Comelec to consult public on options for 2016 elections
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will consider public acceptability in deciding what option to use in the May, 2016 polls.
“In so far as public acceptability is concerned, we have to factor that in when we make a decision. That’s why also we are consulting with stakeholders,” Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said in a press briefing Friday.
“At the moment, we are considering three options – first, the refurbishment of the existing Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and the 23,000 Optical Mark Reader (OMR) machines; secondly, the lease of new 23,000 OMR and 70,977 OMR machines; and finally, we are looking at the hybrid system,” Bautista said.
The third option is the hybrid Precinct Automated Tally System (PATaS) proposed by former Commissioner Augusto Lagman.
On whether PATaS complies with the requirements
of the Republic Act 9369 or Poll Automation Law, he said they would rather focus first on its feasibility. “We don’t want to debate, at this point, whether the hybrid system is in accordance with the law since we want to focus first on the feasibility of the system,” said Bautista.
The Comelec had earlier conducted a mock poll at the Bacoor National High School Annex in Cavite to demonstrate the PATaS.
A public bidding is also being held for the PCOS refurbishment project and for the lease of new OMR machines.
Under the PATaS, voting and precinct counting is accomplished manually, with the latter done with simultaneous encoding and the results projected for public viewing.
The precinct results will then be electronically transmitted to the Municipal, Provincial, and National Boards of Canvassers as well as the Central Verification Server for the official automated canvassing of votes.
PPCRV not in favor Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) said it has submitted its view on the PATaS or hybrid system as “underqualified” for use in the May, 2016, polls.
PPCRV was one of the groups that observed the conduct of the mock polls for the hybrid system at the Bacoor National High School in Cavite recently.
The PPCRV noted a discrepancy beween the manual election return and the data from the encoded digital results, as the board of election inspectors admitted its mistake. “The dreaded human factor for both digital encoder and BEI come into play. The greater question is which then will prevail as the actual accurate result? This question could cast doubts on the credibility of the canvass and, consequently, of the conduct of the entire elections,” the PPCRV said.