Showing posts with label Automated Election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Automated Election. Show all posts
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Comelec admits error in UV markings on ballots
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has admitted an error in the ultraviolet (UV) markings printed on ballots for the May 10 polls, but denied a report that the wrong UV ink was used in the printing of the ballots for the May 10 elections.
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the UV markings printed on the ballots was a bit displaced because of the high-speed printing process.
He said the UV marking overlapped with the other printed characters in the ballot, thus making the markings unreadable by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.
This was confirmed by Ramon Casiple, chairman of the Consortium on Electoral Reform, and a member of the Comelec Advisory Council.
The printing problem concerning the UV markings has forced the Comelec to forego the use of the PCOS’ UV mark-reading function.
The Comelec said members of the board of election inspectors (BEI) will instead use UV lamps to make sure that the ballots are genuine.
Larrazabal assured that the ballots carry several security features other than the UV markings, such as precinct-specific bar codes.
Casiple, however, said the use of UV lamps means more work for the teachers. He added that this could also be easily forgotten as the use of UV lamp was not included in the list of General Instructions.
He added that security bar codes can be copied. Ballots with copied bar codes can easily pass through the PCOS machines with de-activated UV mark-reading functions, he said.
Larrazabal earlier would not confirm or deny that the UV ink supplied by Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) was wrong and refused to divulge the explanation given by the joint venture.
“There’s a number of things and let’s wait for the en banc. For me, what is important is there is still a way to authenticate the UV ink. The ballot itself is authenticated by the PCOS machines,” he said.
Asked why the Comelec opted to use portable UV reader instead of replacing the UV ink, Larrazabal said that would have set a bad precedent.
“If you do that, people will come up with so many excuses to invalidate this ballot and that ballot. Right now, we are working on a timeline to ensure that we have ballots on Election Day,” he said
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the UV markings printed on the ballots was a bit displaced because of the high-speed printing process.
He said the UV marking overlapped with the other printed characters in the ballot, thus making the markings unreadable by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.
This was confirmed by Ramon Casiple, chairman of the Consortium on Electoral Reform, and a member of the Comelec Advisory Council.
The printing problem concerning the UV markings has forced the Comelec to forego the use of the PCOS’ UV mark-reading function.
The Comelec said members of the board of election inspectors (BEI) will instead use UV lamps to make sure that the ballots are genuine.
Larrazabal assured that the ballots carry several security features other than the UV markings, such as precinct-specific bar codes.
Casiple, however, said the use of UV lamps means more work for the teachers. He added that this could also be easily forgotten as the use of UV lamp was not included in the list of General Instructions.
He added that security bar codes can be copied. Ballots with copied bar codes can easily pass through the PCOS machines with de-activated UV mark-reading functions, he said.
Larrazabal earlier would not confirm or deny that the UV ink supplied by Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) was wrong and refused to divulge the explanation given by the joint venture.
“There’s a number of things and let’s wait for the en banc. For me, what is important is there is still a way to authenticate the UV ink. The ballot itself is authenticated by the PCOS machines,” he said.
Asked why the Comelec opted to use portable UV reader instead of replacing the UV ink, Larrazabal said that would have set a bad precedent.
“If you do that, people will come up with so many excuses to invalidate this ballot and that ballot. Right now, we are working on a timeline to ensure that we have ballots on Election Day,” he said
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Comelec trains priests on new voting system
About 200 diocesan and religious priests from the Cebu Archdiocese were challenged to teach their parishioners how to help ensure clean and honest May 2010 elections.
In a forum at the Betania Retreat House in Lahug, Cebu City, the priests, including Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, received instructions about the new system of voting so that they could relay these to parishioners.
Rene Buac, Commission on Elections Central Visayas (Comelec-7) regional director, conducted the training of the priests.
Vidal said he does not have any problem with poll automation but only about the conduct of defeated candidates.
“I do not have problem with the system. I do not have problem with the voters. My problem is the (candidates') acceptance of defeat,” Vidal told Buac.
“In some parishes, the participants understandably have some doubts because of the technology and prevailing atmosphere of distrust caused by past experience of electoral fraud in our country's political history,” said Vidal.
Buac, however, told the archbishop that this was a problem of character which cannot be solved through automated elections. The director challenged the clergy to help them solve such problems by talking with their parishioners.
Buac has repeatedly reminded the clergy that Comelec does not have the sole responsibility for the attainment of “clean and honest” elections.
“We are all in this together. It is the voter himself who can guarantee a clean election. For example, illegal posters. Some would ask the Comelec why they have not removed the posters. I tell them, you are the one who saw it why didn't you remove it yourself. Why do you have to blame it on the Comelec and Philippine National Police (PNP). We were not the ones who violated it,” Buac said.
“It is not only the Cebu-Citizens Involvement and Maturation for People's Empowerment and Liberation (C-Cimpel) or the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) who should be responsible. Everyone should do their minor roles to achieve clean and honest election,” he added.
Buac said one of the small things a responsible voter can contribute towards successful elections is finding out his polling precinct and making a list of his choice of candidates before going out to cast his vote. He said this will speed up the election process.
Finding one’s polling precinct can be done online through comelec.gov.ph or, for those who do not have Internet connection, by going to an election officer to ask for their polling precinct.
Buac suggested that the voters visit their election officers two weeks before election day to know their polling stations. He said it will be an additional hassle to the election officials to give the precinct number to the voters on the election day itself.
Preparing a list of chosen candidates will also cut voting time.
Buac said that the average voting time is only three minutes based on the mock elections in February.
Upon receiving the ballot, the voters are encouraged to check if these are not tampered with or have marks that might cause the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) to reject these.
“See to it that the ballot is clear because that's the only time you can change your ballot and that is before you shade it. Make sure that it is clean,” Buac told the clergy.
Vidal said that instead of focusing on doubts and fears on the implementation of the automated election system, the challenge is to make sure that the votes of the people will be safe.
In a forum at the Betania Retreat House in Lahug, Cebu City, the priests, including Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, received instructions about the new system of voting so that they could relay these to parishioners.
Rene Buac, Commission on Elections Central Visayas (Comelec-7) regional director, conducted the training of the priests.
Vidal said he does not have any problem with poll automation but only about the conduct of defeated candidates.
“I do not have problem with the system. I do not have problem with the voters. My problem is the (candidates') acceptance of defeat,” Vidal told Buac.
“In some parishes, the participants understandably have some doubts because of the technology and prevailing atmosphere of distrust caused by past experience of electoral fraud in our country's political history,” said Vidal.
Buac, however, told the archbishop that this was a problem of character which cannot be solved through automated elections. The director challenged the clergy to help them solve such problems by talking with their parishioners.
Buac has repeatedly reminded the clergy that Comelec does not have the sole responsibility for the attainment of “clean and honest” elections.
“We are all in this together. It is the voter himself who can guarantee a clean election. For example, illegal posters. Some would ask the Comelec why they have not removed the posters. I tell them, you are the one who saw it why didn't you remove it yourself. Why do you have to blame it on the Comelec and Philippine National Police (PNP). We were not the ones who violated it,” Buac said.
“It is not only the Cebu-Citizens Involvement and Maturation for People's Empowerment and Liberation (C-Cimpel) or the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) who should be responsible. Everyone should do their minor roles to achieve clean and honest election,” he added.
Buac said one of the small things a responsible voter can contribute towards successful elections is finding out his polling precinct and making a list of his choice of candidates before going out to cast his vote. He said this will speed up the election process.
Finding one’s polling precinct can be done online through comelec.gov.ph or, for those who do not have Internet connection, by going to an election officer to ask for their polling precinct.
Buac suggested that the voters visit their election officers two weeks before election day to know their polling stations. He said it will be an additional hassle to the election officials to give the precinct number to the voters on the election day itself.
Preparing a list of chosen candidates will also cut voting time.
Buac said that the average voting time is only three minutes based on the mock elections in February.
Upon receiving the ballot, the voters are encouraged to check if these are not tampered with or have marks that might cause the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) to reject these.
“See to it that the ballot is clear because that's the only time you can change your ballot and that is before you shade it. Make sure that it is clean,” Buac told the clergy.
Vidal said that instead of focusing on doubts and fears on the implementation of the automated election system, the challenge is to make sure that the votes of the people will be safe.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Comelec Printed 17M ballots May Election
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Monday that about 17 million ballots have already been printed for the country’s first ever automated elections in May.
“Right now, we have printed 17 million out of the total 50 million ballots. The newly printed ballots are to be used in polling precincts mostly in Visayas and Mindanao and some Luzon areas,” said Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, who chairs the steering committee on automation.
With a fifth printer set to arrive by March 20 at the National Printing Office (NPO), Comelec expects to finish the printing of all 50 million ballots by April 25—also the start of the shipment of ballots, the poll machines, ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia, said the poll official.
When the additional printer arrives, Larrazabal said they expect to ramp up production of 900,000 ballots printed daily, up from the current daily output of 650,000 to 700,000.
“When the fifth printer arrives next week, the earliest on March 20, we see production of up to 900,000 ballots per day. This would enable us to finish printing all ballots by April 25,” he noted.
Ballots to be used in Metro Manila would be printed last since shipment would be easier from NPO to municipal treasury offices compared to Visayas and Mindanao regions, he said.
In late February, the NPO printed the 1.7 million ballots for use in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and started printing the main ballot to be used in 1,600 municipalities, cities or districts nationwide, except in ARMM.
The main ballot to be used in most parts of the country measures 8.5 inches wide and 25 inches long, containing English and Filipino translations for voting instructions for both national and local positions.
The ballot security features include the custom-made 160 GSM imported paper, invisible UV ink from Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, a regular 2D barcode, Comelec’s own security markings and unique precinct-based numbers, which can only be recognized by a specific poll machine. The main ballot has an additional UV ink marking from NPO as a redundant security measure, Larrazabal said.
To vote using the special paper ballots for automated polls, a voter must the ovals opposite the names of the national and local candidates printed on both sides of the paper shade using special permanent marking pens. After filling out a ballot, a voter will feed it to a machine for scanning and counting of the votes.
“Right now, we have printed 17 million out of the total 50 million ballots. The newly printed ballots are to be used in polling precincts mostly in Visayas and Mindanao and some Luzon areas,” said Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, who chairs the steering committee on automation.
With a fifth printer set to arrive by March 20 at the National Printing Office (NPO), Comelec expects to finish the printing of all 50 million ballots by April 25—also the start of the shipment of ballots, the poll machines, ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia, said the poll official.
