Comelec: Source codes safe with BSP, errors corrected

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday deposited the three source codes of the automated election system at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), declaring the errors earlier found in the system have been corrected.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said they were able to address the problems seen in the source codes by Denver-based SLI Global Solutions, which was tapped by the poll body to certify the system.

The source codes are used for the election management system, the vote counting machines (VCM) and consolidation and canvassing system.

“When it comes to the source codes, I think we are OK.  We had an end-to-end test at the warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna (yesterday) and I was informed it was successful. I also want to see this in action,” Bautista said.

Bautista added the poll body is looking forward to testing the systems further in today’s mock elections.

The Comelec will conduct today a simulation of the elections in selected cities and municipalities nationwide, covering some 25,000 registered voters.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating … so we will see tomorrow (today) how it goes. We will simulate the entire election exercise during the mock elections,” he said.

According to Bautista, the mock elections will serve as “technical rehearsals” of the Comelec’s preparations for the May 9 polls.

“We are going through a process which can help us improve on our preparations to make sure that all systems are green and go on May 9 … elections should come close to perfection,” he added.

No SIM cards

But in today’s mock polls, the Comelec will not use SIM cards in transmitting the ballots from the voting centers to the canvassing centers and to the national data base.

“I understand that we will be using BGAN for the transmission. We have to do this because the telecommunication providers were not ready with their SIM cards.  This is something we have to look at,” Bautista said.

The Comelec had acquired BGAN or broadband global area network satellite as a back up plan in areas where telecommunication signals are either weak or unavailable. 

In the 2013 polls, the transmission rate was 70 percent and Comelec is aiming to increase the rate.

Bautista added the telecommunication companies have given assurance the SIM cards will be available in time for the elections and Comelec is eyeing to hold another dry run to check the quality of transmission. 

In today’s simulated elections, the Comelec said it intends to test and ensure the adequate security, accuracy, system and functional capability and integrity of the vote counting machines, transmission devices and consolidation and canvassing system.  

The Comelec is also aiming to simulate the process of election, deployment, actual voting and consolidation of votes, as well as transmission procedures and “to develop public confidence and acceptance of the automated election system.”

Comelec earlier hinted that some precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines were malfunctioning and failing to correctly read the ballots, which may have been because of a glitch in the source code.

The new vote-counting machines were reportedly rejecting one to two percent of the ballots during tests.

Comelec explained this was caused by an “overly sensitive self-diagnosing mechanism” of the VCM that was designed to prevent a repeat of the digital lines that appeared on the ballots in the 2013 elections.

Bautista assured the public the technical issues have been solved.

Despite the assurance, critics and candidates expressed their fears that this year’s elections might be faulty.

The camp of presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe and vice presidential candidate Sen. Francis Escudero urged the Comelec to hold a dialog with stakeholders to discuss the status of the preparations for the May 9 elections.

Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian also took note of the delay in the printing of the official ballots.

Senatorial candidate Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said it would be unthinkable to postpone the elections just because of the glitch in the voting machines or delay in the printing of the ballots.

The administration Liberal Party-led Daang Matuwid Coalition coalition also expressed worry over the reported delays and glitches.

Coalition spokesman Akbayan party-list Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez said the Comelec must make sure the voting machines to be used in the elections will be reliable and accurate.

“The credibility of the elections rests on the reliability of the PCOS machines. We hope that Comelec can address these issues before the elections,” Gutierrez said.

Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also expressed fears over the glitches in the voting machines.

“It bothers me. Every time the Comelec prepares for election, it will not run smoothly. All of us are worried. It could be just a simple problem but it scared us. The problem in the source code is the root of all problems,” Marcos said.

With the discovery of the glitches, Marcos said they would strictly monitor the system being done by Comelec and the potential abuse in election results. –With Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero, Jun Elias