Glitches fixed, Comelec ready to use PCOS

MANILA, Philippines – The glitches in the PCOS voting machines the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is buying for P1.8 billion have been fixed, the solicitor general told the Supreme Court Tuesday, and the Comelec is prepared to operate the machines on its own in next year’s elections.

At the resumption of oral arguments on a petition to nullify the contract between the Comelec and Smartmatic, Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza told the high court the glitches that were discovered when the precinct count optical scan machines (PCOS) were used in the 2010 elections had been repaired.

“They have been fixed, your honor… the record will show Smartmatic continued doing the fixes and enhancement at no additional cost,” Jardeleza told Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno who had asked.

Jardeleza said the deal between the Comelec and Smartmatic was legal and above board.

“The exercise of the option to purchase is legal because the option is valid. And even arguing that the period (to exercise the option) had expired, it was extended by the parties. There’s absolutely nothing illegal about that extension,” Jardeleza said.

He also said the Comelec itself would operate the 82,000 PCOS machines in next May’s midterm elections.

“We understand they can run the system given their experience in 2010. They’ll have the comfort level when they receive all the documentation,” he added.

But Sereno pointed out that SysTest Labs, a US firm that certifies voting software and which the Comelec picked to review the source codes, reported a “problem of documentation” with the PCOS machines during the May 2010 elections.

“I am very, very concerned about the finding in 2010 that there was a problem of documentation. In other words, the hope that the Comelec can run the entire system is negated by this documentation deficiency,” Sereno said.

“You will have a problem of dependency,” she added.

Jardeleza said Smartmatic had provided the Comelec with “all the procedure books needed to run the machines.”

“The technical evaluation committee of the Comelec will not approve the contract until all the documents are in,” he said.

Jardeleza, however, said the Comelec would still have to bid out management of the transmission facilities and of the election results.

“The PCOS machines will transmit but in terms of transmission facilities and the management of the transmission that will be bidded out. The problems with transmission will be resolved with another bidding,” Jardeleza said.

He said the Comelec was forced to buy the machines because its budget for the 2013 elections was only P7 billion.

“What can we afford with P7 billion? The Comelec will need P4.8 billion for fixed costs… the math shows what is available to the Comelec is only P2.2 billion. In 2009, P4.3 billion enabled the Comelec to lease 82,000 PCOS machines,” Jardeleza said.

“How much can P2.2 billion buy? And so, under the circumstances, the Comelec had to exercise its option to purchase,” he said.

However, former Comelec Commissioner Gus Lagman questioned Jardeleza’s assertion that the Comelec’s budget for the 2013 elections was only P7 billion.

“That is not true. That was what was given for 2012. The DBM (Department of Budget and Management) said the elections were still in 2013 so we could still ask for more. So the budget is not just P7 billion,” Lagman said in an interview.

Smartmatic’s Cesar Flores, meanwhile, accused local civil society groups that questioned the contract in the Supreme Court of spreading “misleading information.”

“It’s important to tell the public that some of these groups here have given erroneous information… even claiming glitches that are not existent,” Flores told reporters.

“The Supreme Court gave the contending parties 10 days to submit their memoranda before the tribunal rules on the case.”