Pimentel favors new technology for 2016 elections

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III today urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to discard the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in favor of a more reliable, fraud-free and newer technology for the 2016 presidential elections.

Pimentel, chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms, backed Comelec's plan to sell the old PCOS machines, used in the 2010 and 2013 elections, and asked the poll body to look for new technology to ensure the credibility of the next elections.

He recalled that the PCOS machines failed the specified minimum accuracy rate of 99.995% or a maximum error rate of .005% when a series of tests was conducted to determine their accuracy, aside from technical glitches that marred their use during the midterm polls.

Pimentel said that the questionable accuracy has a bearing in hotly-contested local races where the disputed position is determined by only a few votes and even in the neck-and-neck battle for the remaining slots in the senatorial contest.

He said that some PCOS machines were found to be defective, adding that flaws and vulnerabilities in the country's automated elections should be addressed to protect the next elections from sabotage or attempts to favor a candidate.

Pimentel also doubted the condition of the used machines because of wear and tear, noting that some units were found to be producing "black lines" on the ballots counted during a random manual audit after the May 2013 polls.

The Comelec, however, is mulling the use of a new technology, called Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) which is akin to touchscreen technology where voters cast their votes by picking candidates from a touchscreen.

Pimentel said that accuracy should never be compromised, saying that the new technology should also meet the minimum system capabilities as mandated by law and be subjected to rigid testing to meet the stringent criteria.

"Accuracy should never be sacrificed to ensure clean, honest and credible elections. Elections are only democratic if they are truly free and fair," said Pimentel, himself a victim of the so-called "dagdag-bawas" scheme which practically cost him the bigger part of his first senatorial term.

Pimentel said that the gains of electoral reforms, among them the full automation of elections, must be preserved and protected, but a fraud-free electoral system must be sought to safeguard the true will of the electorates.

Malfunctioning PCOS machines, charges of ballot switching, delay in the delivery of election paraphernalia, missing names and oversized ballots were among the problems that marred the last automated national and local elections.

He said that the poll body is responsible and accountable for the fate of the PCOS machines once a decision is reached not to use them in the next elections to save every centavo government had invested in the machines.

The PCOS machines were bought in 2013 from the foreign firm Smartmatic.