Category: election reform
News: Comelec rethinks manual poll count
The Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine
ManilaTimes.net: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said that it needs more time to decide on whether it would conduct a parallel manual count for the country’s first automated elections on May 10.
It was reacting to a proposal from the elite Makati Business Club (MBC) for such count, whose implementation it said might be harder than it looked.
James Jimenez, Comelec spokesman, referred concerned groups and citizens pushing for the manual tally to logistical and administrative factors that the MBC proposal entails.
“It’s not a simple matter of just saying, ‘we want to do this and, therefore, tomorrow it will be done,’” Jimenez said.
“Hindi ito simpleng bagay lamang. Sino ba naman ang may ayaw ng karagdagang seguridad? Sino ba naman ang may ayaw ng karagdagang validation dun sa resulta? Ngunit ang problema ay ang parallel manual count ay isang masalimuot na activity na kailangan ng maraming elemento na magtutugma para siya gumana ng maayos [The manual count is not a simple matter. Who would reject tightened security for the votes? Who does not want additional validation of the results? The problem is that the parallel manual count is a labyrinthine activity that requires many elements for it to work effectively],” he added.
A factor that the Comelec has to look into, Jimenez said, is how the parallel manual count would impact on other activities of the poll body for the Philippines’ first nationwide automated polls.
The MBC proposed that members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) manually count the votes for the positions of president, vice president and any of these three local elective positions—governor, congressman or mayor.
The parallel manual count was proposed by the Information Technology (IT) community, which cited the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines having lost the necessary security measures such as digital signature and ultraviolet markings.
“Even if it takes one hour or three more hours and some tens of millions of pesos, it [conduct of parallel manual count] is a step well worth taking because credibility is extremely important in these elections,” MBC Chairman Ramon del Rosario said.
If the difference between the results of the manual count and the count by Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines is 1 percent or less, the BEI can immediately transmit the results. But if the difference is more than 1 percent, then, the proposal is to request full manual count for all the elective positions.
MBC Executive Director Alberto Lim said that the tolerance level of the errors is 1 per 20,000 ballots.
In time and motion studies conducted by the business club, there will be three additional hours for conducting the parallel manual count. If there are discrepancies in the ballots in a precinct, a full manual count for that precinct will be conducted, giving an additional two days for the canvassing of votes.
Financial aspect
Lim said that they are not against the automated elections in May, they just want assurance that the PCOS machines will be accurate.
The additional step for a parallel manual count will cost an additional P500 million, much of which will be allocated for the extra hours put in by the BEIs.
Comelec officials said that the financial aspect is not the main consideration since there are other factors that the poll body must consider.
The Philippine Bar Association said that it agrees with the MBC proposal for the parallel manual count not just for three positions but five.
Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that the commission en banc would make a decision on the MBC proposal in the “next few days.”
What a consumer group simply wants is for the Comelec to clarify whether the conduct of a parallel manual count is feasible.
The poll body on Sunday reportedly said that “it was too late to resort to a parallel manual count” but on Monday also reportedly said that “it had not ruled out the same.”
“This is certainly confusing and it not only erodes the public’s confidence in the automated elections but also highlights Comelec’s lack of transparency with regard to its state of preparedness,” Raul Concepcion, Consumer and Oil Price Watch (COPW) chairman, said in a statement also on Monday.
“This latest flip-flopping only reinforces COPW’s doubts that the automated elections will work,” Concepcion added.
He said that the Comelec should immediately finish distributing some 50 million ballots to the 77,000 clustered precincts and mailing sample ballots with precinct
Concepcion added that the poll body should assure the public that the 82,000 PCOS machines would work during the elections.
During a radio interview also on Monday, Malacañang deputy spokesman Gary Olivar said that the parallel manual count, if allowed by the Comelec, will be useless since the law mandates that it is the results of the automated polls that must be followed.
“A parallel manual count will not help the stability of the elections. The automation of the coming elections is there precisely to address all the problems in a manual system,” Olivar added.
Instead of criticizing the Comelec in the conduct of the automated polls, according to him, the public should support the poll body.
“We have to make up our mind. Once we decide [on automation], let’s go ahead with it. Let’s support the Comelec,” he said.
Presentation: Parallel Manual Count by Gus Lagman [updated]
Attached are two versions of my presentation: the first was delivered last Friday before top news editors of TV and print media; the second was presented this morning during a press conference at the Club Filipino (which was broadcast “live” on ANC).
One difference that might make you wonder is that in the first, I stated that the manual count for all positions would take 2 days. In the second, it’s 4 days. In the first, I was referring only to the precinct activities; in the second, I included the additional two days at the canvassing levels.
It’s only 14-1/2 days before election day and the closer we get to that day, the more difficult it would be to implement our proposed solution to automated cheating. We desperately need the help of media in putting pressure on the Comelec to adopt this parallel manual count (or “100% manual audit”, or “manual verification of results”, take your pick, they’re all the same).
We might get an audience with the Comelec en banc tomorrow morning. Let’s all pray that they agree to our proposal. If they don’t… may God help us.
Thank you and warmest regards,
Gus Lagman
PS: Sonny Marcelo, former Ombudsman, commented this morning, “Usually, people are happy when they are being proven right. But I can see that Gus is unhappy (and truly worried, if I may add) for being now proven right!”
News: Big business groups call for manual count
Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo offers a toast while holding the last ballot printed at the National Printing Office yesterday. The NPO has printed 50,850,939 ballots to be used in next month’s automated elections.
PhilSTAR.com: MANILA, Philippines – The country’s major business groups want the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct a parallel manual count of the votes for president, vice president and mayors to ensure transparency in the country’s first automated polls.
The Makati Business Club (MBC), the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) said a parallel manual count would entail P500 million in expenses – and additional man-hours – but would make the results of the elections more credible.
Information technology expert Gus Lagman has made a similar appeal to the Comelec.
The business groups said six of the nine presidential candidates have endorsed the manual count proposal. Only Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. and Lakas-Kampi-CMD candidate Gilbert Teodoro have not given their positions on the proposal. Bagumbayan standard-bearer Sen. Richard Gordon, meanwhile, is against it because he is one of the proponents of the poll automation law.
The group said manual counting is “more reflective of the will of the voters.”
The business groups arrived at the decision to support a manual count of the votes at a meeting attended by Finex president Gregorio Navarro, MBC executive director Alberto Lim, MAP chairman Ramon del Rosario, MAP members former Trade secretary Juan Santos, and former Development Bank of the Philippines chairman Vitaliano Nanagas, among others.
Lagman said they would present their proposal to the Comelec on Monday. He said the Comelec must decide on their proposal before April 29 as there is little time left before the May 10 elections.
He said a manual counting of votes can stave off a failure of elections as well as ensure that an “automated Garci” does not succeed.
“Garci” is widely believed to refer to former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano who reportedly helped manipulate the results of the 2004 elections to ensure Mrs. Arroyo’s victory against the late popular actor Fernando Poe Jr. A wiretapped phone conversation between Mrs. Arroyo and a man she called “Garci” regarding an alleged poll fraud plot became the basis of unsuccessful impeachment cases against her.
Lagman, meanwhile, said there is a need for a backup manual count and not just a random count, citing possible glitches in the technology of Smartmatic-TIM, the consortium undertaking the automated election system.
The proposal of the businessmen is to make a manual count of the votes for the three positions and compare them with the automated results. If the discrepancy is less than one percent then the machine count will be used, but if the discrepancy is one percent or more then there is a need to manually count all the votes for all the positions.
The manual count for the president, vice president and mayor will only take an additional three hours, but if there is a discrepancy then the manual count may mean an additional two days. “But what is that compared to credible and honest elections,” Del Rosario said.
The business groups said they have already addressed the concerns of the Comelec regarding their proposal.
They added that there is nothing in the law that prohibits manual counting of the votes for the three positions.
The manual count of the votes for the three positions, they said, would eliminate the need for random manual audit.
The random manual audit will be done after the proclamation of winners. The random audit covers five precincts per district, or equivalent to roughly one million voters.
Earlier, the Philippine Bar Association and the Alyansa Agrikultura also pushed for parallel manual counting of votes to countercheck results of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.
