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.
Sarmiento said they are aware of the public’s apprehension of the automated election system which will be implemented for the first time in the 2010 elections.
To address these fears and concern, one of the measures they have decided is to make the Source Code available for review “by any interested political party or groups.”
As defined by Sarmiento “The Source Code is the human readable instructions that defines what the computer equipment will do.”
The Center Law Philippines sent me an article by Pablo Manalastas, who teaches computer science at the University of the Philippines and Ateneo De Manila University, wonders how Comelec could guarantee the availability of the source code when its contract is with Smartmatic-Total Information Management which does not own the Source Code.
Manalastas said the Source Code is owned by Dominion, a corporation where Smartmatic holds ample shares.
He said, “ the license granted by Dominion, author of the computer software, to Smartmatic is only a binary license. It entitles Smartmatic to use the program, but does not entitle Smartmatic access to the source codes of the program. “
Under Republic Act No. 9369 or the Amended Automated Election System (AES) Law, Smartmatic is compelled to share the source codes to the political parties and watchdogs. Source codes are the printed commands of a program and a review of the same will ensure that the program in the machines do not contain malicious codes.
“With source code review conducted by people we trust, the computerized counting of votes, although carried out in secret by the PCOS computer, will be revealed to us, and so we can accept computerized counting as if it were public counting” said Manalastas.
However, Manalastas pointed out that Smartmatic does not have the authority to make the source code available for review by the public. The hardware and software/firmware are owned by Dominion Voting Systems of Canada, and are merely licensed to Smartmatic.
Under its license agreement with Dominion, said Manalastas, Smartmatic is not authorized to get the source code of the program. Corollarily, Smartmatic does not have the authority to display the source code for review by the public, and alter or modify the same.”
This is one of the issues raised by the Concerned Citizens Movement in its petition to the Supreme Court to stop the P7 billion Comelec-Smartmatic-TIM contract for an automated election in 2010. The High Court is expected to hand down its decision this week.
Related links:
http://pmana.multiply.com/journal/item/63/Election_2010_Public_Counting_Code_Review
http://pmana.multiply.com/journal/item/67/Election_2010_TEC_Certification_Code_Review_and_Available_Open_Aug_05_09
I don’t trust this Rene Sarmiento. Was he not the same Comelec commissioner who was assigned to monitor the Lanao provinces in the last election but got “sick”? There was massive cheating committed particularly in Lanao del Sur not only in the 2007 election but in all previous elections.
Most of the current Comelec officials cannot be trusted. Unless one official gets charged and jailed, the Comelec would continue to have a bad reputation. Had they started acting on Garci and Abalos and put these bastards to jail, then Comelec might be different today.
pasintabi mga katoto:
kelan ba uli pedeng mag file ng impeachment kay gloriang magnanakaw. sa pebrero 2010 ba?
dapat ay mag file uli ng impeachment laban kay pandak bagamat ang ninakaw na term ni gloria ay matatapos ng june 2010. bakit importanteng mag file uli ng impeachment kay pandak sa 2010? dahil siguro naman matatakot na yong mga tongressmen na hadlangan nila ang impeachment dahil sa 2010 election kaya siguradong impeach si pandak.
Pero ang pinaka importanteng dahilan na kailangang ma impeach si pandak ay dahil kapag na impeach sya ay DISQUALIFIED TO RUN IN ANY PUBLIC OFFICE si pandak. that means, she will not be able to run as representative of pampanga.
Correct. Filing impeachment complaint against the Evil Bitch doesn’t mean we need to win. It’s one way of doing our constitutional rights. Who knows, there might be enough numbers this time to impeach her. As the election approaches, many solons even if allied with her would like to play good guys.
While the source code for “mission-specific” machines are generally proprietary, or owned by the manufacturer as part of its intellectual property, the design of the machine implies it is not impossible to recreate the code by reverse engineering. Nor was it designed to accept binary machine codes exclusively.
