IN RE: PETITION FOR ACCREDITATION AS COMELEC’S CITIZEN ARM FOR THE AUGUST 11, 2008 AUTONOMOUS REGION FOR MUSLIM MINDANAO (ARMM) ELECTIONS
Petitioner: PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL FOR RESPONSIBLE VOTING (PPCRV)
Archive for June, 2008
COMELEC briefs foreign community on ARMM elections
The Commission on Elections this afternoon met with the foreign community of diplomats and donors to discuss with them various issues regarding the 11 August 2008 automated elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Representatives from the embassies of the United States of America; Australia; Singapore; Canada; United Kingdom, Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Japan and Indonesia, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), USAID and the Asia Foundation attended the briefing which was headed by COMELEC Chairman Jose A.R. Melo and Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer.
COMELEC Executive Director and Project Manager for the ARMM Automation Project Atty. Jose M. Tolentino Jr., in his presentation, emphasized that the upcoming automated polls “lays the necessary groundwork for the full automation of the 2010 National and Local Elections.”
“Automating the 2008 ARMM elections serves the dual purpose of ensuring clean, honest and orderly polls in that region and providing invaluable knowledge and experience that will ensure success of the 2010 elections,” Tolentino said.
He also noted that automation minimizes human intervention and discretion in the polls, thus eliminating errors and fraud.
COMELEC Spokesman and Assistant General Manager for Education and Information James Jimenez, for his part, updated the attendees on the poll body’s voters’ education efforts.
He said the poll body has been training COMELEC trainors on the handling and operation of the machines, application of the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and Optical Mark Reader (OMR) technologies, system for canvassing and consolidation and other technical support requirements.
“For the general public, we’ll be fielding teams of educators starting July 1 and they will be going on a per municipality basis, in partnership with civil society organizations,” he said. ###
COMELEC confident of successful automated polls
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) assured the public that the automation of the 11 August 2008 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will not disenfranchise the voters despite concerns about illiteracy in the region.
COMELEC Spokesman and Education and Information Director James Jimenez said “automated elections are actually designed to make it easier for voters who have low literacy levels.”
Smartmatic-Sahi Technology spokesman Vince Dizon, for his part, explained that the automated voting machines have been designed to make voting easier especially for disabled and illiterate voters. “It is faster and easier to use the automated voting machines than it is to write the individual names of candidates on the ballots,” he added.
Avante’s Project Manager Leo Querubin, meanwhile, emphasized that ease of voting was a major feature of ballots for optical mark reader machines (OMR).
“Unlike in the previous elections, where the voter would have to write the names of their chosen candidates, this time, voters have to simply shade the circles beside the candidates’ name,” Querubin explained.
Querubin added that they have enlisted the help of the Association of Private Colleges-ARMM to help them in the voters’ education campaign. “That way, we would be able to reach the grassroots areas in the five provinces that we would be deployed,” he said.
Jimenez further said that a comprehensive plan to educate the voters, the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) and the local election officers on the operation of the machines has been developed jointly by the COMELEC and its technology providers, Smartmatic-Sahi Technology and Avante International Technology. Both technology providers will conduct intensive municipal-based voters’ orientation programs staring July.
“Avante and Smartmatic-Sahi will conduct actual machine demonstrations, show tutorial videos and distribute instructional flyers on the voting procedures to educate the ARMM voters,” he said.
Avante’s OMR technology will be fielded in the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; while Smartmatic-Sahi’s Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) system will be deployed in Maguindanao. ###
Trainors training for the ARMM elections kicks off today
A total of 50 trainors from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) will undergo intensive training on the operation of the automated voting and counting machines starting today at the Casa Marinero in Intramuros, Manila.
Service providers, Smartmatic-Sahi Technology and Avante International Technology will lead the training programs which will run for five days.
The training program seeks to educate the COMELEC trainors on the handling and operation of the machines, application of the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and Optical Mark Reader (OMR) technologies, system for canvassing and consolidation and other technical support requirements.
COMELEC Spokesman Dir. James Jimenez said all participants that will complete the five-day training program will be deployed to various provinces in the ARMM to train the Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) and Board of Canvassers (BOCs).
“We received the full commitment of the two service providers to ensure that all field personnel from COMELEC and the Department of Education including the Board of Election Inspectors and Board of Canvassers, are prepared for the automated elections on August 11,” he said.
Smartmatic-Sahi Technology will implement a direct recording electronic (DRE) system in Maguindanao while Avante International Technology will provide optical mark reader (OMR) technology for the other five ARMM provinces, namely, Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Vince Dizon, spokesperson for Smartmatic-Sahi said that they will be training 1,644 members of the Board of Election Inspectors in Maguindanao. They will also conduct trainings for 100 consolidation and canvassing support technicians who will be deployed in various provincial and regional canvassing centers, and for 400 precinct-based support technicians who will provide technical assistance to members of the BEI in handling automated voting machines. ###
COMELEC gets support from PPCRV and other Muslim civil society groups
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) gets overwhelming support from the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and various Muslim religious leaders and civil society organizations in the conduct of its voters’ education campaign in preparation for the August 11, 2008 automated elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
COMELEC spokesman and Education and Information Department Director James Jimenez said that the PPCRV and the Bangsamoro civil society leaders which include the Assembly of Darul Ifta of the Philippines, will be the poll body’s major partners to reach the ARMM voters at the grassroots level.
“COMELEC together with the service providers Smartmatic-Sahi and Avante will field various teams to conduct municipal based voters’ orientation program starting July,” Jimenez added.
“We welcome the efforts of the local Muslim leaders and civil society groups to help us educate the voters, on the use of automated voting and counting machines, especially in the farthest Barangays and municipalities in the ARMM,” he said.
But despite the security features embedded in the automated voting and counting machines, the COMELEC official urged election stakeholders to continue with their vigilance and active participation in the upcoming polls.
“No amount of machines can solve election fraud. The machines only address one aspect of the election, which is accurate and speedy counting. People’s vigilance and active participation is sill key in achieving clean, honest, orderly and credible elections,” said Jimenez, during his talk at the opening rites of the “Pre-election ARMM Summit Workshop” organized by the PPCRV last weekend.
The summit, PPCRV head Henrietta de Villa said aims to prepare civil society groups, including Muslim religious organizations for the ARMM elections.
During the summit, the two service providers namely Smartmatic-Sahi Technology and Avante International Technology conducted demonstration on the process of voting, counting and electronic transmission of votes. ###
