Comelec: Same PCOS for 2013 polls By Marie A. Surbano 06/11/2010

Comelec: Same PCOS for 2013 polls

By Marie A. Surbano 06/11/2010 Still insisting that the automated elections were a huge success due to the speed with which the election results were posted, a few hours after the polls closed, and dismissing all charges of electronic fraud as baseless, coming as they do from losing candidates, Commission on Elections Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal yesterday said that the PCOS and its system will still be utilized for the 2013 polls. Larrazabal said he and the rest of the poll officials realized the use of PCOS machines as vital in the next elections because it has been proven to be fast. But he stressed “we have to discuss this in the en banc. (But off-hand), we have come to agree that the (PCOS) system is ideal for 2013… Personally, I think it should be the PCOS because people now know how to vote.” In its probe, the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms uncovered instances far too numerous to be ignored, of pre-shaded ballots, discrepancies in dates, time and results in election returns (ERs), re-scanned ballots and unconfirmed reports of pre-programmed compact flash (CF) cards, and a possible connivance between Smartmatic, the technical provider and Comelec to leave the doors wide open for electronic fraud. The Comelec leased over 82,200 PCOS machines to the consortium of Smartmatic Corp-Total Information Management Corp., for P7.2 billion. Five days before the May 10 polls, however, the Comelec ordered the recall of all its compact flash cards after showing technical problems when machines rejected reading the names of the candidates for the local positions. Larrazabal admitted that the system is still in need of more improvements but pointed that the May 10 elections was definitely “better”. “It’s not a perfect election but definitely it’s a better election compared to previous elections,” said Larrazabal. “It heralded a new era of elections in the country. And in 2013, the voters would expect nothing less than that.” Some of the proofs of the “better elections”, Larrazabal noted, are the faster time to cast the votes, the opportunity to see all the names of the candidates in the ballots, and the speed of the results’ availability. The Comelec official said there are still some things they would like to see amended in order for the country to have a better election system and that everything does not lie in their hands.... MORE     Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100611hed6.html

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