelec has denied the voting public.

Earlier, LP kept on asking the Comelec why it failed to print ultra-violet markings in the official ballot and allow a review of the source codes of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

“The Comelec has had a lot of shortcomings for the last few months already. And when it comes to the parallel manual count, they still kept failing the public who fears that their votes will not be counted and that the election will be cheated,” he said.

Aquino said he is one with the concerned citizens who staged street protests to condemn the Comelec decision, adding that a post-election random manual audit of votes will not ensure the credibility of the elections.