By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) will begin its six-month evaluation to determine which technology the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will use for automating the 2010 presidential elections.
CICT chair Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua said eight vendors have been selected to test their solutions within the six-month period in selected areas nationwide.
“These vendors have solutions that use OMR (optical mark reader) and DRE (direct recording electronic) machines,” Roxas-Chua said during a meeting Wednesday with the IT Association of the Philippines (ITAP).
As CICT chair, he heads a technical advisory committee tasked to help Comelec with its computerization efforts.
By law, the Comelec should undergo computerization in the May 2010 polls but whatever solution selected should be tested in a prior election practice.
The CICT is looking to deploy automation in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao special elections.
“Automation is not only about cost,” Roxas-Chua said. “That is why we are conducting a detailed study to find out how the public would react to these technologies.”
The Comelec was supposed to automate this year’s May senatorial polls but did not push through with the plan following the controversial P1.3-billion contract with MegaPacific Consortium that was nullified by the courts.

5 Feedbacks on "CICT begins testing of poll solutions"
doy cinco
Hindi sapat ang modernisasyon (counting machine) !
Hindi ganap na masasawata ng modernisasyon at computerization ng halalan ang malalim na ugat na kabulukan ng sistemang pulitika at election sa Pilipinas. Bakit gustong ipriority ang modernization sa election samantalang naipakita ng ‘di umubra ito sa Mindanao noong June 1996 ARRM election. Hindi ganap na malulusaw sa pamamagitan ng modernization at computerization ang Kasal Binyag Libing (KBL) at sistemang padri-padrino ng pulitika, na siyang ugat o dahilan ng mga “hello Garci/dag-dag-bawas operation.”
Hindi dapat malimita’t maipokus lamang sa yugto ng bilangan (counting period) , tulad ng computerization ang pagbabagong reporma sa election na nais ng country. Maaaring sabihin makakatulong sa “pagpapabilis ng bilangan, cost effective, mamiminimized ang errors at sinasabing liliit ang chance ng dagdag-bawas.” Kaya lang maihahambing ito sa isang “palaka na nasa loob ng lungga.” Mga “palakang ang nakikita lamang kalangitan ay kapirasong butas ng lungga” at hindi ang kabuuang lawak ng kalangitan. Kung baga, isang kapirasong kalangitan o dayaan at anomlya lamang ang nakikita ng palaka, hindi ang kabuuang kundukta ng election period at kabulukan ng sistema. Ito ang mga kadahilanan kung bakit sinasabing ang modernization ay hindi makasasapat at makakapaggarantiya ng isang malinis, may kredibilidad at kapani-paniwalang election.
Mas kapani-paniwala ng mahigit isang libong beses na mauuwi lamang sa isyu ng MEGA PACIFIC, pagkakaperahan ng mga tiwali sa gubyerno, sa Tongreso at sa Comelec ang modernization ng counting machine. Bukud sa pangungurakot, napatunayan at napruwebahan na ang computerization sa congressional ARMM areas (automated counting machine) noong March 1996 , sa kasawiang palad, nagpatuloy ang patayan, kaguluhan at garapalang dayaan.
Hindi uubra ang modernization at computerization sa mga Ampatuan, Akbar ng Luzon Visayas at Mindanao, sa mga warlords at Guns, Golds, Goons at Girls. Ang dapat tutukan ay ang pagpapalakas ng Partido Pulitikal, proportional representation at pagsasa-ayos ng campaign finance.
Sariwa pa ang madudugo’t karahasan sa katatapos na May midterm election. Naipakitaang hindi dapat mapokus at malimita sa pagpapahusay ng pagbibilang ang pagbabago sa election. Dapat mabatid na hinding-hindi mawawala ang “hello Garci dagdag-bawas controversy” sa tuwing election at ang katiwalian sa Comelec dahil lamang sa modernisasyon ng halalan. Sapagkat ang “malaking bahagi ng election period, ang election conduct at proseso ay isang malaking dayaan na.”
Paano masasawata ng modernization ang sakit na cancer ng private armies, ang kabulukan ng political clans, political party at kawalan at ampaw na plataporme de gubyerno? Hinding-hindi masusulusyunan ng isang modernization at computerization ng pagbibilang lamang ang katiwalian ni Abalos, ang maraming Bedol, Atty Dalaig at Garci sa Comelec. Mas matutuwa pa ang marami kung io-overhaul ang Comelec (hanggang munisipyo), kasuhan at ipakulong ang mga nakinabang at nagsipagyaman na mga operador sa Comelec.
Ang katiwalian sa election ay hindi lamang nagagnap sa bilangan, nobenta porsiento (90%) ng dayaan ay nagsisimula pa lamang sa pre-campaign period, campaign period at canvassing. Talamak ang dayaan sa campaign period, lalo na sa campaign finance, ang sobrang gastusing sa kanpanya, ang vote buying at voter’s dis-enfranchisement ng mga botante, ang propaganda campaign hanggang canvassing at proklamasyon.
Doy Cinco / IPD
http://doycinco.blogspot.com/
November 22, 2007
erlinda
THe CICT must consider also the access technology that will be used in the election. otherwise, satellite will be used which is expensive and wil have to be used only once every three years.thanks to the senators and politicians, the NBN which can be used to transmit election results in short time now belongs to the statistics of projects affected by politics. The private TELCOs will continue to hold the public hostage to their selfish profiting interest while the government can ony dream of interconnection up to the remotest areas.
Danny Villarin
1. Is CICT under COMELEC?
2. How one could get in touch with
CICT?
3. Does CICT have some information
about: (a) “CAES” - Computer-Aided
Election System?
(b) “FEEL.SYSTEM” - Full
Electronic System?
4. “CAES” and/or “Feel.System” had been
presented to the Comelec as early as
mid-October of year 2002. [In fact,
the Comelec, itself, "came up" with its
own version of "CAES" with different
description as: "Computerized
Automated Election System". [More on
this, follows]
5. Is CICT aware that the socalled “VRIS”
or its equivalent [highly-bannered and
highly-budgeted] of/by the Comelec,
is far more controversial than the
Comelec’s so called “Automated
Counting Machine”?
[More on this, follows]
al legaspi
just want to know what is the status of the mega pacific deal? did the government refund the money?
miguel alerta
its about time!
if not now, when?
just do your acts accordingly and it will boil down to alot of things that will become better in our country.
A bad election is the symbol of everything that is currupt, a good one in 2010 will usher a new beggining for this country thats has sufferred so long.
who knows; a credible election, because of automation, will signal the “KICK” this country has long been waiting for.
who ever wins in this process, lets go for it, or shall we say lets go with the winner!!!!
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