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Data center lack may 'disturb' automated polls


(Update 9:13 PM) The Philippines’ first automated elections may be “disturbed" if the government fails to find a data center that will house servers used for tabulating poll results from voting machines. "The elections will be disturbed," Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said, during the hearing of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Automated Polls on Tuesday. The Comelec’s main data center – which will be the location of the servers – was supposed to be located at the MK2 data center owned by Globe Telecommunications Inc. The Makati City facility is expected to provide office space and communications support to servers of Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM), the company that is also supplying automated poll machines. However, Globe later disallowed Smartmatic from using its facility even after it already installed servers at MK2. The MK2 facility is “not as secure as we want it to be," a source familiar with the matter told GMANews.TV. The source added that Globe is still “evaluating" various sites and that the “evaluation will not cause delay the elections." The company is “fully supportive of the electoral process," the source said. “Whatever is being required from us is something we will comply with." To allay Globe’s concerns, Melo promised that the government will provide security it needs. Melo also offered give the company “a battalion of soldiers" and even “air cover 24 hours a day," but Globe reportedly “did not respond," he said during the hearing. Once the location is finalized, setting up the data center would be easy and may take only a couple of days. All that is needed is to bring the servers to the new locations and plug them in. Globe’s Pampanga facility fails to meet requirements The Ayala-controlled telecommunications company later offered a similar facility located in Clark Field, Pampanga to provide Smartmatic a more secure location. However, the facility failed to meet 14 out of the 20 requirements given by Smartmatic, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters in a separate interview. Nonetheless, representatives from the Comelec and Smartmatic will still be visiting the data center to check it out one more time. “If the facilities suggested by Globe [are] inadequate, we go with what was earlier planned [because] it might affect the reliability and security of the data center, in the end we will suffer," Larrazabal said. Because of this, Globe has agreed to let them use their facilities in Makati should the site in Clark fail to meet Smartmatic's requirements, Larrazabal added. The Comelec is expected to come out with the final details regarding the matter in two days. For its part, Smartmatic has yet to finalize details regarding the matter, company spokesman Gene Gregorio told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. "Talks are still ongoing," Gregorio said. In the meantime, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said it was “ready and willing" to provide a back-up data center for Smartmatic. The back-up facility will contain the same equipment and support in the main data center, PLDT public affairs head Ramon Isberto told GMANews.TV. PLDT has yet to enter a contract with Smartmatic regarding the back-up data center, Isberto added. - with Andreo Calonzo, Robert JA Basilio Jr./GMANews.TV
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