Namfrel worried about four disabled poll safeguards

At least four disabled security provisions in the Philippines’ first nationwide automated polls have left the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) worried. This is the reason why the poll watchdog expressed its concern “over the disablement or delay of certain safeguard provisions which were originally written into the election automation law," its national chairperson Jose Cuisia said. The watchdog chief cited the supposed “wrong use" of ink for the printing ultraviolet (UV) marks, one of the features that would check whether a ballot is genuine. Earlier, the Comelec said that it will be using handheld UV lamps to verify a ballot’s authenticity. The poll body was prompted to resort to this measure after UV marks were misaligned owing to the high-speed printing of the ballots, making it difficult for the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine to read security markings. But political analyst Ramon Casiple, a member of the Comelec Advisory Council, disclosed that the voting machines could not read the security features because poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM actually failed to supply the correct ink for the UV marks. Cuisia questioned how the hand-held UV lamps would deter ballot fraud since these will presumably detect any type of UV ink and not necessarily just the mark specific for the ballot. "They wanted to avoid manual intervention (but) now there's an added step," he said. Smartmatic-TIM Asia president Cesar Flores, however, said that the switch to manual verification was a consequence of the lack of time in poll preparation. At least now voters will be able to verify for themselves that their ballots are authentic and not pre-marked, he added. The poll body is currently in the process of bidding out the order for 77,000 UV lamps for the 76,340 clustered precincts in the May polls, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said. The poll body has allotted P30 million for the purchase. Using UV lamps won’t delay the voting process Using UV lamps to check the whether ballots are genuine or not would not delay the voting process, Larrazabal told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. Subjecting a ballot under a lamp would only take around two to five seconds, he said, adding that using the equipment would no longer require additional training of teachers who will be helping facilitate the process. Larrazabal also doubted that security markings embedded by the Comelec on the ballots could be replicated to rig the elections "Hindi naman magagaya ang markings kasi kami lang ang nakakaalam kung ano ang itsura nung markings [The markings cannot be copied because only the Comelec knows how they look like]," he said. Nevertheless, the Comelec assured that the authenticity of the ballots would not be reliant on the UV markings alone, citing other verification processes. He also dismissed allegations that hand-held UV lamps may be unable to distinguish between a genuine and a fraudulent ballot. "The UV markings are just one step of the process of verification... We still have other security-compensating measures," he said, adding that bar codes, other Comelec markings, and the unique precinct-based numbers on the ballot would still be checked to ensure the authenticity of ballots. Larrazabal said the UV lamps could probably be "deployed" at the same time the ballots are distributed to the municipal treasurers, which would start next week. He refused to give the Comelec's detailed schedule for the distribution of UV lamps, saying "there should be a balance between transparency and security." He feared that letting the public know when and where the lamps would be handed over could open up opportunities for people who could be planning to disrupt the polls. Namfrel questions removal of provisions for digital signature Cuisia also asked why the poll body had removed a provision for digital signatures. Republic Act 9369 requires that election returns and certificates of canvass be digitally signed by members of the Boards of Election Inspectors. However, the Comelec's revised general instructions for Board of Election Inspectors indicated that BEIs need not insert their digital signatures. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez earlier said the commission had only removed one step from the closing of the voting process and that the presence of the digital signatures remain. Cuisia, however, clarified that they are not implying that the move was done deliberately. "I dont want to ascribe malice, they have their own reasons," he said. Meanwhile, Namfrel asked the poll body why it had yet to release its guidelines for the random manual audit. Section 24 of Republic Act 9369 requires a random manual audit to be conducted in one precinct per congressional district in each province and city. "Given the newness of the system and the fact that is generally untested over such a large voting population, Namfrel and others have advocated the importance of random audit," said Cuisia. The watchdog also asked the poll body to conduct the audit before the proclamation of the winners, which is not indicated in the law. Earlier, Larrazabal said that the Comelec en banc has yet to decide on the matter though Comelec chairman Jose Melo has said that he is not in favor of auditing the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines before proclamation. Moreover, Cuisia questioned why there has yet been a public review of the automation back-up system and the source code, the operating system used by the PCOS machine. "If the main software or the systems or any of its components fail for any reason, the back-up systems will be resorted to. These back-up systems have not been given a thorough review to check for any vulnerabilities to fraud," he said. Without a thorough review of the source code, it will not be possible to determine whether the system "correctly and accurately" reflect the results and are not "vulnerable" to manipulation, Cuisia added. Larrazabal said that they had already opened the source code for review but that only the Liberal Party applied for it and even backed out in the end. Cuisia, however, said he remained positive that some things can still be done to strengthen the safeguards for the May polls. "They can still adopt measures that will enhance the credibility of the elections," he said. Last December, Namfrel, together with its co-petitioner the National Secretariat for Social Action Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, filed a petition with the Comelec asking for accreditation as a legitimate citizens’ arm of the poll body. The Comelec denied the petition. The move later discouraged the Namfrel from appealing the decision. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting is the only accredited citizens' arm of the Comelec. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV