Poll automation critic appeased by Smartmatic demonstration

A staunch critic of automated elections was finally appeased by the demonstration conducted by poll machine supplier Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) at their warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna on Monday. In an interview with reporters, Cagayan de Oro (CDO) Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said that he can no longer see any "vulnerability" in the automated election system that was used in the May polls. "At this point, as far as we're concerned... the operation cannot be readily altered. It looks to be a working system," he said. For his part, House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms head Makati Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin said he was likewise satisfied with the demonstration. "(Regarding) the issues that were brought up, yes I'm very satisfied," he told reporters. During the demonstration, Smartmatic showed the configuration of compact flash cards and how Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and its audit logs are protected against ballot tampering. Smartmatic Election Systems Manager Heider Garcia showed that if someone tampers with the audit log, the CF cards won't be read by the PCOS machine. Garcia also proved during the demonstration that the four CF cards that were found in a junk shop in CDO were authentic. A review of the contents of the flash card indicated that real elections results were encrypted inside them. However, Locsin noted that it cannot yet be concluded that no fraud was committed during the automated polls. "We still don't know. I think whether or not you can manipulate the machine itself... that's not answered," he said. Rodriguez, for his part, said that there is no "anomaly" even if the said cards found in a garbage dump were authentic. "These were already canvassed... the only question is why these were thrown [away]," he said. The Philippine National Police has announced that they will be taking charge of the investigation of the incident. The Comelec had also earlier said that it has created a panel composed of a poll official, a regional state prosecutor, and a member of citizens' arm Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) to conduct a similar investigation. The CF cards have been given to Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chairman Henrietta De Villa for safekeeping. A priest who is a member of the PPCRV in Cagayan de Oro was the one who supposedly found the flash cards in the junk shop. The CF cards will be turned over to the poll body on Wednesday. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV