The Senate?s plan to approve the Pl3.l-billion supplemental budget for the automation of the 2010 elections suffered a hitch yesterday due to the delay in the transmittal of the House version of the bill.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill on third and final reading Monday night. But as of late afternoon yesterday, the Senate had not started floor deliberations on the measure. Senator Edgardo Angara, chairman of the committee on finance, had deferred his sponsorship speech on the supplemental budget for reasons that were still unclear.

Angara earlier announced that he would deliver his sponsorship speech on the urgent bill Monday. He assured the Commision on Elections that the bill would be approved by the Senate before it adjourns today.

A member of Angara?s staff told newsmen that the senator rescheduled his sponsorship speech on the measure for today.

Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Richard Gordon said they were informed that the House approved its version of the Pl3.l-billion supplemental budget without any precondition.

They said this means that the House will no longer require the Comelec to revert back to manual voting and counting for local officials (congressmen down to councilors) and will limit automated election to national officials.

?If the House has approved a simple supplemental budget, then we will do the same,? Zubiri said.

Gordon, principal author of the law mandating automated elections system, said if there is no more preconditions in the Senate and House versions of the bill, there will be no need to convene a bicameral conference committee to finalize the bill. He said it could be sent directly to President Arroyo for her signing into law.

If that is the case, Zubiri and Gordon said there will be no need for the President to call a special session to approve the bill.

But the senators said that they were willing to hold sessions up to Thursday or Friday if necessary to pass and ratify the measure.

The senators, led by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, said the Pl3.1-billion supplemental budget was allocated in the hope that the 2010 elections will be fully automated.

They agree with Comelec Chairman Jose Melo?s claim that a hybrid of automated and manual elections will not only be costlier but will also be highly vulnerable to fraud. Fel V. Maragay