First, the operating sytem is UClinux, an open source OS, therefore, a transparent implementation of the different I/O functions designed to allow full disclosure of the machine commands. “Embedded” UClinux in the tech specs of SAES 1800 implies the OS and the program are “burned” into the ROM.
Second, the core processor is an Intel PC, and Intel specs are known to manufacturers and programmers industry-wide so no IPR violation is committed by Smartmatic with respect to Dominion Voting’s “trade secret”. Since when are Intel specs trade secrets.
Third, it is EML (Election Markup Languange) compliant. Meaning source code are not necessarily low-level machine language but interpreted or compiled from easily comprehensible English commands.
Fourth, the bid specs call for open scrutiny of the source code, failing to divulge that automatically disqualifies Smartmatic to continue further with its contract.
To this day, Smartmatic refuses to divulge the full technical specs of the machine, and the idiots at Comelec simply take their word that the SAES 1800 is an “improvement” of the previous units used in Mindanao in the past elections.
The big problem I see here is that Comelec is already held hostage when it paid the 40% downpayment. How can they enforce the scrutiny of the source code if Dominion insists it is their secret? Again, stupidity, whether real or feigned, has put us in a no-win situation.
Tongpats that are paid in advance will always provide the syndicates with enough funds to hire programmers who are given a long headway while the rest of us “testers” eagerly await at the mercy of the IPR owners, if any is even forthcoming.
Meanwhile, the advanced tongpats can buy all the expensive meals in the world, whether in New York or Washington DC.
@bitchevil
Sige I-impeach na natin si Rabbit Con Pandak…
I have no idea what a source code is. Baka pareho lang kami ni Rene Sarmiento na hindi alam ito kaya siya ay nagtago/hindi dumating sa media summit.
http://www.dominionvoting.com/index.php?p=0
here is the website of Dominion Voting System, and it is a very transparent and refutable firm. you may check it out and there is even a header for demo in their web..try it.
It’s office is just a street from the University of Toronto and most of its 85 employees are graduates of the U of T as per their WEB.
IMHO, what COMELEC should do is as early as now instruct Smartmatic to include in their project activities the “source code review”. Even though Smartmatic is not the owner of the source code, I’m sure Dominion will oblige to a source code review given the following conditions:
1. That the source code be held in an escrow account accessible by Dominion and COMELEC.
2. That the review be held in a controlled environment to protect the IPR of Dominion.
3. That after the source code review, it is compiled by Dominion in the presence of COMELEC and Smartmatic. The file size of the compiled must be noted down by all parties and this file size must always be the same once the executable software is installed in any of the Smartmatic machine.
kaibigang BE is correct…di mapagkakatiwalaan ang comelec kasi nandun pa rin ang mga kakutsaba ni abalos, garci, bedol etc. nakapuwesto pa rin ang mga tao nila na sa isang utos lang ay gagawa muli ng magic….
melo? sarmiento? and other comelec commisioners????
NO TO TRAPOS 2010!
automated systems will not guarantee credible elections as long as the people running it are crooked leftovers from the garci/bedol’s sphere of influence.
and having the clueless and out of touch chairman melo as figurehead won’t make a damn difference.
offtopic…ang galing at ang tapang ng article ni columnist conrado de quiros sa inquirer ngayon…sapul ang mga damuho sa malacanang!
mabuhay ka sir conrado!
NO TO TRAPOS 2010!
Off topic:
Ambisyosa. Oo mga kapatid! Alam nyo na ba na ayaw na nyang sumakay sa de padyak na eroplano dahil feeling na talaga sya piktapos nang milyon milyong Le Cirque na adobo?
Pinausog na daw ni GMA ang pagbili nung executive jet, according to Serge Remonde. Uminit lang ulo ko nang may pahabol pa si Sec. Remonde — ang iniisip lang naman daw ni GMA ay di lang ang sarili niya kundi mas pa ang mga susunod na pangulo sa kanya na mas makikinabang sa exec.jet na balak nilang bilhin at P 1.2B!! At mas makakatipid pa raw in the long run kasi di na magko-commercial nor chartered flight ang pangulo at ang kanyang delegasyon pag bunmisita sa iang bansa!!
