Comelec considering manual voting, automated canvassing for 2016 polls

Newly appointed Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista said Thursday that the poll body is considering all modes of voting for the 2016 elections, including the hybrid Transparent and Credible Election System (TCReS), or a mix of manual voting and automated canvassing.

“I think we’re looking at various options. Of course yung automated election tried and tested na in 2010 and 2013, itong hybrid hindi pa natin nate-test pero, as I said, tingnan natin baka naman pwedeng i-fast-track itong option na ito,” he told reporters after a hearing at the Senate.

Bautista said that there will be a presentation of the TCReS at the Comelec on May 27.

He added that the TCReS is part of their efforts to look for the best voting mode to use in next year’s elections.

“As I said, parallel lahat ito eh. So we’re considering all options. The only thing we’re not considering is pure manual, and [having] no election is out of the question,” he said.

This month the Comelec is set to start the process for the parallel bidding for the refurbishment of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and the procurement of new ones. The poll body expects to award the contract by the end of July.

“Kaya nga natin ito ginagawa, itong parallel bidding dahil nga medyo gahol na tayo sa panahon, but ang ginagawa natin is that we’re just trying to preserve our options moving forward para kumbaga in July, alam natin kung ano yung mga options that’s still available so that we can have elections in May 2016,” he said.

Pimentel: Anticipate problems like digital lines

In a separate interview, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said the timeline presented by the Comelec is "realistic."

“So far the Comelec has presented to us a realistic calendar: that by July 30 of this year, awarded na po ang contracts for the machines that we will use in 2016. So July 30 and then delivery na after a few months. Ang importante [ay] before December nandito na yung mga machines,” he said.

In case the Comelec decides to use PCOS machines, Pimentel asked the poll body to anticipate the problems that might come with the system, such as digital lines, or extraneous lines appearing on electronic ballot images that appeared on several ballots in 2013.

“Baka merong mga hindi magagandang plano at sadyain ang paglabas ng digital lines in 2016," he said.

"Kaya nga ang pakiusap ko sa Comelec i-anticipate itong mga ill-motivated personalities na posibleng i-take advantage yung mga information kanina to sabotage or to degrade the count in 2016. I-anticipate na ng Comelec 'yan at gumawa na sila ng safeguards and incorporate this in their general instructions to the board of election inspectors."

The Department of Science and Technology said that the digital lines were caused by accumulated dust, dirt, and particles on the PCOS machines.

Pimentel said he believes the digital lines were not an attempt to cheat.

“Kasi hindi high-tech ang nag-cause ng digital lines kundi dirt, dust, particles. Hindi software or code ang nag cause ng digital lines,” he said. — BM, GMA News