Elected government officials not briefed on poll automation?

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama yesterday expressed his dismay over the alleged insensitivity of the Commission on Elections to include elected government officials in the information dissemination on poll automation.

In yesterday’s press conference, Rama said that time is running and yet there has been no meeting or workshop arranged by Comelec to orient the present and soon to be elected officials on the new election system that will already be implemented in next year’s elections.

“It is very disenchanting, it is their legal responsibility to orient us, that’s why I am calling the attention of the national leadership, next month is already filing time (of the certificates of candidacy),” Rama said.

He said that ever since he had raised doubts on poll automation and he is just waiting for the venue where he could express it.

“There are certain questions like what if there are only seven out of the eight councilors, double entry, what are the protection against hacking, a failure in the system?” Rama said.

On his own, he said he scheduled three days this December to gather all members of the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines (VMLP), which he chaired, solely to meet resources for the orientation on the new system.

Earlier, the Comelec offices at the local level admitted that they themselves are not yet fully acquainted with the poll automation.

Personnel of the Comelec Cebu province said they will have to wait for further instructions from the national office.

At the national level, the same office however downplayed criticisms that automated polls have many weak spots and said it will install safeguards to hold clean, fraud-free elections in 2010.

Critics said that the May 2010 elections “may end up a disaster if Comelec and the winning bidder fail to install safeguards and security measures to secure 30 vulnerable spots of the automated election system.”

The vulnerable spots include the lack of source code review, lapses in digital signature, possible unofficial access to canvassing servers and lack of voter’s verifiability” making the automation system “prone to internal rigging, tampering and cheating.” — Ferliza C. Contratista/WAB   (FREEMAN NEWS)