P— I– Nyo!! Pasensya na kung napapamura na ako pero sukdulang pang-gagago na ito! Maintenance pa lang nung lintik na exec. jet na yan magkano na?? Siguro lumalabas sa cost-benefit analysis nina Sec. Remonde na mas makakamura kasi sa dami nga naman nang hatak ng pangulo sa mga junket trips, mahal nga naman kung commercial flight..
Ang Singapore na mas mayaman sa atin restrained mag chartered flight ang Prime Minister at cabinet members, kung maaari commercial flights. At dapat ang delegasyon minimal lang — kung sino ang talagang kailangan (e.g., kung defense at finance ang pag-uusapan, di kasama ang ibang ministers at mga favored MPs — o congressman sa atin). Pati mga asawa ng mga Ministers at MPs di kasama, unless sariling gastos na dapat i-declare nila publicly for transparency.
Just read a few days ago the 2nd Edition of Lee Kwan Yew’s “History of Singapore”, di daw niya maintindihan bakit ang mga developing countries like Philippines (special mention tayo) e dapat mag-maintain nang presidential air fleet na nakaparada lang sa tarmac ng airport na idle. Dapat daw ipambili na lang ng ibang equipment na makakatulong pa sa productivity ng isang bayan, tulad nang alternative power generator sa rural areas, additional education or health facilities, etc. Sana sa susunod na eleksyon, ganitong klaseng mga lider na ang piliiin natin, kahit sabihin mong chane at kuripot, bayan muna ang priority kesa pansariling kapakanan.
kasama mo ako sa hangarin yan kaibigang sandinista…sa susunod na election (kung meron man) matuto na tayong mamili ng tunay at karapat-dapat at makilahok tayo at makialam para di na muli sila (malacanang mafia at arroyo corrupt-poration) na makapanlinlang sa atin…
mga damuho talaga! ngayon medyo naililigaw na naman ang isyu ng luho at corruption dahil sa afp-milf conflict…ang tanong sinasadya ba ang nasabing labanan o umpisa pa lamang ng plano nila na maging magulo kuno ang situwasyon ng ating bansa?
nagtatanong lang po…mga sinungaling at magnanakaw ang tropa ni queen gloria, di ba sec. aremondeng? biglang yaman ka na rin daw ha??? loyalty bonus ba ‘yun o tongpats din???
NO TO TRAPOS 2010!
sa bawat matinding eskandalo at pag-iingay ng masang pilipino ay tiyempo naman lumalabas ang samu’t-saring isyu..rice shortage during the height of hello garci, during the impeachment, during the udong mahusay controversy at marami pang iba…kakabilib talaga sila sa kagaguhan! laging buhay ni pobreng juan dela cruz ang nakasalang (collateral damage) pag di na sila maisalba ng mga tagapagsinungaling.
may katapusan din ang lahat ng kahibangan ninyo, at karamihan sa masang pilipino ay nagkakaisa na papanagutin kayo sa lahat ng inyong kagaguhan..bilibid lang ang pupuntahan ninyo mga !!!!!
NO TO TRAPOS 2010!
e sino nga ba ang karapatdat sa mga presidentiables ngayon?
si conyo ng tondo na hindi pa man kandidato e daang milyon na ang ginagastos sa tv ads pa lang?
si padyak king na ginamit pa si ate koring?
yung katutubo sa makati?
yung bayaning pink ?
yung ladyboy?
yung bigotilyo?
yung magaling managalog na sobrang cheezy?
ang kandidato na gusto ko sanang iboto na walang history ng koruption, simple, hindi abusado, may dignidad, at may lahing tunay na bayani… kaso nagdadalawang isip pa kung kakandidato o hindi. sana lang..
oo, sa ngayon si noynoy lang ang alam kong qualified.
e sino nga ba ang karapatdat sa mga presidentiables ngayon?
Kung sino ang iboboto ng majority Pinoy voters…Kgg. Leo, whoever man siya basta ang bottom line sa usaping ito eh dapat maging malinis ang 2010 election or else mag-aalsa balutan na naman ang marami nating Kababayan.
Ang bawat Pinoy e mayroon kanya-kanyang manok so mahirap natin panghimasukan ang kanilang gusto, but ang importante e igalang ng lahat kung sino ang papalarin na magwagi sa eleksyon ito.
Ang hirap kasi yaong mga talunan sa eleksyon e mga pasaway at mang-aagaw ng Malacanang…tulad ni gloria and her cabals of general, and cohorts.
Yan ang puno’t dulo kung bakit tayo nag-pipingkian ng lakas at katwiran?
Hindi lang same file size sandinista. Kailangan pareho din ang checksum, to ensure that it is the same file, without alterations.
Kapag nag-da-download ka ng linux, they always recommend that you do a checksum. They publish the checksum of their program, so you can check against it.
Let me borrow the words of wikipedia:
Since the democracy suite will only be sourced from Dominion, then why not buy directly from them, even if payment will be made to Smartmatic? That ensures that the software has the integrity of the Canadian source, without the “enhancements” that may be Garcified into the software.
By the way, Dominion has sought certification from the Feds, but has not been certified yet.
http://votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3022&Itemid=51
Sorry Leo, pero wala pa akong naririnig na accomplishment man lang si Noynoy. Either he has a poor PR staff or he simply doesn’t have anything.
Kung ako si Noynoy, seize the moment. At para di siya mabahiran ng mga kaibigan niyang politiko, kunin nyang ka-tandem either si Mayor Jesse ng Naga City, si Gov. Grace Padaca ng Isabela, or si Among Ed ng Pamapanga. Mabuti iyon para may konsensiya siyang laging gabay
Nung una pinag-iisipan ko pa si padyak kaya lang habang tumatagal nasusuka na ako sa ads na kaka-padyak.
Kaya kung ako si Noynoy, go na.. you don’t really need the so-called political machinery of traditional politics. Makipag-alyansa ka sa mga tulad nina Mayor Jesse at Among Ed, magbuo ng bagong political party — pwedeng buhayin ang Aksyon Demokratiko ni Roco. Tapos ang endorser ninyo si sister Kris mo, naku, patok sa masa yan!!
Tapos pakilusin niya mga kapatid at in-laws niya na may network sa mga middle class professionals at businessmen sa Makati — pihado may mga mag-vovolunteer diyan to help him put up an electoral machinery in no time.
Magandang idya nga iyan kaibigang Leo!! Si Conrad de Quiroz nga ilang columns na niya sa Inquirer binubuyo si Noynoy na tumakbo nang presidente…
sandinista:
Yung sinasabi mong put the source code in escrow, was allowed in the contract between Peterborough, CA and Dominion. Check out the contract here:
http://www.peterborough.ca/Assets/By-Laws/2006/06-037+-+Dominion+Voting+Systems+Agreement.pdf
Pricing is at the end, exhibit “A”. Did we get a good deal?
sax, if I remember correctly, the source code will be held in escrow in one of the vaults of Bangko Sentral. Now I’m confused. Which will be more beneficial, making the code available for benevolent hacking tests or keeping it secure and secret in the BSP vaults?
“ang kandidato na gusto ko sanang iboto na walang history ng koruption, simple, hindi abusado, may dignidad, at may lahing tunay na bayani… kaso nagdadalawang isip pa kung kakandidato o hindi. sana lang.”
Sino s’ya, leo? Name him/her so I can make an early sipat. Malay mo, baka pareho tayo ng taste sa kandidato.
Pero kay Noynoy ay di pa siya pwedeng magpresidente para sa akin and I guess he knows it as he admitted that he has no plans of seeking a higher elective post.
But I’m all out for Noynoy if he’d decide to try the VP slot, kasi ay honest s’ya aral sa nanay.
UNO Senate hopefuls. The following is the list of possible senatorial candidates of the United Opposition (UNO) which is headed by President Erap and Mayor Jojo Binay.
1. Senate President Johnny Ponce Enrile
2. Senate President Pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada
3. Sen. Bong Revilla (guest candidate)
4. Sen. Jamby Madrigal
5. Former Sen. Serge Osmeña
6. ABS-CBN broadcaster Ted Failon
7. Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
8. Rep. Rufus Rodriguez
9. Rep. Roilo Golez
10. Rep. Erin Tañada
11. Gen. Danny Lim
12. Grace Poe
13. Dean Amado Valdez
14. Former Gov. Vicente Emano
15. GMA-7 broadcaster Arnold Clavio
16. ABS-CBN broadcaster Pinky Webb
17. Secretary Alberto Romualdez
18. Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma
19. Mayor Toby Tiangco
20. Joey de Venecia
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is not on the above list as UNO cannot afford to give her the P200-million campaign fund she is asking for.
Sax:
Tama ka — I forgot to mention the checksum. Thanks!
A group of cockfighting aficionados is seeking a representation at the House of Representatives through the party-list system, which provides representation to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the society.
Alyansa ng Sabungero on Monday joined more than 200 party-list organizations in filing for accreditation before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for next year’s national elections.
—Sa susunod, ang mga jueteng lords at mga ibang sugarol tulad sa Karera ng Kabayo ay magtatayo na rin ng Party List groups.
UNO Senate hopefuls. They already screwed up big time. WTF!! oWhat is this NFG Bong Revilla doing in their list? Come on, UNO, get real!! And please, Arnold Clavio?
chi, sorry, yung source code ay yung program mismo na nag-uutos sa bawat peripheral ng computer kung paano siya kikilos, magco-compute, o magha-handle ng data upang i-transmit o i-save o i-print/display. Mahalagang makita yung source code kasi baka maisingit sa transmission yung command line na:
Kaya nasa ticket ni Erap si Bong ay dahil alam niyang matatalo siya sa kampo ni Gloria. Isa pa, mag-buddy na ngayon sila ni Jinggoy di tulad noon. Bong has the ambition of running for Vice President. Kaya hindi tayo nakakasiguro.
Arnold Clavio? Sinama lang para panggulo. Ang sigurado ay si Ted Failon. Pati si Pinky Webb ay saling pusa din. Tatakbong Senador ang nobyo niyang si Edu Manzano kaya malabong tumakbo din si Pinky.
Bongbong is on Erap’s ticket due to Mayor Tiangco. Bongbong’s wife is related to Tiangco.
Kung sigurado si Gen. Danny Lim, baka sumama din sa kanya si Col. Querubin sa ticket ni Erap.
Hindi lahat na nasa listahan ay sure na. May mga sinama para lang lituhin ang mga kaaway. When the final list comes, some would be removed and others would be added.
The turning point would be Erap’s final decision to run. Binay’s position is premised on Erap’s final plan. Pero mas malamang na sa Senado muna si Binay.
O yun pala ang source code. Thanks, Tongue.
Mas madali kong naintindihan sa salitang gamit ni Conrado de Quiros na ginamit mo rin sa pag-eksplika, hehehe!
Mas madali maintindihan ang Sweet & Source Code.
Whether Smartmatic-TIM has a license cannot negate the duty of Comelec to make the source code available to the public. No contract can be set up so that a party can violate the law, and the law is quite clear: the Comelec “shall promptly make the source code of that technology available and open to any interested political party or groups which may conduct their own review thereof.”
Mali ka Atty. Orlando. Here in Japan, may Comelec din kami at ang ibig sabihin ay Come and Elect (Come-elect). If you don’t come, you cannot elect.