The May 2010 National Elections: An Assessment on the First National Automated Elections in the Philippines

Undergraduate Thesis ProposalSubmtted to theFaculty of the

Department of Social Sciences and HumanitiesCollege of Arts and Sciences

Cavite State University, Indang Cavite

In partial fulfilment of the Requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Amangan, Hyun Jae E.October 20, 2010

The May 2010 National Elections: An Assessment on the First National Automated Elections in the Philippines

Amangan, Hyun Jae E.

A Thesis proposal presented to the faculty of the Departmend of Social Sciences and Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, Cavite State University, Indang, Cavite in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. With Contribution no. _______________. Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Cristina M. Signo.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The concept of elections and suffrage are one of the fundamental principles in every

democratic nation in the world. From the time of the ancient Greeks, people have fought tyranny

for the right to choose their own leaders. The concept of a free and fair election thus made

democracy one of the most powerful political philosophies in the world today.

In the international sphere, there is no specific and standard definition of what free and

fair democratic election meant. The International Law by necessary implications is only trying to

lay down a guide and qualities of what a free and fair democratic election should be and what it

should not be, the other aspect International Law tries to emphasize is the relevance and legality

in the right to democracy under Customary International Law.

According to Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Everyone has the

right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen

representatives. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. And the

will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in

periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held

by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also states that every

citizen shall have the right and the opportunity to take part in the conduct of public affairs,

directly or through freely choose representative, to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic

elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot,

guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors and to have access, on general terms

of equality, to public service in his country.

          Since the beginning of elections in the Philippines, the electoral process has been generally

characterized by irregularities such as fraud, terrorism, violence, vote-buying, ballot snatching,

bribery, cheating, and the like. These do not reflect the true will of the Filipino people, thus, a

gross violation of the right to suffrage. This affects the credibility of the whole democratic

process and mocks at the sacred right to suffrage.

Another problem with regards to the electoral system in the Philippines is its traditional

way of writing the name of their chosen candidate in an ordinary piece of paper. It has always

been a burden for canvassers to do the counting of votes and the long process has been the cause

of countless election fraud. One of the burdens of the manual system is its slow results because

the counting of votes is performed manually. It is also the reason why many candidates are

appealing to the Commission on Elections and to the court that they have been cheated during

the counting. Manual voting system gave rise to fraudulent election practices like tampering of

election returns and statements of votes. After each election, the Comelec and courts are flooded

with complaints of election fraud.

That is why on December 22, 1997, Republic Act no. 8436 otherwise known as the Poll

Modernization Law was signed into law which authorizes the computerization of elections in the

Philippines. It was later amended through Republic Act no. 9369 or the Amended

Computerization Act of 2007 which gave way to the first ever national elections in the

Philippines. RA 9369 defines an automated election system as the use of an appropriate

technology which has been demonstrated in voting, counting, canvassing and transmitting of

election results. (Lordzden, 2010).

Through automation a credible transition of power as well as a clean, honest, and orderly

election can be ensured. Setting up the country’s automated and electoral system is a crucial step

towards clean and honest election. While it will not be a cure-all for the country’s electoral

problems, automating the polls will eliminate a lot of the human intervention and that has made

vote-rigging possible

The integration of our traditional elections was considered successful to some and failure

to others. According to National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections, overall, the machine

had 99.35-percent accuracy, which is below the required 99.995 percent. There were also other

problems such as election returns with wrong time and date stamps, the lack of digital signatures,

and the incomplete inventory of the voting machines and the compact flash cards. These

problems can prove fatal to the credibility of the new election system.

In light with these issues and the current arguments and positions made by various

experts today, the researcher finds this study to be relevant and of great significance in pursuance

to an honest and clean election exercise in the Philippines. Through evaluation of the pros and

cons, this paper aims to assess the outcome of the elections through feedback from the voters

which shall be analysed systematically through a series of guide questions that will lead the

study towards an improved and more credible automated election system.

Statement of the Problem

This study shall be conducted to assess the implications of the first-ever automated

national elections in the Philippines on May 10, 2010.

Specifically, the study attempts to answer the following questions:

1. What is the law underlying the first automated national election system in the

Philippines?

2. What are the benefits from the automated election system as perceived by:

a. Election officers

b. Voting public

3. What are the problems on the first automated national elections as perceived by:

a. Election officers

b. Voting public

4. What are the implications of the automated election system in terms of:

a. Enthusiasm to vote;

b. Voting efficiency;

c. Election fraud; and

d. Cost efficiency?

Significance of the Study

This study will benefit the following people / agencies:

Political Science Students and other students and researchers. The content in this study can

be used as basis for future researches and studies. The outcome of the study can be used as

reference to similar studies especially with regards to the election system in the Philippines.

