“For the sanctity of our votes”: KATRIBU calls on the voters to actively participate in the precinct-level test of PCOS

BAGUIO CITY (May 6, 2010) – KATRIBU Partylist is alarmed over the failure of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines in Abra province and nationwide, and calls on all voters to be ever vigilant over the impending failure of the Automated Election System (AES). Furthermore, KATRIBU is urging the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to reconsider its decision regarding the manual counting of votes which it had earlier shelved.

“With only 4 days before the elections, we are pessimistic that COMELEC and SMARTMATIC can fix all the glitches in the configuration of 76,000 flash cards for the PCOS machines nationwide. Even so, KATRIBU is calling on the voters to actively participate in the precinct-level test of the PCOS machines on May 7 after the reconfigured flash cards shall have been installed. The voters should see whether these machines are reliable. It is our right to choose our leaders that is at stake more than the billions of pesos that the government paid for the AES,” said Virgilio Aniceto, KATRIBU Partylist 5th nominee.

Furthermore, Aniceto explains that the AES is confronting a lot of problems (the transmission issue, the failure to read the ballots and the recently discovered possibility of high tech dagdag-bawas like what happened in the testing of PCOS in Occidental Mindoro) but the Comelec remains stubborn on its decision shelving the parallel manual counting of votes. So, it is up to the voters to ensure that their votes are reliably counted. They should see if the PCOS works or not. In the event that the PCOS fails, the voters should demand that the counting be done manually.

Not only has KATRIBU requested for more PCOS testing earlier on, it had also asked Comelec to institute a more widespread and intensive voters' education on the automated election system. KATRIBU has conducted voters' education in indigenous peoples' areas and in areas where the AES was perceived to be met with difficulty. Therefore, we raised these concerns with Comelec time and time again.

Lastly, KATRIBU Partylist is urging the Comelec to prepare for manual counting of votes simply because the AES is showing signs of unreliability. “A parallel manual count is the best way to ensure that the elections will be clean,” added Aniceto.

“The elections must be held on May 10. We (the voters and the Comelec) should prepare for manual counting if needed,” ended Aniceto. # www.katribu.org

Reference

Virgilio Aniceto
KATRIBU Partylist 5th Nominee
Mobile No. 09203968707