Group cautious over ‘untested’ Miru System

The watchdog group enumerated six crucial points needing clarification from Miru Systems to assure citizens of the system’s reliability for the upcoming elections

An advocacy group expressed its concern over the capability of firm Miru System on conduction automated elections in the country, saying that the submitted machine was only a prototype and is still untested.

According to Democracy Watch convenor Lloyd Zaragoza, they had already warned the Commission on Elections since last year of Miru System’s alleged track record where it allegedly showed that its system failed in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

During the recent regular meeting of the House of Representative’s Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Democracy Watch informed the panel that it has raised significant concerns about the postqualification assessment of Miru Systems through a correspondence directed to the Special Bids and Awards Committee of the Comelec.

The watchdog group enumerated six crucial points needing clarification from Miru Systems to assure citizens of the system’s reliability for the upcoming elections.

A critical concern voiced by DemWatchPH has to do with the type of technology Miru Systems submitted for evaluation by Comelec as it questioned whether the system is merely a prototype, or is it a system that has been rigorously field-tested in past elections.

Former Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice criticized Miru for presenting a prototype for Comelec’s evaluation, stating that it violates the law.

“This machine is a prototype. It has never been used in any elections. In Congo, they used a DRE machine. In Iraq and in Korea, they used an Optical Mark Reader machine. And this combination of OMR and DRE machines has never been tested in any elections,” Erice said. “We will be a Guinea Pig for this particular kind of machine?”

The lawmaker also stressed that “Republic Act 9369 prohibits this. We cannot use prototype machines in automated elections.”