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COTABATO
CITY—All eyes are on today’s computerized elections in
the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), mainly
for two things: it will be the “laboratory” for full
automation in the 2010 general elections; and it is
being held in the shadow of threats of violence as the
government’s peace negotiations with Moro rebels
continue to cause more heat than soothe tension.
The two
automation machines recommended for the 2010
computerized elections take center stage in the ARMM
elections to see how modern technology could cut down on
opportunities for “malicious intent,” as well as to
boost the trust in the eventual winners of the electoral
contest.
Though
this would not be the first time the ARMM would be used
as a laboratory for computerized elections, James
Jimenez, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesman and
chief of education and information, echoed widespread
hopes this would be a jump-off point to a nationwide
automation of the electoral system by 2010.
Jimenez
talked on Friday with executives and representatives of
different local news organizations in Mindanao holding
the Fourth Media Summit at the Waterfront Insular Hotel
Davao here, and said the machines could quicken the
process of voting, as well as counting.
“The
result would be out in 36 hours,” he said.
Why the
machines? “The more you delay a count, the shakier the
mandate. If your count is speedy, you decrease the
distrust heaped on the winner,” he said. “If it’s fast,
there is no opportunity for malicious intent to operate,
no opportunity to monkey with results.”
The two
machines to be tested in the ARMM are the Direct
Recording Electronic (DRE) machine, to be used in
Maguindanao only; and the Optical Mark Reader (OMR), to
be used in the rest of the autonomous region, comprising
six provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sharif
Kabungsuan, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities
of Marawi (Lanao del Sur) and Lamitan (Basilan).
The DRE
automates the voting, with its touch pad showing the
names and photographs of the candidates; and a touch
screen, to allow selection without using paper or
pencil. The computer machine would always prompt the
voter for confirmation in every selection he or she
makes.
The OMR,
on the other hand, used for automated counting and
canvassing, still requires voters to fill up ballots
manually, but only to darken circles or boxes
corresponding to the names of candidates, which are
preprinted in the papers. The machine would then read
the inputs in the special computer papers and Jimenez
said that “ordinarily it would take 15-45 seconds for a
voter to finish the vote, but since this is a new
system, we give three minutes time limit before the
machine would lock out, making the vote akin to a
spoiled ballot”.
“The
voter would still be allowed to make a second try. He or
she only has to ask the BEI [Board of Election
Inspectors] and explain what happened,” Jimenez said.
The
counting machine would only take two seconds to finish
the counting.
Literacy
not a problem with automation
“We
would also like to disabuse the perception that the low
literacy in the region could affect the automation. It’s
not a literacy issue; the perception shows little
appreciation of the technology,” he said. First, he
said, the voter would not need the intricacies of a
computer, “there’s no keyboard, a mouse or a password.”
“Also,
we have not removed the assisters of illiterate voters,
those who must fall within the fourth degree of
consanguinity to the voter, or a member of the
household, or any member of the BEI, those who have the
closest confidence of the voter,” he said.
“Why
Maguindanao only for the DRE and the rest of the ARMM
for the OMR?” Jimenez wondered aloud, repeating
questions raised earlier. “This is advice of the
advisory council to give different technologies to be
exposed in the ARMM election,” he said.
The DRE
is power-intensive and the voting machine has to be
installed in each precinct “and Maguindanao, as compared
to the other provinces of the ARMM, has a stable and
adequate power and the province has the advantage of
being a contiguous area, which makes it easier to
transport and arrange”, Jimenez said. “That’s the reason
why we split the two technologies.”
Besides,
he added, “the feedback we get is that the communication
infrastructure in Maguindanao is near ideal”.
The DRE
will handle the 245,415 voters spread in 1,695 precincts
in Maguindanao. The OMR will take care of the rest of
the ARMM’s 1,516,775 registered voters in 9,765.
With the
machines however, Comelec has designated 1,915 vote
centers only to correspond to the total number of
available machines.
5
candidates to vote for
A voter
only has to vote for five candidates: the governor, the
vice governor and three assemblymen.
A total
of 90 candidates are listed with Comelec; 7 for Regional
Governor, 5 Regional Vice Governor.
For
Regional Legislative Assembly; 7 in Maguindanao, 14 in
Basilan, 11 in the first district and 7 in the second
district of Lanao del Sur, 8 Sharrif Kabunsuan, 8
Tawi-Tawi and 14 in the first district and 9 in the
second district of the province of Sulu. See box for
names of candidates for governor and vice governor.