When the additional printer arrives, Larrazabal said they expect to ramp up production of 900,000 ballots printed daily, up from the current daily output of 650,000 to 700,000.
“When the fifth printer arrives next week, the earliest on March 20, we see production of up to 900,000 ballots per day. This would enable us to finish printing all ballots by April 25,” he noted.
Ballots to be used in Metro Manila would be printed last since shipment would be easier from NPO to municipal treasury offices compared to Visayas and Mindanao regions, he said.
In late February, the NPO printed the 1.7 million ballots for use in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and started printing the main ballot to be used in 1,600 municipalities, cities or districts nationwide, except in ARMM.
The main ballot to be used in most parts of the country measures 8.5 inches wide and 25 inches long, containing English and Filipino translations for voting instructions for both national and local positions.
The ballot security features include the custom-made 160 GSM imported paper, invisible UV ink from Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, a regular 2D barcode, Comelec’s own security markings and unique precinct-based numbers, which can only be recognized by a specific poll machine. The main ballot has an additional UV ink marking from NPO as a redundant security measure, Larrazabal said.
To vote using the special paper ballots for automated polls, a voter must the ovals opposite the names of the national and local candidates printed on both sides of the paper shade using special permanent marking pens. After filling out a ballot, a voter will feed it to a machine for scanning and counting of the votes.
Friday, March 12, 2010
71% of Pinoys know little about poll automation
Four months before the May elections, 7 out of 10 Filipinos (71%) admit they have little to no knowledge about the new automated election system to be used in the country's first automated polls, a Pulse Asia survey revealed Wednesday.
The January 22 to 26 survey showed that 46% of Filipinos know little about the automated election system while 25% said they know nothing about the AES.
Pulse Asia said little/no knowledge about the AES is reported by majorities in the different geographic areas (62% to 80%) and socioeconomic groupings (61% to 79%).
Only 8% of Filipinos said they know a great deal about the AES while 20% know enough about it.
The survey showed that Metro Manila voters and those from Class ABC had more knowledge about the new election system (39%).
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, meanwhile, questioned the survey results, saying that many Filipinos still have misconceptions about poll automation.
"A common misconception is that for poll automation, you have to know how to operate a computer. For these elections, voter simply should know how to vote. Just shade the oval and that tales very little knowledge to do that," he told ANC.
He said the 71% could mean that voters "do not know how transmission is done but they know how to vote."
The January 22 to 26 Pulse Asia survey used a multistage probability sample of 1,800 adults of voting age. It has a margin of error of ± 2% at the 95% confidence level.
Many believe automation equals credible polls
Nearly one in two Filipinos (48%) believe that the May 2010 elections will be credible because of poll automation, while another 37% said they do not know if poll automation would make the elections credible or not. A total of 59% of Visayas voters and 48% of Mindanao voters said the May ections will be clean because of poll automation.
More voters from Class D (46%) and E (53%) said that the May 2010 elections will be clean and the results credible because of poll automation, compared to 43% from Class ABC.
Only 14% of nationwide voters disagree that the May 2010 elections will be credible because of automation.
A total of 54% of voters said they expect trouble if the outcome of the May 2010 elections is not clean and credible. This is most pronounced in the National Capital Region (74%) and West and Central Visayas (62%). An exception is Mindanao where about the same percentages either expect trouble or express indecision on the matter.
Majority trust public school teachers
Majority of Filipino voters (63%) believe that public school teachers will be impartial in the performance of their roles as board of election inspectors and are able to manage the automated election system.
On the other hand, a small majority of Filipinos (52%) believe that the Commission on Elections is prepared to effectively implement the automaiton of the coming elections. This contrasts with the 19% of Filipinos who do not trust Comelec to effectively automate the elections.
The January 22 to 26 survey showed that 46% of Filipinos know little about the automated election system while 25% said they know nothing about the AES.
Pulse Asia said little/no knowledge about the AES is reported by majorities in the different geographic areas (62% to 80%) and socioeconomic groupings (61% to 79%).
Only 8% of Filipinos said they know a great deal about the AES while 20% know enough about it.
The survey showed that Metro Manila voters and those from Class ABC had more knowledge about the new election system (39%).
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, meanwhile, questioned the survey results, saying that many Filipinos still have misconceptions about poll automation.
"A common misconception is that for poll automation, you have to know how to operate a computer. For these elections, voter simply should know how to vote. Just shade the oval and that tales very little knowledge to do that," he told ANC.
He said the 71% could mean that voters "do not know how transmission is done but they know how to vote."
The January 22 to 26 Pulse Asia survey used a multistage probability sample of 1,800 adults of voting age. It has a margin of error of ± 2% at the 95% confidence level.
Many believe automation equals credible polls
Nearly one in two Filipinos (48%) believe that the May 2010 elections will be credible because of poll automation, while another 37% said they do not know if poll automation would make the elections credible or not. A total of 59% of Visayas voters and 48% of Mindanao voters said the May ections will be clean because of poll automation.
More voters from Class D (46%) and E (53%) said that the May 2010 elections will be clean and the results credible because of poll automation, compared to 43% from Class ABC.
Only 14% of nationwide voters disagree that the May 2010 elections will be credible because of automation.
A total of 54% of voters said they expect trouble if the outcome of the May 2010 elections is not clean and credible. This is most pronounced in the National Capital Region (74%) and West and Central Visayas (62%). An exception is Mindanao where about the same percentages either expect trouble or express indecision on the matter.
Majority trust public school teachers
Majority of Filipino voters (63%) believe that public school teachers will be impartial in the performance of their roles as board of election inspectors and are able to manage the automated election system.
On the other hand, a small majority of Filipinos (52%) believe that the Commission on Elections is prepared to effectively implement the automaiton of the coming elections. This contrasts with the 19% of Filipinos who do not trust Comelec to effectively automate the elections.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Comelec trains 240,000 teachers for automated poll duties
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has started to train around 250,000 public school teachers who will act as board of election inspectors (BEIs) in the country's first national automated polls in May.
“There will be 500 simultaneous training sessions of teachers nationwide for the whole month of March focusing on the new poll duties of BEIs like the operation of the poll machines to generate and print the Election Returns (ERs) and transmit them via telcos to Comelec servers,” said Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, head of the steering committee on automation.
The teachers will be in charge of 76,000 clustered precincts nationwide, Gregorio told INQUIRER.net.
In a separate interview, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) said the company trained last month 500 Comelec personnel on the automated election system. They will in turn train the BEIs.
Larrazabal said the duties of teachers in the 2010 polls will be “easier” than during the manual election system as almost all stages are automated.
Under the poll automation plan, the BEI chairman and other officers will be trained to operate the counting machine, which automatically counts, consolidates and transmits votes.
The BEI chairman is also tasked to certify the election returns printed by the machine through digital keys or signatures which will be randomly assigned by the election commission, said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez in another interview.
“There will be 500 simultaneous training sessions of teachers nationwide for the whole month of March focusing on the new poll duties of BEIs like the operation of the poll machines to generate and print the Election Returns (ERs) and transmit them via telcos to Comelec servers,” said Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, head of the steering committee on automation.
The teachers will be in charge of 76,000 clustered precincts nationwide, Gregorio told INQUIRER.net.
In a separate interview, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) said the company trained last month 500 Comelec personnel on the automated election system. They will in turn train the BEIs.
Larrazabal said the duties of teachers in the 2010 polls will be “easier” than during the manual election system as almost all stages are automated.
Under the poll automation plan, the BEI chairman and other officers will be trained to operate the counting machine, which automatically counts, consolidates and transmits votes.
The BEI chairman is also tasked to certify the election returns printed by the machine through digital keys or signatures which will be randomly assigned by the election commission, said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez in another interview.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Poll machines to be sealed 3 days before polls
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) would test and seal the poll machines three days before April 10 for overseas absentee voting and three days before May 10 for the domestic automated polls.
In Resolution 8785, local board of election inspectors (BEIs) and special BEIs (SBEIs) abroad are mandated to hold test the machine's accuracy in counting votes from ten sample ballots and printing the electronically-generated Election Returns (ERs), said spokesman James Jimenez.
Each of the ten sample ballots must be filled up—meaning the ovals opposite the names of candidates are fully shaded—by voters present during the testing and fed to the machine by the voter, after being verified by the BEI or SBEI, the resolution said.
The BEI and SBEI would be given personal security pins that would all be encoded to their designated poll machine to operate its functions. The machine would not operate if one security pin is missing or is not entered into poll the machine.
After the printing of the ERs, a manual audit would be conducted to reconcile the results from the printed ER and the manual tally by the BEI.
If the results of both ERs are the same, the certification portion of both ERs shall be signed by the BEI/SBEI and the representatives of the political parties, candidates or citizens' arms present. But if the results of both ERs are different, the BEI or SBEI shall review and appreciate the ballots to determine the cause of the discrepancy. If after the review, there are still different results, the BEI should call the assigned technical support and submit a report to the Comelec through the Field Operations Group of the Project Management Office.
After the testing, the special paper ballots, poll machines and its power card and security pins, and other related paraphernalia would be sealed inside the poll machine's box. It would be opened for use on Election Day.
On Thursday, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said that 60,000 poll machines already passed the stress and laboratory tests at its warehouse in Laguna. Around 8,000 more units in the facility are being subjected to laboratory testing, while about 13,000 machines are set to arrive in the country February 26.
The poll chief added that six million ballots were already printed at the National Printing Office (NPO) for use in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the provinces of Batanes, Palawan, Bohol and Masbate, among others.
Poll automation law co-author and co-chairman of the joint congressional oversight committee on automation Makati Representative Teddy Boy Locsin gave Comelec “two-thumbs up” for its vigilance to prepare for the automated polls and several layers of safeguards it placed both for the ballot printing and poll machine testing.
He recanted his earlier proposal to dispose and burn the 1.7 million ballots printed for ARMM after noting that the additional 2-dimensional NPO bar code is “not critical” because of the five security features of the ballots, on top of its secured vacuum packaging for transport to its designated clustered precinct.
On Monday, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) officially turned over to Comelec’s warehouse and testing facility in Laguna the last batch of 13,500 machines that arrived Saturday—beating the February 28 delivery deadline stipulated in the P7.1 billion contract.
In Resolution 8785, local board of election inspectors (BEIs) and special BEIs (SBEIs) abroad are mandated to hold test the machine's accuracy in counting votes from ten sample ballots and printing the electronically-generated Election Returns (ERs), said spokesman James Jimenez.
Each of the ten sample ballots must be filled up—meaning the ovals opposite the names of candidates are fully shaded—by voters present during the testing and fed to the machine by the voter, after being verified by the BEI or SBEI, the resolution said.
The BEI and SBEI would be given personal security pins that would all be encoded to their designated poll machine to operate its functions. The machine would not operate if one security pin is missing or is not entered into poll the machine.
After the printing of the ERs, a manual audit would be conducted to reconcile the results from the printed ER and the manual tally by the BEI.
If the results of both ERs are the same, the certification portion of both ERs shall be signed by the BEI/SBEI and the representatives of the political parties, candidates or citizens' arms present. But if the results of both ERs are different, the BEI or SBEI shall review and appreciate the ballots to determine the cause of the discrepancy. If after the review, there are still different results, the BEI should call the assigned technical support and submit a report to the Comelec through the Field Operations Group of the Project Management Office.
After the testing, the special paper ballots, poll machines and its power card and security pins, and other related paraphernalia would be sealed inside the poll machine's box. It would be opened for use on Election Day.
On Thursday, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said that 60,000 poll machines already passed the stress and laboratory tests at its warehouse in Laguna. Around 8,000 more units in the facility are being subjected to laboratory testing, while about 13,000 machines are set to arrive in the country February 26.
The poll chief added that six million ballots were already printed at the National Printing Office (NPO) for use in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the provinces of Batanes, Palawan, Bohol and Masbate, among others.
Poll automation law co-author and co-chairman of the joint congressional oversight committee on automation Makati Representative Teddy Boy Locsin gave Comelec “two-thumbs up” for its vigilance to prepare for the automated polls and several layers of safeguards it placed both for the ballot printing and poll machine testing.
He recanted his earlier proposal to dispose and burn the 1.7 million ballots printed for ARMM after noting that the additional 2-dimensional NPO bar code is “not critical” because of the five security features of the ballots, on top of its secured vacuum packaging for transport to its designated clustered precinct.
On Monday, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) officially turned over to Comelec’s warehouse and testing facility in Laguna the last batch of 13,500 machines that arrived Saturday—beating the February 28 delivery deadline stipulated in the P7.1 billion contract.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
More equipment for automated polls
The Commission on Elections has approved the purchase of more satellite transmission equipment and one more printing press to guarantee that the preparatory goals for automated elections in May are met, poll chair Jose Melo said Wednesday.
Melo, in a press briefing, disclosed that Smartmatic-TIM, the company that won the contract to supply automated election machines, will buy more Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) equipment for the satellite transmission of the results of the May 10 polls.
The BGAN will be deployed in polling places as a backup transmission mode, should problems occur using the first method, which is via cell phone connectivity.
It has been noted that some areas have unreliable cell phone signals.
Melo said Smartmatic-TIM will be buying 500 BGAN and 650 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) for transmitting election results from the precincts to municipal servers, via satellite.
The Comelec also noted that it has approved Smartmatic-TIM’s proposal to buy another printer to ensure that the 50 million ballots are printed in time for the first shipment on April 19.
Smartmatic-TIM has leased to the Comelec four Kodak VersaMark VL 4000 printers. Each printer is capable of printing 200,000 ballots.
Melo noted that there was a “slight delay” in the printing of the ballots. He said the additional machine, which will be placed at the National Printing Office, will be “coming very shortly.”
The news of an additional machine came after some sectors revealed that the printing plant at the NPO was behind schedule and expressed fears the poll body would not meet its printing deadline.
Melo, in a press briefing, disclosed that Smartmatic-TIM, the company that won the contract to supply automated election machines, will buy more Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) equipment for the satellite transmission of the results of the May 10 polls.
The BGAN will be deployed in polling places as a backup transmission mode, should problems occur using the first method, which is via cell phone connectivity.
It has been noted that some areas have unreliable cell phone signals.
Melo said Smartmatic-TIM will be buying 500 BGAN and 650 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) for transmitting election results from the precincts to municipal servers, via satellite.
The Comelec also noted that it has approved Smartmatic-TIM’s proposal to buy another printer to ensure that the 50 million ballots are printed in time for the first shipment on April 19.
Smartmatic-TIM has leased to the Comelec four Kodak VersaMark VL 4000 printers. Each printer is capable of printing 200,000 ballots.
Melo noted that there was a “slight delay” in the printing of the ballots. He said the additional machine, which will be placed at the National Printing Office, will be “coming very shortly.”
The news of an additional machine came after some sectors revealed that the printing plant at the NPO was behind schedule and expressed fears the poll body would not meet its printing deadline.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Comelec changes ballot box design
Less transparent, the boxes will shield ballots' UV ink from sunlight
First, they changed the layout of the ballot. Now, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has changed the design and makeup of the ballot boxes.
Bigger and less transparent than the sample units being shown to votes in road shows and information drives, the latest ballot boxes look like the trash bins pushed around by street cleaners in the metropolis.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal on Tuesday showed reporters the official ballot box to be used for the first nationwide automated polls. Made of durable plastic and resembles a big trash bin, it is 36 inches tall, 34 inches long, and 20 inches in width.
While the sample units had big transparent windows on both sides, the official boxes will only have much smaller, translucent windows. The windows are made of unbreakable glass.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said, "There is nothing wrong with changing the design of the box. Now, it is designed for addtional measure of security."
Jimenez explained that the ultraviolet ink in the ballots is susceptible to sunlight and could make images and letters fade. Thus, the old design where much bigger and transparent windows were used will expose the ballots more to the sunlight.
Faded ballots, he said, "will give us a problem if a recount has to be carried out later on."
Jimenez said that the change in the design of the ballot box is for additional measure of security. "What's important is that the ballots remain authentic."
Larrazabal said that voters would still be able to see and detect the ballots inside the box through the translucent windows.
The increase in size of the ballot boxes will accommodate the long ballots of the automated polls. Ballots for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will be 27 inches long, while those for other regions will be 25 inches long.
Larrzabal said that the ballot box can now accommodate the 1,000 ballots, as required by every precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine.
The poll body signed a separate deal with machine manufacturer Smartmatic for the production of the ballot boxes. A P234-million contract was awarded to the company. Each box effectively costs P3,000. Jimenez said that all 82,200 PCOS machines will have one ballot box each.
The ballot boxes will be produced at Smartmatic's facilities in Taiwan, and will be produced from mid-March to mid-April. They will then be delivered to the treasurer's office of various cities and municipalities along with the delivery of the machines.
Even with the production of new ballot boxes, the poll body earlier explained the the old yellow steel ballot boxes would still be kept for use in small elections, like the baranggay polls.
First, they changed the layout of the ballot. Now, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has changed the design and makeup of the ballot boxes.
Bigger and less transparent than the sample units being shown to votes in road shows and information drives, the latest ballot boxes look like the trash bins pushed around by street cleaners in the metropolis.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal on Tuesday showed reporters the official ballot box to be used for the first nationwide automated polls. Made of durable plastic and resembles a big trash bin, it is 36 inches tall, 34 inches long, and 20 inches in width.
While the sample units had big transparent windows on both sides, the official boxes will only have much smaller, translucent windows. The windows are made of unbreakable glass.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said, "There is nothing wrong with changing the design of the box. Now, it is designed for addtional measure of security."
Jimenez explained that the ultraviolet ink in the ballots is susceptible to sunlight and could make images and letters fade. Thus, the old design where much bigger and transparent windows were used will expose the ballots more to the sunlight.
Faded ballots, he said, "will give us a problem if a recount has to be carried out later on."
Jimenez said that the change in the design of the ballot box is for additional measure of security. "What's important is that the ballots remain authentic."
Larrazabal said that voters would still be able to see and detect the ballots inside the box through the translucent windows.
The increase in size of the ballot boxes will accommodate the long ballots of the automated polls. Ballots for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will be 27 inches long, while those for other regions will be 25 inches long.
Larrzabal said that the ballot box can now accommodate the 1,000 ballots, as required by every precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine.
The poll body signed a separate deal with machine manufacturer Smartmatic for the production of the ballot boxes. A P234-million contract was awarded to the company. Each box effectively costs P3,000. Jimenez said that all 82,200 PCOS machines will have one ballot box each.
The ballot boxes will be produced at Smartmatic's facilities in Taiwan, and will be produced from mid-March to mid-April. They will then be delivered to the treasurer's office of various cities and municipalities along with the delivery of the machines.
Even with the production of new ballot boxes, the poll body earlier explained the the old yellow steel ballot boxes would still be kept for use in small elections, like the baranggay polls.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Comelec assures backup plan for automated polls
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it has a backup plan that will address all contingencies in the implementation of the first automated elections in the country this May.
Comelec legal department head Ferdinand Rafanan said Republic Act 9369, also known as the Poll Automation Law, states that the Comelec and its poll machine supplier, Smartmatic-TIM, must submit "a list of contingency measures, and the policies for activation of such, that are put in place to ensure continuous operation of the [automated election system]."
Rafanan said the backup plan includes various measures to take in case of machine failure during the May 10 polls. He said Smartmatic-TIM will be providing 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines for the country's 75,000 clustered precincts. "This means that we will have an excess of 7,000 machines during the elections," he said.
He said Comelec personnel have conducted laboratory and field tests of the initial batch of PCOS machines delivered by Smartmatic-TIM. He said all 82,000 PCOS machines will be tested before the election on May 10.
Rafanan said the boards of election inspectors will be composed of three teachers, one of whom will be IT capable. He said Smartmatic-TIM will also deploy 50,000 IT personnel in 35,000 voting centers all over the country on election day.
He added that Comelec could also go back to manual voting during the elections but only as a last resort.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines earlier asked the Comelec to craft a contingency plan in case the automated polls fail to avoid a potential political crisis.
"We must make sure that there are prepared fall back positions that can be quickly adopted when there are some glitches in the system and in the logistics. We have to be vigilant and be involved. One example would be to help in educating voters regarding the AES and in using the equipment,” the prelates said.
The bishops cited the “serious questions” on the reliability and integrity of the machines that would be used in the elections which they also noted “have not been satisfactorily answered.”
Concerns have been raised on the credibility of the winning consortium that bagged the contract to automate the polls. Smartmatic, the main supplier of the machines, has been involved in alleged election anomalies in the United States and Venezuela.
Critics also raised the possibility that system could be manipulated.
The Comelec is pushing ahead in automating the elections nationwide amid concerns that massive glitches could cause a nationwide failure of elections, resulting to a leadership vacuum.
Comelec legal department head Ferdinand Rafanan said Republic Act 9369, also known as the Poll Automation Law, states that the Comelec and its poll machine supplier, Smartmatic-TIM, must submit "a list of contingency measures, and the policies for activation of such, that are put in place to ensure continuous operation of the [automated election system]."
Rafanan said the backup plan includes various measures to take in case of machine failure during the May 10 polls. He said Smartmatic-TIM will be providing 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines for the country's 75,000 clustered precincts. "This means that we will have an excess of 7,000 machines during the elections," he said.
He said Comelec personnel have conducted laboratory and field tests of the initial batch of PCOS machines delivered by Smartmatic-TIM. He said all 82,000 PCOS machines will be tested before the election on May 10.
Rafanan said the boards of election inspectors will be composed of three teachers, one of whom will be IT capable. He said Smartmatic-TIM will also deploy 50,000 IT personnel in 35,000 voting centers all over the country on election day.
He added that Comelec could also go back to manual voting during the elections but only as a last resort.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines earlier asked the Comelec to craft a contingency plan in case the automated polls fail to avoid a potential political crisis.
"We must make sure that there are prepared fall back positions that can be quickly adopted when there are some glitches in the system and in the logistics. We have to be vigilant and be involved. One example would be to help in educating voters regarding the AES and in using the equipment,” the prelates said.
The bishops cited the “serious questions” on the reliability and integrity of the machines that would be used in the elections which they also noted “have not been satisfactorily answered.”
Concerns have been raised on the credibility of the winning consortium that bagged the contract to automate the polls. Smartmatic, the main supplier of the machines, has been involved in alleged election anomalies in the United States and Venezuela.
Critics also raised the possibility that system could be manipulated.
The Comelec is pushing ahead in automating the elections nationwide amid concerns that massive glitches could cause a nationwide failure of elections, resulting to a leadership vacuum.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Comelec to shuffle Garci Boys
More than 50 field personnel of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), including five with alleged links to ex-Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of “Hello Garci” fame, will be reassigned before the May 10 polls.
Comelec Chair Jose Melo Tuesday told the Joint Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System the reshuffle was not only overdue but was being done to “remove any suspicion, any familiarity” by the election officers in their current postings.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. raised apprehensions at the hearing about the “Garci Boys” still being “in positions of influence in various parts of the country, holding official duties that would impact on the elections.”
Voice on tape
“I want to have an assurance that this won’t be so,” Pimentel said.
Garcillano’s was said to be the voice caught on tape talking to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 about a one-million vote margin for her.
Ms Arroyo apologized on national TV for talking to a poll official—a violation of the law—but denied any wrongdoing. Garcillano also denied wrongdoing and the case remains unresolved to this day.
Replying to Pimentel, Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the Comelec created a committee “to reshuffle all this personnel.”
“We’re also concerned, we want it to be a credible election,” Sarmiento said.
Speaking to reporters later, Melo said the new assignments of “over 50” Comelec personnel would be announced next week.
Of that number, he said, “not more than five or so” were closely identified with Garcillano.
A number of the so-called Garci boys—persons who were mentioned on the Garci tapes—had received appointments to important posts in the past several years.
Melo said he had a conversation with one of them, Rey Sumalipao, the Lanao del Sur provincial election supervisor in 2004 who was promoted to Comelec-ARMM regional director in 2007.
“I told him there was no evidence he was a Garci boy but the perception of the people was that he was one. As an administrator, I will have to put you elsewhere,” Melo said he told Sumalipao.
Others who received new assignments were retired Navy Vice Admiral Tirso Danga who was appointed in January 2009 to the National Printing Office which prints election ballots.
Danga was chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines when Ms Arroyo’s phone calls were monitored.
Lawyer Renato Magbutay, Comelec assistant regional director in western Mindanao, was named regional director in northern Mindanao.
No to new probe
Francisco Pobe, Agusan del Sur election officer, was promoted to assistant regional director in Caraga.
Renault Macarambon, vice chair of the Lanao del Sur provincial board of canvassers, was made chief of barangay affairs at the Comelec main office.
Malacañang, meanwhile, Tuesday shot down a proposal made by five presidential candidates to reinvestigate the “Hello Garci” scandal.
Charito Planas, deputy presidential spokesperson, challenged the candidates to go to court if they had any evidence against the President.
“There’s no need for any investigation. If they have evidence, they should file a case against her,” she told reporters in Filipino.
Comelec Chair Jose Melo Tuesday told the Joint Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System the reshuffle was not only overdue but was being done to “remove any suspicion, any familiarity” by the election officers in their current postings.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. raised apprehensions at the hearing about the “Garci Boys” still being “in positions of influence in various parts of the country, holding official duties that would impact on the elections.”
Voice on tape
“I want to have an assurance that this won’t be so,” Pimentel said.
Garcillano’s was said to be the voice caught on tape talking to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004 about a one-million vote margin for her.
Ms Arroyo apologized on national TV for talking to a poll official—a violation of the law—but denied any wrongdoing. Garcillano also denied wrongdoing and the case remains unresolved to this day.
Replying to Pimentel, Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the Comelec created a committee “to reshuffle all this personnel.”
“We’re also concerned, we want it to be a credible election,” Sarmiento said.
Speaking to reporters later, Melo said the new assignments of “over 50” Comelec personnel would be announced next week.
Of that number, he said, “not more than five or so” were closely identified with Garcillano.
A number of the so-called Garci boys—persons who were mentioned on the Garci tapes—had received appointments to important posts in the past several years.
Melo said he had a conversation with one of them, Rey Sumalipao, the Lanao del Sur provincial election supervisor in 2004 who was promoted to Comelec-ARMM regional director in 2007.
“I told him there was no evidence he was a Garci boy but the perception of the people was that he was one. As an administrator, I will have to put you elsewhere,” Melo said he told Sumalipao.
Others who received new assignments were retired Navy Vice Admiral Tirso Danga who was appointed in January 2009 to the National Printing Office which prints election ballots.
Danga was chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines when Ms Arroyo’s phone calls were monitored.
Lawyer Renato Magbutay, Comelec assistant regional director in western Mindanao, was named regional director in northern Mindanao.
No to new probe
Francisco Pobe, Agusan del Sur election officer, was promoted to assistant regional director in Caraga.
Renault Macarambon, vice chair of the Lanao del Sur provincial board of canvassers, was made chief of barangay affairs at the Comelec main office.
Malacañang, meanwhile, Tuesday shot down a proposal made by five presidential candidates to reinvestigate the “Hello Garci” scandal.
Charito Planas, deputy presidential spokesperson, challenged the candidates to go to court if they had any evidence against the President.
“There’s no need for any investigation. If they have evidence, they should file a case against her,” she told reporters in Filipino.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Most presidential bets alarmed by automation delays
At least six presidential candidates expressed doubt in the capability of the Commission on Elections to implement automated elections nationwide on May 10 with some of them calling it "ambitious" and portending that it can lead to an "electronic Garci" controversy.
Even administration standard bearer Gilbert Teodoro Jr. was vocal about his fears saying that the manner the Commission on Elections was implementing the new balloting system so far proved it to be an "ambitious project" to be implemented nationwide.
"The integrity of the elections is vital... automation is fine but the way it is implemented, I would have my doubts," Teodoro said Monday in a presidential forum organized by the Foreign Correspondent Association of the Philippines in Makati City.
He added that Comelec has been facing "big logistical difficulties" and that the last batch of machines would be delivered only in the last week of February. Teachers who would operate the ballot scanning machines would be trained only by March, said Teodoro.
"There is really a need to engage the Comelec in disclosing whether or not it can be implemented as a credible [system] for the upcoming elections," said Teodoro.
Other presidential candidates present in the debate were Senators Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, Richard Gordon and Jamby Madrigal, environmentalist Nicanor "Nicky" Perlas, evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Councilor JC delos 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 outside Metro Manila.
Villar has yet to arrive from Hong Kong, where he sought the endorsement of El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde while Estrada was on a campaign sortie in Davao.
Aquino, the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party, said he was "perplexed" that Comelec has been all over the place, assuring people of honest and orderly elections but has not been putting in place enough measures to ensure credible elections.
"In the following days we hope to come out with a list of actions that the Comelec must be doing prior to the elections and people should be pressuring the various agencies to actually implement the things they are supposed to do," he answered.
Perlas pointed out that no matter how good the intentions were for automating the electoral process, it would still have "serious problems in so many levels."
He said he would support moves to make sure that there was manual-count capability during the elections, noting that even First World countries like Germany and the Netherlands scrapped automated elections in 2009 after finding out that a high school student could hack the voting machines.
"There is a strong possibility of an electronic Garci [in this case]," said Perlas, referring to the "Hello Garci" poll fraud scandal in which President Macapagal-Arroyo was caught in a voice recording making a phone call to an election commissioner widely believed to be Virgilio Garcillano to follow up her one-million vote lead in the counting.
Agreeing with Perlas, Madrigal said the Comelec must take up back-up mechanisms in case the machines failed to deliver on elections day. One of these measures could be a manual counting of votes that would coincide with the automated canvassing for "verification purposes," she said.
She also wondered why the Comelec scrapped a feature in the machines that allowed votes for a particular candidate to be verified.
"I am really cynical about this because the government has not changed, which is still under President Macapagal-Arroyo and it might order the Comelec to [manipulate] the elections for their secret candidate, which is Villar," she said later in an ambush interview.
Teodoro also added during the forum that the Comelec must divulge an "honest to goodness" appraisal of what the Comelec could do and could not do and its degree of confidence in implementing the automated elections.
"They must disclose what the true state of affairs is regarding the matter," he told reporters in a interview after the forum.
Meanwhile, Villanueva suggested during the discussion that he and his fellow presidential candidates must agree to a covenant that would oppose any "brutal violations" of the Filipinos' democratic and constitutional rights to prevent failure of elections.
Even administration standard bearer Gilbert Teodoro Jr. was vocal about his fears saying that the manner the Commission on Elections was implementing the new balloting system so far proved it to be an "ambitious project" to be implemented nationwide.
"The integrity of the elections is vital... automation is fine but the way it is implemented, I would have my doubts," Teodoro said Monday in a presidential forum organized by the Foreign Correspondent Association of the Philippines in Makati City.
He added that Comelec has been facing "big logistical difficulties" and that the last batch of machines would be delivered only in the last week of February. Teachers who would operate the ballot scanning machines would be trained only by March, said Teodoro.
"There is really a need to engage the Comelec in disclosing whether or not it can be implemented as a credible [system] for the upcoming elections," said Teodoro.
Other presidential candidates present in the debate were Senators Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, Richard Gordon and Jamby Madrigal, environmentalist Nicanor "Nicky" Perlas, evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva and Councilor JC delos 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 outside Metro Manila.
Villar has yet to arrive from Hong Kong, where he sought the endorsement of El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde while Estrada was on a campaign sortie in Davao.
Aquino, the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party, said he was "perplexed" that Comelec has been all over the place, assuring people of honest and orderly elections but has not been putting in place enough measures to ensure credible elections.
"In the following days we hope to come out with a list of actions that the Comelec must be doing prior to the elections and people should be pressuring the various agencies to actually implement the things they are supposed to do," he answered.
Perlas pointed out that no matter how good the intentions were for automating the electoral process, it would still have "serious problems in so many levels."
He said he would support moves to make sure that there was manual-count capability during the elections, noting that even First World countries like Germany and the Netherlands scrapped automated elections in 2009 after finding out that a high school student could hack the voting machines.
"There is a strong possibility of an electronic Garci [in this case]," said Perlas, referring to the "Hello Garci" poll fraud scandal in which President Macapagal-Arroyo was caught in a voice recording making a phone call to an election commissioner widely believed to be Virgilio Garcillano to follow up her one-million vote lead in the counting.
Agreeing with Perlas, Madrigal said the Comelec must take up back-up mechanisms in case the machines failed to deliver on elections day. One of these measures could be a manual counting of votes that would coincide with the automated canvassing for "verification purposes," she said.
She also wondered why the Comelec scrapped a feature in the machines that allowed votes for a particular candidate to be verified.
"I am really cynical about this because the government has not changed, which is still under President Macapagal-Arroyo and it might order the Comelec to [manipulate] the elections for their secret candidate, which is Villar," she said later in an ambush interview.
Teodoro also added during the forum that the Comelec must divulge an "honest to goodness" appraisal of what the Comelec could do and could not do and its degree of confidence in implementing the automated elections.
"They must disclose what the true state of affairs is regarding the matter," he told reporters in a interview after the forum.
Meanwhile, Villanueva suggested during the discussion that he and his fellow presidential candidates must agree to a covenant that would oppose any "brutal violations" of the Filipinos' democratic and constitutional rights to prevent failure of elections.
Automated Poll Machine: Electronic Garci
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.
“I cannot see a situation where it will fail because that will create anarchy in the country. I don’t think the government can stand a failure of election. I don’t see why we should go back to manual now because we have so much invested already,” Gordon said.
But even the administration standard-bearer, Gilbert Teodoro Jr., decried “big logistical difficulties” in the Comelec’s implementation of the first nationwide computerized balloting.
“The integrity of the elections is vital ... automation is fine but the way it is implemented, I would have my doubts,” Teodoro said.
The former defense secretary said the last batch of computerized counting machines would be delivered only in the last week of February, and teachers would only have one training session in March.
“There is really a need to engage the Comelec in disclosing whether or not it can be implemented as a credible [system] for the upcoming elections,” Teodoro said.
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.
“There is a strong possibility of an electronic Garci,” Perlas said, referring to wiretapped conversations purportedly between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The opposition said the tapes indicated Ms Arroyo stole the 2004 presidential vote, a charge she has denied.
Probability of failure
“There are so many things that need to work simultaneously in so many levels design, such as source code, and calibration that the probability of failure is strong. What will happen is that there may be an election but there will be failure of election. The probability is increasing every day,” Perlas said.
Madrigal likewise said the Comelec must take up backup mechanisms in case the machines failed to deliver on elections day, including a manual counting of votes that would coincide with the automated canvassing for “verification purposes.”
She also wondered why the Comelec scrapped a feature in the machines that allows votes for a particular candidate to be verified.
Aquino, standard-bearer of the Liberal Party, said that he was “perplexed” that the Comelec was more concerned with calming the people’s fears of the possibility of a failure of elections than putting in place measures to ensure a credible vote.
“In the following days we hope to come out with a list of actions that the Comelec must be doing prior to the elections and people should be pressuring the various agencies to actually implement the things they are supposed to do,” he said.
AFP role must be clarified
Villanueva suggested that he and his fellow candidates agree to a covenant that would oppose any “brutal violations” of the Filipinos’ democratic and constitutional rights to prevent a failure of elections.
The mandate and loyalty of the Armed Forces of the Philippines must also be clarified especially if there would be a failure of elections, he added.
“Will it exercise loyalty based on the deputization order of the Comelec or will it obey its mandate to protect the state and the people?” Villanueva asked.
For the entire election period, the Department of National Defense has put the military at the full disposal of the Comelec to help in ensuring peaceful and credible elections.
Ang Kapatiran’s De los Reyes said that fears of a failure of elections were largely due to the “pervasive problem of the absence of confidence in the government.”
Contrast between cousins
A highlight in the debate was the sharp contrast between the cousins—Aquino and Teodoro—on key issues. While the two rejected the reopening of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as proposed by their cousin, Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, they disagreed on the proposed anti-dynasty bill.
Aquino said that he supported the anti-dynasty bill “in the sense of leveling the playing field,” although he stressed that it should not only be based on the “surname” but affiliations with those in power.
Teodoro said he did not support a legislated way to crack down on political dynasties but through campaign finance reform.
“The best way to defeat political dynasty is in the elections. We should allow political parties the financial wherewithal to back a political candidate. We can’t disqualify people just because of relationships,” Teodoro said.
The candidates were evenly divided on how to address the government’s fiscal problems.
Aquino stood by his declaration that he would not raise taxes, claiming that reducing corruption, specifically smuggling and tax evasion, should generate enough revenues to cover expenses. De los Reyes went further by saying he would cut taxes of people in the frontline services such as teachers and the soldiers.
Madrigal said she would cut back the expanded value added tax while Teodoro said he would push for higher sin taxes.
Gordon said he would impose taxes on text messages to get some of the windfall profits of telecommunication firms.
Only Sen. Richard Gordon was confident the Commission on Elections (Comelec) would do its job.
“I cannot see a situation where it will fail because that will create anarchy in the country. I don’t think the government can stand a failure of election. I don’t see why we should go back to manual now because we have so much invested already,” Gordon said.
But even the administration standard-bearer, Gilbert Teodoro Jr., decried “big logistical difficulties” in the Comelec’s implementation of the first nationwide computerized balloting.
“The integrity of the elections is vital ... automation is fine but the way it is implemented, I would have my doubts,” Teodoro said.
The former defense secretary said the last batch of computerized counting machines would be delivered only in the last week of February, and teachers would only have one training session in March.
“There is really a need to engage the Comelec in disclosing whether or not it can be implemented as a credible [system] for the upcoming elections,” Teodoro said.
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.
“There is a strong possibility of an electronic Garci,” Perlas said, referring to wiretapped conversations purportedly between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The opposition said the tapes indicated Ms Arroyo stole the 2004 presidential vote, a charge she has denied.
Probability of failure
“There are so many things that need to work simultaneously in so many levels design, such as source code, and calibration that the probability of failure is strong. What will happen is that there may be an election but there will be failure of election. The probability is increasing every day,” Perlas said.
Madrigal likewise said the Comelec must take up backup mechanisms in case the machines failed to deliver on elections day, including a manual counting of votes that would coincide with the automated canvassing for “verification purposes.”
She also wondered why the Comelec scrapped a feature in the machines that allows votes for a particular candidate to be verified.
Aquino, standard-bearer of the Liberal Party, said that he was “perplexed” that the Comelec was more concerned with calming the people’s fears of the possibility of a failure of elections than putting in place measures to ensure a credible vote.
“In the following days we hope to come out with a list of actions that the Comelec must be doing prior to the elections and people should be pressuring the various agencies to actually implement the things they are supposed to do,” he said.
AFP role must be clarified
Villanueva suggested that he and his fellow candidates agree to a covenant that would oppose any “brutal violations” of the Filipinos’ democratic and constitutional rights to prevent a failure of elections.
The mandate and loyalty of the Armed Forces of the Philippines must also be clarified especially if there would be a failure of elections, he added.
“Will it exercise loyalty based on the deputization order of the Comelec or will it obey its mandate to protect the state and the people?” Villanueva asked.
For the entire election period, the Department of National Defense has put the military at the full disposal of the Comelec to help in ensuring peaceful and credible elections.
Ang Kapatiran’s De los Reyes said that fears of a failure of elections were largely due to the “pervasive problem of the absence of confidence in the government.”
Contrast between cousins
A highlight in the debate was the sharp contrast between the cousins—Aquino and Teodoro—on key issues. While the two rejected the reopening of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as proposed by their cousin, Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, they disagreed on the proposed anti-dynasty bill.
Aquino said that he supported the anti-dynasty bill “in the sense of leveling the playing field,” although he stressed that it should not only be based on the “surname” but affiliations with those in power.
Teodoro said he did not support a legislated way to crack down on political dynasties but through campaign finance reform.
“The best way to defeat political dynasty is in the elections. We should allow political parties the financial wherewithal to back a political candidate. We can’t disqualify people just because of relationships,” Teodoro said.
The candidates were evenly divided on how to address the government’s fiscal problems.
Aquino stood by his declaration that he would not raise taxes, claiming that reducing corruption, specifically smuggling and tax evasion, should generate enough revenues to cover expenses. De los Reyes went further by saying he would cut taxes of people in the frontline services such as teachers and the soldiers.
Madrigal said she would cut back the expanded value added tax while Teodoro said he would push for higher sin taxes.
Gordon said he would impose taxes on text messages to get some of the windfall profits of telecommunication firms.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Smartmatic reports 82,000 voting machines ready
Smartmatic-TIM, the technology supplier for the automated elections, has announced that it has completed the manufacture of the 82,000 voting and counting machines to be used in the May 10 polls.
Elections Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the consortium had already finished producing all the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines required for the elections in their factory in China this week.
“The last PCOS machine was produced on Feb. 8,” Larrazabal said.
Of the 82,000 machines that the poll body will be renting from Smartmatic-TIM, 75,471 machines will be immediately sent to the precincts while the remaining 6,739 PCOS will be kept as spares.
According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), about 48,900 units have arrived in the company’s warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna, while another 7,200 units are still at the Bureau of Customs.
About 800 units are in transit and the remaining 25,300 units are awaiting shipment from Shanghai, China.
The Comelec is helping the company arrange for the smooth delivery of the machines by Feb. 21, Larrazabal said.
The delivery of the voting and counting machines has been delayed several times.
Very delayed
In the original calendar of the Comelec, the machines should have started arriving in October 2009.
But changes in the location of the plant—Smartmatic had transferred it from Taipei to Shanghai—and the high cost of holiday cargo shipments pushed back the schedule.
The machines will be stored in a warehouse in Laguna, where they will undergo tests.
Before the machines are sent to the polling precincts, the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM will configure the equipment so they will work only for a particular precinct and set of ballots.
Elections Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the consortium had already finished producing all the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines required for the elections in their factory in China this week.
“The last PCOS machine was produced on Feb. 8,” Larrazabal said.
Of the 82,000 machines that the poll body will be renting from Smartmatic-TIM, 75,471 machines will be immediately sent to the precincts while the remaining 6,739 PCOS will be kept as spares.
According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), about 48,900 units have arrived in the company’s warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna, while another 7,200 units are still at the Bureau of Customs.
About 800 units are in transit and the remaining 25,300 units are awaiting shipment from Shanghai, China.
The Comelec is helping the company arrange for the smooth delivery of the machines by Feb. 21, Larrazabal said.
The delivery of the voting and counting machines has been delayed several times.
Very delayed
In the original calendar of the Comelec, the machines should have started arriving in October 2009.
But changes in the location of the plant—Smartmatic had transferred it from Taipei to Shanghai—and the high cost of holiday cargo shipments pushed back the schedule.
The machines will be stored in a warehouse in Laguna, where they will undergo tests.
Before the machines are sent to the polling precincts, the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM will configure the equipment so they will work only for a particular precinct and set of ballots.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Comelec Printing of ballots starts
As if making up for lost time, the printing of official ballots for the May 2010 automated polls were fast and non-stop since Monday evening -- a scene many people say is long overdue.
From the original schedule of January 7, printing was moved to January 25, January 31, and then finally set on February 7.
But until then, only sample ballots for testing and training were being printed.
Official ballots were not yet produced because they have a different size, and the machines had to be recalibrated.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, head of the Comelec Poll Automation Steering Committee, said that there had to be recalibration, specifically on the length of the ballots.
The ballots will measure 25 inches, while those for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be 2 inches longer to accommodate the Arabic translations of the names.
The Comelec also said printing was delayed a couple of times due to pending disqualification cases involving some candidates.
Smartmatic-TIM said the delays were for quality control.
Printing was supposed to begin Monday morning, but did not start as scheduled because the ink's colors had to be fine-tuned.
The official ballot has a new layout -- candidates' names are arranged in rows instead of columns.
Smartmatic said this was done to save on space and make it easier for voters to answer.
After printing, ballots are tested on the PCOS machine. Rejected ballots will be placed on quarantine and then destroyed.
This whole process will go on non-stop until the deadline on April 25.
The printing of ballots will go full-blast at the end of this week. Production will run 24/7, and up to 800,000 ballots a day are expected to be printed.
Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM say they hope this would be enough to allay fears that poll automation is bound to fail.
From the original schedule of January 7, printing was moved to January 25, January 31, and then finally set on February 7.
But until then, only sample ballots for testing and training were being printed.
Official ballots were not yet produced because they have a different size, and the machines had to be recalibrated.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, head of the Comelec Poll Automation Steering Committee, said that there had to be recalibration, specifically on the length of the ballots.
The ballots will measure 25 inches, while those for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be 2 inches longer to accommodate the Arabic translations of the names.
The Comelec also said printing was delayed a couple of times due to pending disqualification cases involving some candidates.
Smartmatic-TIM said the delays were for quality control.
Printing was supposed to begin Monday morning, but did not start as scheduled because the ink's colors had to be fine-tuned.
The official ballot has a new layout -- candidates' names are arranged in rows instead of columns.
Smartmatic said this was done to save on space and make it easier for voters to answer.
After printing, ballots are tested on the PCOS machine. Rejected ballots will be placed on quarantine and then destroyed.
This whole process will go on non-stop until the deadline on April 25.
The printing of ballots will go full-blast at the end of this week. Production will run 24/7, and up to 800,000 ballots a day are expected to be printed.
Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM say they hope this would be enough to allay fears that poll automation is bound to fail.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Mock polls show voters poorly informed
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) considered as "almost perfect" the technical side of the mock elections held Saturday morning in 5 cities nationwide, but the exercise posed a bigger concern for the poll body--the unfamiliarity of voters with the new ballot.
The mock polls allowed up to 50 voters in 9 precincts in 5 cities nationwide to go through the entire process of automated voting--from shading the sample ballots, feeding ballots on to the machines, and witnessing the transmission of the data from the election machine to the Comelec servers.
Mock voting in precincts ran from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., after which the data in each machine were sent to 3 test servers--the central server at the Comelec main office in Manila, server at the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) office, and server at the city hall of the precincts' localities. For redundancy and auditing purposes, city canvassers will then send their data to the central server.
"From the technical point of view and the platform point of view, everything worked as expected a 100%," said Cesar Flores, Smartmatic president for Southeast Asia.
Melo: 'Almost perfect'
Comelec chair Jose Melo said that since only minor glitches were encountered, the mock elections should be considered "almost perfect."
The central server at Comelec received data from the various voting and canvassing centers up to 11am.
Before 10 a.m.:
9:08 Bulacao Community School (Cebu City)
9:54 Pines City Natl High School (Baguio)
9:50 Community Youth Center (Baguio)
9:59 Cebu City board of canvassers
10 am to 11 a.m.:
10:02 New Era Elementary School (Quezon City)
10:18 Ricardo Papa Memorial High School (Taguig City)
10:18 Quezon City board of canvassers
10:19 Baguio City board of canvassers
10:21 Generoso Elementary School (Davao City)
10:23 Mabini Elementary School (Cebu City)
10:26 Alejandra Navarro Elementary School (Davao City)
10:50 Davao City board of canvassers
Beyond 11 a.m.:
11:11 Maharlika Elementary School (Taguig City)
11:28 Taguig City board of canvassers
11:54 Taguig-Pateros district board of canvassers
The votes from Taguig came late, as voting in Maharlika Elementary School was delayed. A lot of registered voters reportedly swamped the polling place to participate in the drill, not aware of the 50-voter limitation. But the data was transmitted before lunchtime.
Election officers noted that the transmission of data from the precincts to the test servers took 1 to 2 minutes. All election machines transmitted data using GSM signals.
Officials stationed at the New Era Elementary School initially reported difficulty in sending data to the KBP server, but was able to send successfully after 3 attempts. It was found out, according to Quezon City election officer Ronald Allan Sindo, that the KBP server was down during the initial transmissions.
Poorly-informed voters
Based on observations by poll officials, the mock polls show that there are concerns coming from the voters that should be given more attention.
Michael Dioneda, election director for National Capital Region, said that most participants were not clearly informed on how to properly handle the ballots. Due to errors in marking the ballots, 5 ballots in Quezon City and 3 in Taguig City were not accepted by the election machines. These ballots will be brought to Comelec for further studying.
Also, a participant in Taguig City was reported as a "flying voter," as he was able to vote twice in the mock poll. It was also reported that his index finger was not marked with indelible ink, hence making it easy for him to vote the second time. Makati City election officer Juliet Villar said that it was not an error made by the assigned BEI, but rather by the voter himself.
Dioneda said that a "massive voters education" is indeed needed as the automated elections come near.
He added that some voters complained about the small fonts of the ballots, and noted the need to install a projector at the city canvassing to let watchers view the counting process.
In an earlier interview, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that another set of mock elections, this time in rural areas, might be set in the coming days.
The mock polls allowed up to 50 voters in 9 precincts in 5 cities nationwide to go through the entire process of automated voting--from shading the sample ballots, feeding ballots on to the machines, and witnessing the transmission of the data from the election machine to the Comelec servers.
Mock voting in precincts ran from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., after which the data in each machine were sent to 3 test servers--the central server at the Comelec main office in Manila, server at the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) office, and server at the city hall of the precincts' localities. For redundancy and auditing purposes, city canvassers will then send their data to the central server.
"From the technical point of view and the platform point of view, everything worked as expected a 100%," said Cesar Flores, Smartmatic president for Southeast Asia.
Melo: 'Almost perfect'
Comelec chair Jose Melo said that since only minor glitches were encountered, the mock elections should be considered "almost perfect."
The central server at Comelec received data from the various voting and canvassing centers up to 11am.
Before 10 a.m.:
9:08 Bulacao Community School (Cebu City)
9:54 Pines City Natl High School (Baguio)
9:50 Community Youth Center (Baguio)
9:59 Cebu City board of canvassers
10 am to 11 a.m.:
10:02 New Era Elementary School (Quezon City)
10:18 Ricardo Papa Memorial High School (Taguig City)
10:18 Quezon City board of canvassers
10:19 Baguio City board of canvassers
10:21 Generoso Elementary School (Davao City)
10:23 Mabini Elementary School (Cebu City)
10:26 Alejandra Navarro Elementary School (Davao City)
10:50 Davao City board of canvassers
Beyond 11 a.m.:
11:11 Maharlika Elementary School (Taguig City)
11:28 Taguig City board of canvassers
11:54 Taguig-Pateros district board of canvassers
The votes from Taguig came late, as voting in Maharlika Elementary School was delayed. A lot of registered voters reportedly swamped the polling place to participate in the drill, not aware of the 50-voter limitation. But the data was transmitted before lunchtime.
Election officers noted that the transmission of data from the precincts to the test servers took 1 to 2 minutes. All election machines transmitted data using GSM signals.
Officials stationed at the New Era Elementary School initially reported difficulty in sending data to the KBP server, but was able to send successfully after 3 attempts. It was found out, according to Quezon City election officer Ronald Allan Sindo, that the KBP server was down during the initial transmissions.
Poorly-informed voters
Based on observations by poll officials, the mock polls show that there are concerns coming from the voters that should be given more attention.
Michael Dioneda, election director for National Capital Region, said that most participants were not clearly informed on how to properly handle the ballots. Due to errors in marking the ballots, 5 ballots in Quezon City and 3 in Taguig City were not accepted by the election machines. These ballots will be brought to Comelec for further studying.
Also, a participant in Taguig City was reported as a "flying voter," as he was able to vote twice in the mock poll. It was also reported that his index finger was not marked with indelible ink, hence making it easy for him to vote the second time. Makati City election officer Juliet Villar said that it was not an error made by the assigned BEI, but rather by the voter himself.
Dioneda said that a "massive voters education" is indeed needed as the automated elections come near.
He added that some voters complained about the small fonts of the ballots, and noted the need to install a projector at the city canvassing to let watchers view the counting process.
In an earlier interview, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that another set of mock elections, this time in rural areas, might be set in the coming days.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Comelec Automated Voting System Testing
With the automated voting system virtually eliminating vote-padding and -shaving (dagdag-bawas), poll watchers will be focusing more on voter behavior rather than fraudsters in the May elections, according to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).
Poll watchers will explain to voters how to fill out the ballot and use the electronic voting machine, said the PPCRV, the official citizens’ arm of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), as it unveiled Thursday its guide for poll watchers.
The PPCRV will be sending out its volunteers to campaign against vote-buying and intimidation, which the automated elections system cannot solve.
The country will be conducting its first-ever fully automated election on May 10, where machines will read the marks made by voters on the ballots, count the votes and send the results to the canvassing centers by digital phone or satellite transmission.
No human intervention
“The counting, canvassing and proclamation process for the 2010 national and local elections will be completely automated. There is absolutely no human intervention, and no more room for mistakes and fraud,” the PPCRV guide said.
In the old system, poll watchers had to physically monitor and check the election returns and the statement of votes for any signs of tampering by election officials. This will not happen on May 10, PPCRV said.
The PPCRV said its volunteers will focus on encouraging voters not to be intimidated by politicians and not to sell their votes, election offenses which cannot be controlled by machines.
Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez Thursday said minor glitches in the automated polls could decide the results of the May elections, especially if the races are tight.
“What I’m looking at is the scenario that the small fraction might be decisive in altering the final result,” Golez said at a hearing Thursday of the House oversight committee.
Nightmare
He noted that three presidential candidates are figuring in a close fight, according to the surveys.
“That’s going to be a nightmare if we still have the one percent or so that will be manually canvassed,” he said.
Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Villar Jr. are in a statistical tie in the race for the presidency, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey. Deposed President Joseph Estrada is a far third.
Golez said there were many ways in which the voting and canvassing could be hampered, and for cheating to occur, such as a breakdown of the counting machines stopping the voting.
A tight race, coupled with glitches, could have people speculating about the actual outcome of the polls, Golez said.
Contingency measures
But the Comelec and Smartmatic, the technology provider for the polls, assured legislators there were contingency measures in place.
Cesar Flores, president of Smartmatic Asia, said the possibility of cheating under the automated election system was nil.
He downplayed the damage that cell phone signal jammers could do, saying jammers can only delay the transmission of results, but cannot stop the voting or alter the votes cast.
And even if someone does manage to cheat, this can be easily detected because he cannot do so without leaving a trail, according to Flores.
Cheats will leave trail
It would not be possible to send a different signal to the server or enter false transmission results, he said. Any data transmitted by the counting machines has an encryption without which the data will be rejected, he said.
Each machine also has a digital signature, which is necessary for transmissions to be completed, he said.
There are also various ways to verify the results transmitted, said Flores. The filled-out ballots could always be re-checked in case of a dispute or discrepancies. The copies of the election returns can also be used to check the results transmitted to the server, he added.
“The system is completely auditable … It’s impossible to cheat without leaving a trail,” he said.
Poll watchers will explain to voters how to fill out the ballot and use the electronic voting machine, said the PPCRV, the official citizens’ arm of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), as it unveiled Thursday its guide for poll watchers.
The PPCRV will be sending out its volunteers to campaign against vote-buying and intimidation, which the automated elections system cannot solve.
The country will be conducting its first-ever fully automated election on May 10, where machines will read the marks made by voters on the ballots, count the votes and send the results to the canvassing centers by digital phone or satellite transmission.
No human intervention
“The counting, canvassing and proclamation process for the 2010 national and local elections will be completely automated. There is absolutely no human intervention, and no more room for mistakes and fraud,” the PPCRV guide said.
In the old system, poll watchers had to physically monitor and check the election returns and the statement of votes for any signs of tampering by election officials. This will not happen on May 10, PPCRV said.
The PPCRV said its volunteers will focus on encouraging voters not to be intimidated by politicians and not to sell their votes, election offenses which cannot be controlled by machines.
Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez Thursday said minor glitches in the automated polls could decide the results of the May elections, especially if the races are tight.
“What I’m looking at is the scenario that the small fraction might be decisive in altering the final result,” Golez said at a hearing Thursday of the House oversight committee.
Nightmare
He noted that three presidential candidates are figuring in a close fight, according to the surveys.
“That’s going to be a nightmare if we still have the one percent or so that will be manually canvassed,” he said.
Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Villar Jr. are in a statistical tie in the race for the presidency, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey. Deposed President Joseph Estrada is a far third.
Golez said there were many ways in which the voting and canvassing could be hampered, and for cheating to occur, such as a breakdown of the counting machines stopping the voting.
A tight race, coupled with glitches, could have people speculating about the actual outcome of the polls, Golez said.
Contingency measures
But the Comelec and Smartmatic, the technology provider for the polls, assured legislators there were contingency measures in place.
Cesar Flores, president of Smartmatic Asia, said the possibility of cheating under the automated election system was nil.
He downplayed the damage that cell phone signal jammers could do, saying jammers can only delay the transmission of results, but cannot stop the voting or alter the votes cast.
And even if someone does manage to cheat, this can be easily detected because he cannot do so without leaving a trail, according to Flores.
Cheats will leave trail
It would not be possible to send a different signal to the server or enter false transmission results, he said. Any data transmitted by the counting machines has an encryption without which the data will be rejected, he said.
Each machine also has a digital signature, which is necessary for transmissions to be completed, he said.
There are also various ways to verify the results transmitted, said Flores. The filled-out ballots could always be re-checked in case of a dispute or discrepancies. The copies of the election returns can also be used to check the results transmitted to the server, he added.
“The system is completely auditable … It’s impossible to cheat without leaving a trail,” he said.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tests expose weaknesses of poll machines
THE FIELD TESTING of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the automated elections continues to be hounded by glitches, most recently in Taguig and Pateros where election officials ran a demonstration at selected schools Friday.
After repeated attempts to transmit the results of the demo vote failed, residents who participated in the demo test at the Maharlika Elementary School in Taguig said they were afraid the vote could be tampered with should election inspectors fail to transmit the results right after polls close at 6 p.m. on May 10.
“What assurance do we have that the networks won’t bog down on election day?” asked Alhabsar Sahijuan, after technicians, using three different SIM cards, took almost an hour to send the results.
Simultaneous tests were also held at the Taguig Elementary School and Aguho Elementary School in Pateros.
36-hour period
Commission on Elections Spokesperson James Jimenez said the technical difficulties did not mean that the elections are doomed.
He noted that the tests were aimed at exposing the weaknesses of the system so that they could be addressed.
At the Taguig City Hall where the transmitted votes from Maharlika were received, Comelec official Celia Romero said that a delay in the transmission of results does not necessarily mean that there is a problem.
She said the Comelec has allotted some 36 hours for the transmission of returns from the precincts to the municipal level.
“We estimate the transmission time to be around two minutes, but in case there are delays, the 36-hour period would be sufficient to remedy the issue,” explained Romero, a member of the Comelec project management office which oversaw the demonstration.
She noted that from time to time text messages get delayed “but users still get the message.”
She also noted that aside from three SIM cards which will be issued to teachers, a broadband satellite connection and a high-speed Internet line are also on standby.
Signal problems
Michael Dioneda, Comelec director for the National Capital Region, said the four PCOS, which will be used to record and count the votes, encountered some problems during the transmission stage so the results could not be transmitted after several attempts.
“We encountered problems in terms of signal, but eventually it was all transmitted,” Dioneda told a press briefing.
The three machines in the Maharlika and Taguig elementary schools were able to transmit the results via GSM—the network used by cell phone providers—after Comelec officials changed the SIM cards.
The troubleshooting in the these instances lasted about 45 minutes and it took technicians three SIMs to get the signal for transmission, Dioneda said.
In the Aguho Elementary School, the problems with transmission persisted even after the SIM cards were replaced.
In the end, the technicians had to resort to the Broadband Global Arena Network satellite transmission to send the data to the canvassing center at the Pateros Municipal Hall.
One machine, also in the Aguho school, rejected four out of 10 ballots. Dioneda said the machines may have rejected the ballots because they were crumpled during the first field test last Wednesday.
Mock poll Feb. 6
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, the technology provider implementing the country’s first-ever electronic balloting, is addressing the problems encountered in the voting and transmission of ballots.
But that the machines were able to send the votes accurately to the canvassing centers showed that the system was working, Larrazabal said.
Larrazabal noted that the Comelec is taking note of the technical and procedural glitches during the tests to ensure that these will not be repeated on election day.
“There are some things we observe today that will help us in the conduct of elections,” he said.
“We are going to do another test, a more comprehensive one, which is the mock elections on Feb. 6,” he said.
Questions from residents
Some 20 residents, including barangay officials, participated in yesterday’s field-test demonstrations, throwing questions at Dionela and Comelec staff.
Pointing out that the telcos experience much traffic during holidays, Sahijuan said the same could happen on election day because the airwaves would be buzzing with queries about the results, among other things.
Dionela said the telcos have assured the Comelec that their services would be at their “fullest potential” on election day.
Dionela walked the observers through the process from the setting up of the machine at the precinct, to the printing of election returns and transmitting of the results to the main server in Intramuros.
Ballot too long
Teresa de Luna, 59, found the ballot to be too long and the letters too close to each other. Although she used her reading glasses to take a look at the ballot, she said it would be better if the letters were bigger.
Ricarido Bautista, 45, asked why people with disabilities have to be certified by a Comelec office to be handicapped just to allow the person to have a companion at the voting booth.
“The commission should have at least listed voters who had disabilities to spare them the hassle of proving their handicap,” he said.
Dionela explained that persons with disabilities who need to have companions when they vote have to prove to the election officer in their area of their handicap.
Sahijuan said yesterday’s demo had barely reassured him that the polls would go smoothly. He said he was hesitant about the new process but would still vote because “that’s my right and I don’t want it to go to waste.”
“I just hope the system would be further enhanced, but I believe automating the elections is the way to go,” he said.
More delays
In another field test in a remote village in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, on Thursday, it took nearly five hours for about 300 people to finish casting their ballots.
It also took more than an hour for the results to reach the provincial capitol in Koronadal City.
During the voting process, which started after 11 a.m., the machines encountered a slowdown, thereby delaying the process.