A group of overseas Filipinos with signatories from the United States and other countries was also set to petition the Comelec for a parallel manual account.
Press Release: Five Presidentiables want 100% Precinct Manual Count – Alyansa Agrikultura
Ernesto Ordonez, chair of Alyansa Agrikultura, a farmer-fisherfolk coalition composed of 42 federations and organizations representing all major agricultural sectors, today said, they collected the signatures of five presidentiables to throw their support to the snowballing demand for a 100% precinct manual count. The agricultural sector comprises 40% of the voting population, or 16 million voters.
“We have the signatures of five presidential candidates declaring support for the position recommended by Information Technology professionals last April 13. These presidentiables are Former President Joseph Estrada, Senator Jamby Madrigal, Eddie Villanueva, Nicanor Perlas, and J.C. delos Reyes,” Ordonez said
Ordoñez explained: After the voting has been finished, the Board of Election Inspectors will manually count the votes in 100% of the precincts for president, vice president, and a local official selected at random such as governor, mayor or congressman/congresswoman. This count will then be compared to the computer count.
This same position was endorsed by the Management Association of the Philippines, representing the business community, and the Alyansa Agrikultura, representing the farmers and fisherfolk on April 14 and 15, respectively.
An excerpt from the statement said: “If the counts are similar, then the assumption is that the computer count is valid and not rigged. The votes for all positions can then be transmitted as the basis for the proclamation of the winning candidates. But if the votes are different, then the computer count can be assumed to be not valid and possibly rigged. In these cases, the count of all positions will then be undertaken. The manual count will be the basis for the proclamation of the winning candidates.
“For the sake of credible elections and our democracy, we strongly recommend that Comelec adopt this position.”
Press Release: Comelec’s last chance, say farmers
“Next week may be the last chance for Comelec to take two decisive actions that will leave a legacy to be admired and respected, rather than criticized and disparaged.” This was the press statement read by Alyansa Agrikultura Chair Ernesto Ordonez.
The Alyansa Agrikultura is a farmer-fisherfolk coalition composed of 42 federations and organizations representing all the major agricultural sub-sectors. This is the largest voting sector, composed of 40% of the electorate or 16 million voters. Because of this, the Alyansa had been previously invited to three Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) hearings on Automated Election.
The Alyansa statement said that the first key action is to adopt the 100% precinct parallel manual count for the president, vice president and mayor or governor, as had been suggested by the IT professionals last April 13. If the manual count is similar to the computer count, then the automation can proceed with an average delay of only three hours.
However, if the manual count differs significantly from the computer count, there is a great probability that the computer was rigged. In these cases, there will be an additional four days to manually count all the votes and transmit them. Nevertheless, the ensuing seven-day time frame to complete the process is only 1/6 of the 42-day period under the old system. Jaime Tadeo, Rice Council of the Philippines chair, said, “This slight delay is well worth the benefit of enhanced confidence in the elections that will take place.”
The second key action is to implement what the Alyansa Agrikultura had previously proposed during the January 27 Joint Congressional Oversight Committee hearing on automated elections: to make transparent the canvassing of the votes with a check and balance system. This means that the canvassing center must show not only the total vote count in the center (Certificate of Canvass or COC) but also the component vote subtotals (Statement of Votes or SOV).
The Automated Election System (AES) Watch had previously recommended that Comelec should install projectors in every canvassing center to show both the COCs and the SOVs to detect discrepancies between the precinct-reported SOVs and those shown at the canvassing centers. In the same way, the totals in the COCs can be verified as correct once the individual SOVs are likewise shown in the canvassing center. Last April 14, the Management Association of the Philippines advocated this move in a press conference on automated elections at the Asian Institute of Management.
Rodolfo Niones, chair of the KASAMNE onion grower association, pointed out that the estimated P500 million cost of implementing these two actions was a very small part of the P7.2 billion allocated for the AES, and less than the P700 million that was almost spent for the election folders. Ruperto Aleroza, chair of Pambansang Katipunan ng Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK) and also chair of Kilusang Mangingisdan (KM), the nation’s biggest fisherfolk coalition, concluded: “That is a small price to pay for a credible election and an admirable Comelec legacy for others to follow.”
The Movement for Good Governance 