Jimenez
said a lot of the old system in the elections still
remained, “but we would like to address those things one
at a time, until the next elections”.
For
security problems, the Comelec fielded 7,096 police
personnel and 11,418 soldiers. The Comelec has
identified 887 “areas of concern”, or places with
history of violent political rivalry, and 49 areas of
immediate concern—having a high potential that an armed
clash would erupt.
Sunday’s
inspection: A-okay
On the
eve of the elections, Commissioner Leonardo Leonida
visited the Cotobato City Polytechnic College, the
designated counting center for the province Shariff
Kabunsuan, Sunday, to oversee last-minute preparations.
Leonida,
commissioner-in-charge for the province of Sharrif
Kabunsuan, said, “We expect Shariff Kabunsuan to be the
first to transmit its results.”
Meanwhile, the Smartmatic-Sahi Technology Inc., one of
two technology providers of Comelec, has set up a
National Support Center (NSC) in Manila to serve as
technical support hub for the field support technicians
deployed in voting centers in Maguindanao and canvassing
centers in the rest of the provinces.
“The NSC
is similar to a Call Center that handles inbound and
outbound calls but it also serves as a knowledge base
center where operators upload all acquired information
into the Election Day Management Platform (EDMP) which
can help in developing quick response actions,” Jimenez
said.
NSC Head
Angelo Adlawan said the NSC enables officials to track
the processes in each precinct, voting or canvassing
center. “We have installed dedicated phone lines to
allow the field support technicians to provide quick
updates in their designated area,” he added.
For the
ARMM polls, Comelec tapped Smartmatic-Sahi Technology
Inc. for the DRE voting system in Maguindanao; and the
Avante International Technolgy Inc. for the OMR-based
technology for Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur,
Basilan, Sulu and Rawi-Tawi.
Smartmatic-Sahi deployed 2,300 DRE machines and another
1,000 machines for back-ups to use touch pads and touch
screens for Maguindanao.
Avante
Technologies deployed 156 optical mark reader (OMR)
machines, which will use paper ballots, which are filled
out by voters and then fed into a machine similar to a
scanner for other five provinces of ARMM.
Smartmatic-Sahi spokesman Vince Dizon said his group is
confident of smooth operations in their precints in
Maguindanao and consolidation and canvassing centers in
Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and
Tawi-Tawi.
Palace
sees clean polls
Malacañang on Sunday expressed confidence the elections
will proceed without any major untoward incidents since
election officials and law enforcers have prepared hard
to protect the people and ballots.
“The
Comelec has made sure that elections will proceed
smoothly, honestly and fairly. The PNP and AFP have
stepped up mesures to protect our people and ballots to
ensure that fundamental rights of our people to choose
their leaders are respected,” Deputy Presidential
Spokesperson Anthony Golez said in a statement.
Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said in a
statement the ruling Lakas-CMD expects a “virtual sweep”
in the ARMM polls.“The Lakas slate led by incumbent
regional Governor Zaldy Ampatuan is made up of
experienced and respected political leaders committed to
the cause of bringing about peace and progress in the
autonomous area. Most of them are also reelectionists
and running practically unopposed.”
Chairman
Melo: situation normal
Despite
earlier fears that tension between government troops and
the Moro islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in North
Cotobato could disrupt the polls,, Comelec Chairman Jose
Armando Melo is confident the elections will be a
success.
“Generally, the situation is back to normal,” he said in
a press conference, Friday, when the government’s 10
a.m. ultimatum lapsed for Moro rebels to leave three
communities they had occupied. The MILF “repositioned”
troops outside the three villages, averting a showdown.
Melo
said that even at the height of the tension in Mindanao,
they never considered resetting the polls.
“We are
not authorized to postpone the election but we could
only declare a failure of elections” he explained,
adding that such failure can only be declared during
natural calamities or in a declaration of war.
Elections commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said the machines
were already deployed and sealed in Basilan.
But
there were some worries in the provinces of Sulu, Lanao
del Norte Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao about delays in
transporting the automated voting machines to 1,915
voting centers in remote towns or areas such as Turtle
Island.
Still,
Melo is unfazed by transporting problems because the
weather is “cooperating”.
For his
part, Commissioner Leonida said they have coordinated
with the military for the vehicles, carabaos or any
means of transportation to bring the 3,300 voting
machines to different provinces. (With Sara Susanne
Fabunan and Bong Garcia Jr.) |
