Comelec: Public may view OMR source code in October

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said the public may review the source code of the technology that will be used in the 2016 polls starting next month, earlier than in the previous automated elections.

At a press conference, the Comelec announced that the De La Salle University in Taft Avenue, Manila, has agreed to host the review of the source code of the leased Optical Mark Reader (OMR) machines for free.

Starting October 1, poll watchdogs, political parties, and other concerned citizens may examine the base code of the OMR machines' software there.

The Comelec has leased 93,000 OMR units for the 2016 elections, with the en banc granting the contract for both the initial 23,000 OMR machines and the additional 70,000 units to Smartmatic-TIM.

The base source code serves as the "blueprint" of the software, the electronic "script that the machines will follow in handling the data input," the Comelec said.

Those who will review the code shall look for "malicious lines" that may hamper proper scanning of ballots.

Comelec chair Andres Bautista has maintained that this is part of the poll body's initiative for more transparency in connection with next year's elections.

"It's also the responsibility of Comelec to educate, try to get people to understand the process better because if you build confidence in the process, then I think it would be more accepted," he said.

"What we're trying to do is to increase transparency, efficiency, and accountability in our process, and this is one of the things we're trying to do," he added.

Bautista pointed out that they have allotted some eight months for the review, longer than the period given in previous elections. —KBK, GMA News