Ultraviolet lamps will be used to check ballots’ authenticity

(Updated 2 - 9:53 PM) Ultraviolet (UV) lamps will be used on election day to check whether ballots are true and genuine, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday. The poll body will use UV lamps to manually verify each ballot through its UV markings, after it reportedly decided to turn off one of the functions of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines. The machines are originally expected not just to count and check the votes as marked on the ballots, but also to verify genuine ballots and reject counterfeit ones. The commission was prompted to use UV lamps to verify authenticity of ballots after their UV markings have moved out of alignment, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told GMANews.TV. As a result, the PCOS machines may find it difficult to read the ballots’ UV markings, he added. UV markings are security features used as a safeguard against fraud. A similar technology is used by banks to detect counterfeit paper money. "Baka hindi mabasa. Mas mabuti na i-manual check (It might not be read. It's better to manually check it)," he said. UV markings in the ballots — which are printed by the National Printing Office (NPO) — are out of alignment by one to two millimeters, Larrazabal said. “It happens talaga na sa UV marking parang nagagalaw (It happens that UV markings move out of alignment when printed)," he told GMANews.TV in a separate phone interview. The commissioner added that there are other security features that would prove the authenticity of the ballot. Besides the type of paper used for the ballots, other security features also include using the Comelec’s own UV ink, a bar code, Comelec markings, and the unique precinct-based numbers on the ballot, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said. However, the Liberal Party (LP) expressed doubts about these features. "Bakit pinatay yung scanner sa (Why did they turn off the scanner of the) machine, we have strong reservations about it," said LP campaign manager Florencio "Butch" Abad in a press conference held in Intramuros, Manila. He also said that the people might become disoriented with this additional voting step. "If you look at the process, you can more or less imagine the confusion and the chaos," he said. In the meantime, Comelec’s move to undertake manual ballot verification only underscores “quality issues," a poll watchdog said. The move brings questions regarding the quality of the paper, the ink used in printing UV markings, the printing process, and the capability of the PCOS machines themselves, Roberto Verzola, secretary-general of Halalang Marangal, told GMANews.TV in a separate phone interview. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV