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Reports on the failure of counting machines and wrong configuration of memory cards point to no other than mayhem on May 10, confirming widespread fears of elections failure to retain Gloria Arroyo in power, labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno said.
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) has deployed 41 international observers from 14 countries to observe the Philippines election, which is scheduled for the May 10, 2010. ANFREL believes that the upcoming General Elections could be a new chapter of clean and credible elections for the country and an admirable initiative for the Asian people towards ensuring freedom of elections in the region.
Katribu partylist is alarmed over reports that the machine count did not tally with the actual manual count and that votes for certain candidates were not counted, especially those aligned with the Nacionalista Party (NP), were not counted based on the result of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) testing recently conducted.
The final testing and sealing (FTS) in Marikina City was held on May 6, earlier than the announced May 7 testing. Board of Election inspectors and watchers are waiting as early as 10am but machine arrived after lunch. No ballot boxes were delivered.
In the final testing and sealing in Palatiw Elementary School in Pasig City on May 8, the common problem was the startup of the PCOS machine. The machine in Precinct 107 displayed the COMELEC logo for a long time. The machine had to be turned on and off. Many other machines unexpectedly shut down.
CAVITE -- Delegates of the People's International Observers’ Mission participated in the mock elections in San Labrador Town in Dasmariñas, Cavite today, May 9, 2010. In Dasmariñas North National High School, one precint experienced glitches when votes for some local candidates were not counted by the PCOS machine. The problem was solved when the CF card was replaced.
Datu Piang, MAGUINDANAO -- Workers unload election equipment at the Datu Piang town hall in Maguindanao. In some areas in the province, delivery of PCOS machines was a problem. Reports said this morning that Comelec people were prevented from delivering these machines to Buldon, a farflung town in Maguindanao.
At San Jose Elementary School in Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City Monday, the machine count does not tally or register votes for mayoralty candidate Ernesto Maceda. In one precinct, election returns reflected 3 votes for mayoralty candidate Erwin Genuino and 1 vote for Edmundo Tagalog.
On Monday, Machine and manual count results did not tally in the clustered precincts in Cembo Elementary School for the mayoralty post and the Sangguniang Panlunsod.
Final testing and sealing in Precinct 246 in Cembo Elementary School on Monday was delayed when the PCOS machine could not print a complete Initialization report. The printout generated did not show the list of candidates and the vote counter that should show zero votes. The Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) are unable to troubleshoot the problem on their own and called for the assistance of the support technician. After more or less an hour, final testing and sealing proceeded with the assistance of the Smartmatic TIM technician.
Automation and computerization are supposed to make life easier. It is supposed to speed up processes by minimizing human intervention. After all, machines are more efficient, more precise, and do not tire easily compared to humans. However, this is not the case with the first Philippine Automated Election System.
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