JDV III to review automated poll system

MANILA, Philippines - Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) senatorial candidate Joey de Venecia III said yesterday he would continue the party’s efforts to study the poll automation system even after the elections.

De Venecia said the study aims to either validate the poll automation and propose improvements or repudiate the system and refer the findings to the authorities for filing of cases against violators.

“Even if the elections on Monday would appear to proceed smoothly, our findings show that there is a real danger of digital dagdag-bawas (vote padding and shaving) occurring, which can only be affirmed or disproven by a comprehensive post-mortem study,” said De Venecia, PMP spokesman for poll automation.

He urged all political parties, civic groups and information technology (IT) experts and organizations to pool their resources into a common data base to be administered by reputable poll monitoring bodies like the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel).