by Yvonne T. Chua VERA Files An election watchdog has this piece of advice for the Commission on Elections: Don’t buy the counting machines used…
Making life worth living.
by Yvonne T. Chua VERA Files An election watchdog has this piece of advice for the Commission on Elections: Don’t buy the counting machines used…
Huwag tayong masyadong maiinip sa pag-iimbestiga ng mga reklamo tungkol sa mga palpak sa nakaraang eleksyon. Mabuti na hindi lang basta-basta isinasantabi ang mga lumalabas na reklamo tungkol sa mga palpak sa nakaraang automated elections.
Hindi katulad nang nangyari noong 2004 na ibinasura lang ni Sen. Francis Pangilinan at Rep. Raul Gonzales sa basurahang “Noted” ang mga reklamo kasama ang mga ebidensya ng dayaan.
Ngayon, kahit papaano pinapakinggan at hinihingan ng paliwanag ang Comelec at Smartmatic.
Ngayong araw magsisimula ang official canvassing ng mga boto para sa mga kandidato para presidente at bise-presidente. Sinabi ni Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile at iba pang mambabatas na malamang sa Hunyo 15, o bago pa lumampas sa petsa na yun, made-deklara na ang nanalo at magiging susunod na presidente.
Sana naman hindi madaling araw nila gawin yun katulad ng ginawa ni Gloria Arroyo noong 2004 na parang inisahan ang taumbayan.
by VERA Files THE Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) of the Commission on Elections held its “Final Test and Sealing” of the precinct count optical…
From Malaya:
$4.3M of $25.3M left to answer for poll automation failure
The Commission on Elections has allowed Smartmatic, the holder of the P11.3 billion election automation contract, to reduce its bank credit line from $25.3 million to $21 million, leaving only $4.3 million to answer for any failure of the contractor to successfully carry out the project.
Comelec’s accommodation was among recent developments that have raised fears that automated elections would end up a failure.
First, Smartmatic has lost its original partner, the local company Total Information Management Corp., in the consortium. Second, it has lost the Aboitiz-owned logistics company 2Go as distributor of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to 70,000 precincts nationwide.
The decision to “remove, cancel or extinguish the credit line” given by the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. Manila was reached by Comelec in a meeting on January 20.
It’s good to be back in Cagayan de Oro after so many years.
The 5th Mindanao Media Summit, held last weekend at the Marco Resort Hotel, a 30-minute ride from downtown CDO, has for its theme, “Election 2010, Vote for Change, Vote for Peace.”
I’d like to thank James Jimenez, Comelec’s information officer, for giving me his power point presentation for media in the 2010 elections. I and the participants in the media summit found it very useful.
The Media Summit was made possible by the Asia Foundation, USAID, Embassy of Canada, 7107 Island Cruise, Center for Community Journalism and Development, VERA Files, Smart and Coca-Cola Export Corporation.
It’s a pity that Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento was not able to make it although he sent his prepared speech. I had wanted to ask him about the “Source Code” which he mentioned in his written speech.
In the 10-hour oral arguments at the Supreme Court last Wednesday on the motion of the Concerned Citizens Movement to stop the Smartmatic-Total Information Management agreement with the Commission on Election for the automation of the 2010 elections, counsel Harry Roque anchored his argument on the provision of the Republic Act 8436 which requires pilot testing of the system before it is implemented.
RA 8436 authorized the Comelec “to use an automated election system or systems in the same election in different provinces, whether paper-based or a direct recording electronic election system as it may deem appropriate and practical for the process of voting, counting of votes and canvassing/consolidation and transmittal of results of electoral exercises:
“Provided, that for the regular national and local election, which shall be held immediately after effectivity of this Act, the AES shall be used in at least two highly urbanized cities and two provinces each in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, to be chosen by the Commission: Provided, further, x x x. In succeeding regular national or local elections, the AES shall be implemented nationwide.”
Last Monday , Yvonne Chua of VERA Files came out with a report about the gross lopsidedness of the Smartmatic-Total Information Management contract with the Commission on Elections for computerized elections next year.
VERA Files said Smartmatic-TIM will get close to P3 billion, or 40 percent of the contract amount of the P7.2 billion even before it delivers all the 82,200 counting machines to be used in the elections.
Bloggers in my site further dissected the contract which was posted by VERA Files in its site (www.verafiles.org). Their discoveries are startling.
by Gerard Naval
Malaya
From the Inquirer: SC sees no need for a TRO on payments
Elections chair Jose Melo yesterday rejected the call of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) to withhold the initial payment to Smartmatic/Total Management Information for the 2010 poll automation contract saying it would be tantamount to the complete stoppage of the entire project.
“It’s almost like imposing a temporary restraining order on ourselves,” he told reporters.
“Why should we not pay them if they were able to deliver? They might not send their next deliverables if we don’t pay the previous deliverables,” Melo told reporters.
Gusto ko talaga na magiging automated o computerized na ang eleksyon sa 2010 para mabawasan ang dayaan.
Sa bilangan kasi ang malakihang dayaan. Kaya kapag hindi manual (yung tao ang magbibilang), naniniwala ako na mababawasan ang dayaan.
Dapat masaya tayo na naayos kontrata ng Smartmatic-TIM at Comelec at tuloy-tuloy na ang computerized election. Kaya lang, mukhang maraming nakatagong mga hindi kanais-nais itong kontrata na ngayon lang lumalabas.Kapag kwestyunable ang kumpanya, medyo nakakatakot sa laki at napaka-importante ng kontratang ito.
by Yvonne T. Chua VERA Files The winner of the government’s P7.2 billion automated elections project will get close to P3 billion, or 40 percent…