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CANDIDATES on Friday expressed worries over the ability of the Commission on Elections to conduct an orderly and credible election in May after the poll body admitted that there were glitches in the software controlling its automated voting system.
Independent presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe and her running mate, Senator Francis Escudero urged the Comelec to meet with stakeholders to discuss the status of preparations for the May 9 elections, given reports that there were problems during the initial testing of the vote-counting machines.
Poe and Escudero said such a meeting would help address concerns over glitches in the automated system that could hurt the credibility of the elections.
The team’s lawyer, George Garcia, said they were particularly concerned over a statement by the international certifying company SLI Global Solutions that 1 or 2 percent of balloTs were rejected by the machines during a ballot verification test in Comelec’s storage facility in Laguna earlier this week.
Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, said the reported problems gave them a reason to be cautious.
Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also expressed alarm over the rejection of 1 to 2 percent of ballots.
With about 50 million ballots set for printing, such a rejection rate would mean 500,000 to one million ballots may be rejected, Marcos warned.
“Every time the Comelec’s preparations for the elections [don’t go] smoothly, all of us candidates are worried,” he said.
Marcos added that the Comelec’s statement that voting might be delayed in some areas was also a cause for concern because the delays had a potential for abuse.
“We have to make sure that if there are problems, they should immediately attend to them—that’s the main thing,” he said.
Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez urged the public to be vigilant in light of the Comelec’s admission that there were errors found in the source code for the consolidation and canvassing system and the vote counting machines.
“The people are watching all the developments for the May presidential elections. We should continue to remain vigilant,” Romualdez said.
Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the poll body was open to dialogue, but urged stakeholders to instead attend its meeting with the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Automated Election System on Feb. 16, which would address many of the issues that the candidates have raised.
In a press conference, Bautista said there was nothing to fear about the earlier glitches encountered since these could help the Comelec enhance preparations.
“What is important is come Election Day, we are as close to perfect,” Bautista told the reporters after the turnover ceremony of the corrected source code at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
With the glitch fixed, the Comelec was ready for mock elections with 25,000 registered voters in 20 cities and municipalities nationwide Saturday.
“We want to emphasize that the mock elections for 2016 are the most extensive mock elections that haven been conducted,” Bautista said.
“We are having mock elections in 20 locations all over the country,” he said.
The Comelec said the objectives of the mock elections are 1) 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; 2) to simulate the conduct of election (deployment, voting, and consolidation) and transmission procedures; and 3) to develop public confidence and acceptance of the Automated Filing System. With Maricel V. Cruz