Jay Herada, the South Cotabato election supervisor, said the voting machine would regularly “pause” during the voting process, thereby delaying the printing of the results.
It was almost 5 p.m. when the mock balloting ended.
Herada blamed the delay in the transmission to a weak signal and bad weather.
He said there is a need to fine-tune the technical aspect of the automated voting such as changing the location of the machine to another area, where the signal would be stronger.
In Kidapawan City in North Cotabato, which was also one of the pilot-testing areas, the process went smoothly but observers raised the possibility of power failure on election day.
Election officer Diosdado Javier said the Comelec was coordinating with the power companies.
Soldiers to stop saboteurs
He said the military would also deploy soldiers to thwart saboteurs from attacking power lines.
If anything goes wrong, he said the machines are also equipped with an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system that will automatically operate in case of a power outage. - source: inquirer.net
After repeated attempts to transmit the results of the demo vote failed, residents who participated in the demo test at the Maharlika Elementary School in Taguig said they were afraid the vote could be tampered with should election inspectors fail to transmit the results right after polls close at 6 p.m. on May 10.
“What assurance do we have that the networks won’t bog down on election day?” asked Alhabsar Sahijuan, after technicians, using three different SIM cards, took almost an hour to send the results.
Simultaneous tests were also held at the Taguig Elementary School and Aguho Elementary School in Pateros.
36-hour period
Commission on Elections Spokesperson James Jimenez said the technical difficulties did not mean that the elections are doomed.
He noted that the tests were aimed at exposing the weaknesses of the system so that they could be addressed.
At the Taguig City Hall where the transmitted votes from Maharlika were received, Comelec official Celia Romero said that a delay in the transmission of results does not necessarily mean that there is a problem.
She said the Comelec has allotted some 36 hours for the transmission of returns from the precincts to the municipal level.
“We estimate the transmission time to be around two minutes, but in case there are delays, the 36-hour period would be sufficient to remedy the issue,” explained Romero, a member of the Comelec project management office which oversaw the demonstration.
She noted that from time to time text messages get delayed “but users still get the message.”
She also noted that aside from three SIM cards which will be issued to teachers, a broadband satellite connection and a high-speed Internet line are also on standby.
Signal problems
Michael Dioneda, Comelec director for the National Capital Region, said the four PCOS, which will be used to record and count the votes, encountered some problems during the transmission stage so the results could not be transmitted after several attempts.
“We encountered problems in terms of signal, but eventually it was all transmitted,” Dioneda told a press briefing.
The three machines in the Maharlika and Taguig elementary schools were able to transmit the results via GSM—the network used by cell phone providers—after Comelec officials changed the SIM cards.
The troubleshooting in the these instances lasted about 45 minutes and it took technicians three SIMs to get the signal for transmission, Dioneda said.
In the Aguho Elementary School, the problems with transmission persisted even after the SIM cards were replaced.
In the end, the technicians had to resort to the Broadband Global Arena Network satellite transmission to send the data to the canvassing center at the Pateros Municipal Hall.
One machine, also in the Aguho school, rejected four out of 10 ballots. Dioneda said the machines may have rejected the ballots because they were crumpled during the first field test last Wednesday.
Mock poll Feb. 6
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, the technology provider implementing the country’s first-ever electronic balloting, is addressing the problems encountered in the voting and transmission of ballots.
But that the machines were able to send the votes accurately to the canvassing centers showed that the system was working, Larrazabal said.
Larrazabal noted that the Comelec is taking note of the technical and procedural glitches during the tests to ensure that these will not be repeated on election day.
“There are some things we observe today that will help us in the conduct of elections,” he said.
“We are going to do another test, a more comprehensive one, which is the mock elections on Feb. 6,” he said.
Questions from residents
Some 20 residents, including barangay officials, participated in yesterday’s field-test demonstrations, throwing questions at Dionela and Comelec staff.
Pointing out that the telcos experience much traffic during holidays, Sahijuan said the same could happen on election day because the airwaves would be buzzing with queries about the results, among other things.
Dionela said the telcos have assured the Comelec that their services would be at their “fullest potential” on election day.
Dionela walked the observers through the process from the setting up of the machine at the precinct, to the printing of election returns and transmitting of the results to the main server in Intramuros.
Ballot too long
Teresa de Luna, 59, found the ballot to be too long and the letters too close to each other. Although she used her reading glasses to take a look at the ballot, she said it would be better if the letters were bigger.
Ricarido Bautista, 45, asked why people with disabilities have to be certified by a Comelec office to be handicapped just to allow the person to have a companion at the voting booth.
“The commission should have at least listed voters who had disabilities to spare them the hassle of proving their handicap,” he said.
Dionela explained that persons with disabilities who need to have companions when they vote have to prove to the election officer in their area of their handicap.
Sahijuan said yesterday’s demo had barely reassured him that the polls would go smoothly. He said he was hesitant about the new process but would still vote because “that’s my right and I don’t want it to go to waste.”
“I just hope the system would be further enhanced, but I believe automating the elections is the way to go,” he said.
More delays
In another field test in a remote village in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, on Thursday, it took nearly five hours for about 300 people to finish casting their ballots.
It also took more than an hour for the results to reach the provincial capitol in Koronadal City.
During the voting process, which started after 11 a.m., the machines encountered a slowdown, thereby delaying the process.
Jay Herada, the South Cotabato election supervisor, said the voting machine would regularly “pause” during the voting process, thereby delaying the printing of the results.
It was almost 5 p.m. when the mock balloting ended.
Herada blamed the delay in the transmission to a weak signal and bad weather.
He said there is a need to fine-tune the technical aspect of the automated voting such as changing the location of the machine to another area, where the signal would be stronger.
In Kidapawan City in North Cotabato, which was also one of the pilot-testing areas, the process went smoothly but observers raised the possibility of power failure on election day.
Election officer Diosdado Javier said the Comelec was coordinating with the power companies.
Soldiers to stop saboteurs
He said the military would also deploy soldiers to thwart saboteurs from attacking power lines.
If anything goes wrong, he said the machines are also equipped with an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) system that will automatically operate in case of a power outage. - source: inquirer.net
Friday, December 18, 2009
Real reason for poll counting machines delay bared
Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials on Thursday virtually acknowledged Smartmatic-TIM’s failure to deliver the agreed first batch of 42,000 units of counting machines for the May 2010 polls due to production constraints of the manufacturing subcontractor in Shanghai, China.
Comelec chair Jose Melo earlier said that Smartmatic-TIM could only deliver 30,000 this month because of the high shipping costs due to the holidays.
But in Thursday’s hearing of the joint Congressional oversight committee on automation, it was disclosed that Smartmatic has only manufactured 30,000 units this month, not 40,000 as earlier announced.
Initially, Comelec officials stuck to the alibi that the first batch of 40,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines may not arrive as scheduled because of delivery problems.
“It is actually a delivery problem because of the lack of maritime vessels that would bring the PCOS from Shanghai to Manila. It is Christmas season and everything comes from China,” Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino said when asked whether it is delivery or manufacturing problem that causing the delay in the automation project.
But when pressed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman whether the 40,000 to be delivered this December were already manufactured and ready for shipping, Tolentino backtracked.
Tolentino admitted that only 30,000 have been produced so far, and that the 10,000 units are still to be manufactured.
“We have a team that went to Shanghai, and based on the production run that was conducted, the spare parts available at the manufacturing plant, it's correct that more or less about 30,000 will be available by December,” Tolentino said.
Under the P7.1 billion contract signed between Comelec and Smartmatic, the latter is supposed to produce 82,200 PCOS machines for the country’s first ever nationwide polls.
The machines were supposed to be delivered in two batches, with the first batch of 40,000 last November.
However, only 9,800 would be delivered this month, and another 20,200 units after the holiday rush.
Revised timetable
Smartmatic, however, maintains that the delays in the automation project pertained only to delivery problems.
In spite of the apparent production problems, Comelec is optimistic that Smartmatic would be able to complete the manufacture of machines by February.
Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said that based on a revised timetable, Smartmatic will be able to beat the deadline of the delivery of machines by one week.
Concerns have been raised over Smartmatic’s failure to beat its deadline in the delivery of machines, which is causing a domino effect on Comelec’s timetable.
The field testings and mock elections should have been held last November and this month, but the lack of machines prompted Comelec to revise its schedule.
The Comelec has also yet to start training teachers and poll officials on poll automation.
Comelec chair Jose Melo earlier said that Smartmatic-TIM could only deliver 30,000 this month because of the high shipping costs due to the holidays.
But in Thursday’s hearing of the joint Congressional oversight committee on automation, it was disclosed that Smartmatic has only manufactured 30,000 units this month, not 40,000 as earlier announced.
Initially, Comelec officials stuck to the alibi that the first batch of 40,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines may not arrive as scheduled because of delivery problems.
“It is actually a delivery problem because of the lack of maritime vessels that would bring the PCOS from Shanghai to Manila. It is Christmas season and everything comes from China,” Comelec executive director Jose Tolentino said when asked whether it is delivery or manufacturing problem that causing the delay in the automation project.
But when pressed by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman whether the 40,000 to be delivered this December were already manufactured and ready for shipping, Tolentino backtracked.
Tolentino admitted that only 30,000 have been produced so far, and that the 10,000 units are still to be manufactured.
“We have a team that went to Shanghai, and based on the production run that was conducted, the spare parts available at the manufacturing plant, it's correct that more or less about 30,000 will be available by December,” Tolentino said.
Under the P7.1 billion contract signed between Comelec and Smartmatic, the latter is supposed to produce 82,200 PCOS machines for the country’s first ever nationwide polls.
The machines were supposed to be delivered in two batches, with the first batch of 40,000 last November.
However, only 9,800 would be delivered this month, and another 20,200 units after the holiday rush.
Revised timetable
Smartmatic, however, maintains that the delays in the automation project pertained only to delivery problems.
In spite of the apparent production problems, Comelec is optimistic that Smartmatic would be able to complete the manufacture of machines by February.
Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said that based on a revised timetable, Smartmatic will be able to beat the deadline of the delivery of machines by one week.
Concerns have been raised over Smartmatic’s failure to beat its deadline in the delivery of machines, which is causing a domino effect on Comelec’s timetable.
The field testings and mock elections should have been held last November and this month, but the lack of machines prompted Comelec to revise its schedule.
The Comelec has also yet to start training teachers and poll officials on poll automation.
Monday, November 30, 2009
How Automated Election Works
The Commission on Elections recently demonstrated how the 2010 automated polls will work and explained how this system will improve the electoral process.
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