Lawyer vs IT pros on PCOS

DIE HARD III

Herman Tiu Laurel

7/8/2013

Daily Tribune

The late Philippine computer and information technology pioneer Manuel "Mano" Alcuaz had always insisted that automated elections in the Philippine would only result in "garbage in and garbage out." He argued for precinct level manual elections and counting with open, blackboard tabulation, signed canvass sheets and for any member to be allowed to photograph all these with cellphone cameras. He argued that the Automated Election System (AES) was merely an excuse for massive graft by those contracting the computer soft and hardware suppliers with government officials. Mano accepted automation only for summing up the count digitally and transmission of the data to the municipal, provincial, Comelec and national canvass but backed up by hard copies.

The 3000 member Philippine Computer Society (PCS) still agrees with Mano Alcuaz today. Its president Toti Casiño, confirmed this on my Global News Network public affairs program Talk News TV countless of times. And we have all read and heard the many IT experts from the Ateneo, UP and LaSalle exposing the flawed operations and results of the AES employed by the Comelec and the two Edsa II administrations (Arroyo and BS Aquino). Many countries have already backed away from automated voting and counting, the most frequent example cited is Germany where its Supreme Court banned automated voting and counting as unconstitutional as it could not be transparent. But many others have backed out of automated elections, such as Switzerland and Ireland. Last month found that that Russia is still uses manual voting and counting.

It is to my great disappointment that here in the Philippines some otherwise respected minds have continued to stick to the simpleton's awe for "computerized" and "automated" elections. They echo the argument of other simpletons that such electro-mechanical system eliminates the human factor," "human error" and/or "human deceit," etc. That consternation doubled when I an otherwise intelligent individual I once was awed by, reflect the simpleton view of the Philippine's automated election system.
Lawyer Rene Saguisag in his July 4 column in the Manila Times spoke his mind on the matter, entitled "Automation versus manual? No contest, but let's improve it." No contest? I wondered what Saguisag knows about computers and IT, and what his basis for saying so is.
As is often the case Saguisag's article rambled into tidbits about uncles and personal friends, and frilly stories about his cozy little old Pasig society, and praises as well for anything Cory Aquino. These days under those praises are for BS Aquino for whom he tries to find the little gems in the dung heap of the BS Aquino III governance.
Rene wrote, "I was glad to read that 'Surigao del Norte's income rose by 711.22 percent; poverty declined by 32 percent.' No thanks to P-Noy but genuine People's Initiative, not waiting for Malacañang to move, as kadunongs, pilosopos throw everything at P-Noy." Note that the mining province's increase in income translated to only a little more than 3.5 percent poverty decline. Mineral prices such as nickel can go up but people's income from working in those mineral companies never appreciably do.

Rene adds about critics and dissidents who write, "We columnists know all the answers save that they are contradictory prescriptions by the unelectable." But is the little boy in Malacañang he coddles electable? Cory's own people tell us that Cory Aquino, the mother, found dear little PeNoy unelectable. The promise of Hocus PCOS of 2010 impressed one voting bloc, INC, to announce its swing to the little unelectable and, supported by the manipulated opinion surveys owned by one or another relation or another, gave credence to the PCOS padded election results of 2010 giving an "overwhelming" victory for Rene's darling kid.

Saguisag continued, "…Thanks to automation, there is no more opportunity anywhere for long counts and ballot-snatching or switching." For Saguisag's information the Comelec stopped the opening of canvasses on May 18 and only announced three weeks later, on June 8, that it had completed the last canvass batch. That wasn't as short a time as Saguisag seems to believe for the national canvass. The worst part is that the 60-30-10 template is confirmed even as more data is analyzed by the "kadunongs, pilosopos and hecklers." Now, as reported to us by kadunong Ado Paglinawan, it has been discovered that Grace Poe had already gotten over 20 million votes by the 17th canvass batch. When the last canvass batch which still held almost half of the votes, the little darling of the status quo society had only around 150,000 votes added to her total.

Details of this will soon be made public, casting even more doubt on the 2010 elections. While lawyer Saguisag has not raised a hoot about the incontrovertible violations of law of the AES where he could have played a real role, he insists on promoting "automation" of which he knows nothing about.

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