Brillantes to order temporary stop in the release of results from transparency server

(Updated 1:27 p.m.) Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. is set to order the temporary stop in the release of unofficial election results coming from the Commission on Election’s transparency server which is being accessed by watchdogs and media.

 

“Now, I’m going to issue already that we stop the transparency for the meantime. Suspend lang para hindi magkagulo dahil magpo-proclaim na kami mamayang gabi e,” Brillantes told reporters in a chance interview.

 

At a press briefing, he said the suspension is to give respect to the National Board of Canvassers that he heads, which is set to proclaim five to six winning senatorial candidates Thursday evening.

 

He added the results will still be received by the watchdogs and the media but they should not release it.

“We will make a formal order to stop the unofficial count once we decide to proclaim today. We don’t want any conflict with the unofficial count and the formal proclamation,” Brillantes said.

He clarified that they will not order the complete stop of the release of result from the transparency server.

“We are just suspending the transparency results while we are proclaiming the winners tapos they can resume after the proclamation and they can continue to publish after the proclamation,” he said.

“Break lang sila, suspension lang during proclamation day. If it will take us two days, magkakaroon ng suspension for two days. Once we have proclaimed all the 12 then the transparency can continue,” he added.

Brillantes earlier said that the partial proclamation may take place Thursday night if the NBOC decides to junk the motion of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) to defer the proclamation of senatorial bets.


Slow transmission

On Wednesday, there were criticisms that the transmission has been slower in 2013 compared to the 2010 elections.

In the 2010 elections, 78.55 percent of votes for national positions were released within 11 hours after the precincts closed. In 2013, nearly 48 hours after the last ballots were cast on Monday, only 69.24 percent of polling precincts had transmitted election returns.

 

But when asked about the slow transmission of election returns, Brillantes said that since the results from it are considered unofficial, it will not affect the National Board of Canvassers which receives the official results through a ladderized system.

 

From the precincts, the results are transmitted to the city or municipal board of canvassers which will transmit all the results it will gather to the provincial board of canvassers.

 

The provincial board of canvassers will then transmit the complete results to the NBOC.

Moreover, Brillantes said the signal problem – which was reportedly one of the factors in the slow down of the transmission of results to the transparency server – will not affect the official results given to the NBOC.

“The signal problem will affect the results that are sent directly to the transparency server but the signal problem will not affect the NBOC kasi may contingency kami dyan,” he said.

“'Pag hindi makarating, dinadala yung CF (compact flash) card diretso sa board of canvassers. Kaya iba yung official sa transparency, kulang man sila ng 30 percent,  sa NBOC hindi ganun kalaki ang kulang,” he added.

On the concern that there might be CF card switching, Brillantes said only those with dirty minds will think of that because all the political parties and poll watchdogs have representatives during the canvassing at every level.

“Yung madudumi ang isip 'yun ang iisipin, pero nakabantay naman lahat ng watchers, ano ba namang switching ang pinagsasabi? Ito na naman, balik na naman tayo sa mga taong labas na puro duda, puro spekulasyon. Hindi ba sila nakatutok, UNA and LP have their watchers, andun ang PPCRV, andun din ang Namfrel sa presinto, e 'di sumama sila para malaman nila,” he said.

Asked if Smartmatic will be held accountable for the problems, the poll chief said: “We will hold them accountable for any error that they have committed, we have a contract with them.”

But said, "wala pa akong alam na mali ng Smartmatic." — with Kimberly Jane Tan/KG/HS/RSJ/LBG/KBK, GMA News