Automated polls to proceed as scheduled, Comelec assures

(Update 3:53 PM) The Philippines’ first nationwide automated polls will proceed as scheduled, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday, allaying fears of poll failure after voting machines suffered from glitches. There is no truth to text messages indicating that elections will be postponed for at least two weeks, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters on Wednesday. The poll body "has not voted on any postponement," he said. The commissioner issued the statement after administration lawyer Romulo Macalintal suggested that the Comelec defer the elections by at least 15 days because of recent glitches discovered with the automated voting system. On Monday, some precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines tested in Makati, Muntinlupa, Pateros, Batangas, and Mindoro, incurred discrepancies, including counting votes for local candidates who were not even marked on the ballot, among others. [See: Some poll machines fail to read votes accurately] Earlier, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez explained that the problem was traced to compact flash (CF) cards used to store data inside the PCOS units. The poll body later recalled these cards to have them reconfigured. The CF cards, which instruct PCOS machines regarding what type of ballot it will read, encountered a human error in their configuration. As a result, it failed to read votes of some local bets. Larrazabal said that while the Comelec has yet to discuss all possible options and scenarios, postponing the polls is not one of them. For its part, Malacañang on Wednesday said that the Comelec has the option to postpone the May 10 elections. "May option ang Comelec na mag postpone, may option [din] na to go ahead of schedule. Ang position po natin whatever option the Comelec decide ang position po natin sa Palasyo we continue to support the Comelec," said deputy presidential Gary Olivar in a report aired by GMA News. (The Comelec has the option to postpone or to go ahead on schedule. Whatever the Comelec decides, our position is that we will continue to support the Comelec.) Air Force, San Miguel Corp. to help deliver reconfigured CF cards Larrazabal maintained that there is no need to postpone the elections because the Comelec will be able to replace and reconfigure all the CF cards needed in next week’s polls. “Smartmatic has committed to exert all efforts to ensure that the delivery and replacement of the CF cards will be done before the appointed time," he said. Smartmatic Asia president Cesar Flores said that the company plans to replace about 62,000 of the CF cards that were earlier pulled out of the 82,200 PCOS machines. He said that the remaining cards will be "recycled." Reconfiguration of 25,000 of the 31,500 available CF cards in the Smartmatic warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna is expected to be finished by late Wednesday, he said. The company’s combined stations in Cabuyao can process 3,000 cards per hour for 18 hours straight. Fourteen thousand more cards are expected to be shipped from Taiwan while 30,000 will come from Hong Kong on Thursday, he added. Shipment of configured CF cards will begin late Wednesday to allow for the testing and sealing of PCOS machines in some areas — including Makati, Marikina, and Parañaque — on Thursday. "We have a tighter sked, that's the reality... (but) this is a feasible plan, it is working," he said, adding that the last batch of CF cards are expected to be delivered to the National Capital Region by Sunday morning. The CF cards will not be tampered with while it is in transit. "This was the same concern before," he said. "The data is encrypted." The Philippine Air Force has committed all of their air assets to help deliver CF cards to the different parts of the country. Some businessmen and companies, including the San Miguel Corp. and the Indiana Space University in Ormoc, Leyte, have also offered a total of 10 to 13 helicopters for the endeavor. "Now is the time to work together… we hope that we can set aside the finger pointing, the bickering, and the text brigades that only fan unfounded rumors," he said. - with Aie Balagtas See, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV