Automated poll system to be reviewed

MANILA, Philippines - A US-based firm is set to conduct a four-month review and certification of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-selected automated system for the 2010 polls.

The Comelec reported yesterday that it has chosen the SysTest Labs of Colorado to undertake the review and certification that would ensure that source code of the automated election system is tamper-proof.

It said the US firm passed stringent technical evaluation criteria set by the Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) and the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).

The SysTest and another US-based system certification company iBeta scored the highest in technical evaluation, but the former had the lowest bid of P70.046 million.

The poll body previously approved a P75-million budget for the review and certification project provided under the law.

Republic Act 9369, Section 9 mandates the TEC to certify, through an established international certification, entity to be chosen by the Comelec based on recommendation of the CAC not later than three months before the elections.

The system certification firm will check whether the automated election system, including its hardware and software, is operating properly, securely and accurately.         

The Comelec said SysTest would review and validate the security of public fading devices, telecommunications, error notification, associated recovery aspects apart from auditing capabilities. – Mayen Jaymalin