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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday hurdled the initial test for the country's first automated elections in May.
The first field testing of the voting counting machines was a success: results were transmitted in two minutes.
The field tests were conducted between 7 a.m. and noon yesterday in 10 polling precincts and nine selected canvassing centers in Cebu, Benguet, South Cotabato, Pateros, Taguig and Naga City.
The field testing proved that voting results from the polling precincts can be transmitted successfully to multi-level canvassing centers using a combination of public telecommunication networks and mobile satellite technologies in just two minutes, said Gene Gregorio, spokesman of Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM), Comelec?s technology partner.
Among the areas involved in the field test, Cebu was the first one to transmit to the national level, said Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Castillano.
Cebu transmitted the result to the national level around 10:45 a.m., Castillano said.
Two remote barangays in Naga City ? Bairan and Alpaco ? were selected in the field test to find out if Smartmatic?s own system would work since these areas hardly get any access signal from the country?s three leading telecommunication companies - Smart, Globe and Sun.
Castillano said they wanted to determine if elections results could be transmitted even from remote areas in the country.
Bairan, a mountain barangay, has no signal from the three telecom networks while Alpaco only receives signal from Globe.
The tests were made in Barangay Bairan Elementary School and the Alpaco National High School.
Castillano said the transmission of elections results from these remote areas was made possible through the use of Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), a device that allows transmission of results through the use of a satellite.
The BGAN was provided by Smartmatic, the consortium that won the bid to supply the machines in the first automated polls in May.
The Comelec and Smartmatic also tested the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and canvassing hardware, including the basic configuration of the automation software to be used for running the hardware units, said Gregorio.
Comelec brought one PCOS machine each to barangays Bairan and Alpako. PCOS, a paper-based technology, determines the necessary information about a precinct including the number of voters.
At least 20 test ballots were used during the PCOS testing in each of the two barangays.
The results were then transmitted to the Naga City board of canvassers, then to the Provincial Board of Canvassers manned by Castillano, and to the National Board of Canvassers.
The PCOS machines assigned to the two barangays successfully read the results of the test ballots that contained fictitious names of candidates, Castillano said.
Castillano, however, said that even if the field test was successful, this was no guarantee yet that the poll automation in May would be smooth.
Because of this, the Comelec decided to hold another field test next month.
The tentative schedule for the second field test would be on Feb. 6, this time both in Cebu City ? at the urban barangay of Bulacao and the rural barangay of Mabini.
The voters from these barangays will go to the precincts to vote, though fictitious names of candidates will still be used.
?The mock election will show the real situation in an actual election,? he said.
The electronic transmission stage is crucial because it will be the determining factor in holding automated polls, since it eliminates the need for board of election inspectors to physically transport the counted ballots from the voting centers to the board of canvassers for tallying in the municipal, provincial and national levels.
Under the new system, results for the national positions are expected to be out in 48 hours, instead of the usual one or two months.
Gregorio also said it would be impossible to hack the poll machines or change the results to be transmitted within the two minutes owing to several security layers.
?Transmission is faster. Five minutes is already too long to transmit election results from polling precincts to the national level,? Castillano said.
He added that the final version of the automation software would be installed in the 82,200 PCOS machines after international software certification agency Systest Labs releases its full report on source code review by early February and certifies it as functional and operational for use in automating the May national and local elections.
Based on the full report of the field testing, the Comelec and Smartmatic will ?introduce improvements on the system as deemed fit,? added Gregorio.
During the joint congressional hearing on the automation preparations in Manila yesterday, Comelec chairman Jose Melo said they would hold a second field testing to allay fears on automation even if the law only prescribes that a second field test should be done if the first one fails.
Since the arrival of machines in December, Comelec has been conducting laboratory tests for the machines, wherein they subject the poll machines to different stress factors like high temperature and humidity to simulate the unique environment of the polling precincts where the machines will be deployed on Election Day.
So far, Comelec commissioner and steering committee head for automation Gregorio Larrazabal said ?the laboratory tests are successful.?
Aside from the laboratory testing and at least two field tests, Comelec will also hold a mock election in selected sites nationwide and a test for electronic transmission of voting results in key sites using a public telecommunications network or mobile satellite units.
The final testing and sealing of the machines are scheduled three days before election day, said Larrazabal.
With the automation of the elections, the Comelec expects the country?s 15th president, as well as other local and national government officials, to be determined in 36 hours.
Of the 320,415 established precincts around the country, Comelec and Smartmatic decided to cluster the precincts into 80,136 ?to make use of the technology and to cut down man-power like the utilization of teachers.? A cluster precinct will be provided with one PCOS.
Election results will be instantly flashed to several points, including the Comelec website, political parties and the Comelec?s citizen?s arm, and the Kapisanan ng mga Broadcaster ng Pilipinas (KBP).