The Commission on Elections. The results of the study especially the problems and solutions

suggested can help guide the commission for improvement and future modification of the

existing electoral system. The commission will also be informed of the feedback by the voting

public to the different policies that they establish.

The government especially the law-making bodies. The findings of this study can serve as a

basis for policy development especially with regards to modernization and the election system.

The implications in the study can also open doors for improvement of other government services

such as electronic governance.

The general public. This study may not only represent the feedback of the electorate to the

government but it will also raise awareness on the advantages and disadvantages of the

automated elections. It may also encourage active participation by the people on other activities

by the government.

Time and Place of the Study

The study will be conducted within the premises of the Cavite State University and the

office of the Commission on Elections from November 2010 up to January 2011. It will be

evaluated at the Department of Social Science and Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences.

Scope and Limitations

This study will be conducted to determine the outcome of the May 2010 automated

national elections as perceived by the Commission on Elections and by voters enrolled or

employed in the Cavite State University. The aspects that will be looked into are the nature of an

automated election, its benefits and advantages, the problems encountered in the May 2010

national automated elections, and the feedback from the voting public.

This study will start on November 2010 and ends on January 2011. The respondents will

be selected students and faculty of the Cavite State University who have voted on May 10, 2010

and representatives from the Commission on Elections. The data needed will be taken at the

COMELEC office, as well as survey from the selected respondents and by the help of related

literature.

Theoretical Framework

This study shall be guided using the principles that backed the Republic Act 8436 or

the Automated Elections Law in the Philippines.

Republic Act 8436 “Automated Elections Law”

In pursuit to man’s quest for harmony and progression, Republic Act 8436 or the

Automated Elections Law was passed in order to provide the state free, orderly, honest, peaceful,

credible and informed elections, plebiscites, referenda, recall and other similar electoral exercises

by improving on the election process and adopting systems, which shall involve the use of an

automated election system that will ensure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot and all election,

consolidation and transmission documents on order that the process shall be transparent and

credible and that the results shall be fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people

(Philippine Congress, 1997).

Using this principle as basis for the study, this research aims to pursue a higher stage of

development through analyzing the automated election system by its current state, evaluating

various factors and problems of the new system and opening doors for improvement. As stated in

the automated elections law, the state shall provide a free, honest, and orderly system of

elections. These shall be achieved by further developing the system and gear it towards change

and improvement. This study aims to fill these purposes through assessment and arrival at a more

improved election system in order to justify a credible election system in the Philippines.

Conceptual Framework

Automated Election System

ProblemsBenefits

Implications

The paradigm illustrates the conceptual framework of the study. The basis for assessing

and analyzing the automated election system in the Philippines is to provide an in-depth analysis

of the benefits of an automated elections system and the problems that arise during the May 10,

2010 elections.

The procedure involves describing the nature of the Current Automated Election System,

its benefits and advantages which serves as input along with the problems of the system and the

feedback from the people. After the collection of data, the process weighs the different factors

for the implication of an automated election system. These implications open doors for the

improvement of the system.

Definition of Terms

The definition of terms presents the different technical terms that will be used in the

study and their operational definition.

Automated Election System is a system using appropriate technology which has been

demonstrated in the voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmission of election

result, and other electoral process.

Manual Election System is a system that involves the traditional pen and paper way of voting,

counting, canvassing and transmitting the election results and other electoral process

Commission on Elections is a constitutional commission vested with the exclusive charge of

enforcing all laws relative to elections and the power to decide all questions affective elections

Board of Election Inspectors is a special body organized by the COMELEC tasked to conduct

the voting, counting, and recording of votes in the polling place.

Selected Students and Faculty of Cavite State University are registered voters who have

participated in the May 2010 national elections.

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter is a presentation of related literature and studies which provided direction in

the conduct of the study. Among the topics presented in this chapter are the international and

municipal concept of elections, elections in the Philippines, election automation, electronic

governance, may 2010 technical problems and controversies, and national development.

International and Municipal Concept of Elections

Living in a democratic country, the very subject of our government is its citizens.

Panganiban (2009) stressed that the citizens’ role is not to substitute for and do what our officials

should be doing. The citizens’ job is to perform oversight functions, that is, to demand that only

the most qualified are elected or appointed, and then to insist that these public officials perform

their duties ethically, courageously and competently. Otherwise, if these officials cannot or

would not do their jobs properly, the citizens should ask for their resignation, impeachment or

dismissal and their replacement by the ethical, the courageous and the competent.

That is why according to ARTICLE V of the Philippine Constitution, the right to suffrage

may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines who are not disqualified by law and who are

at least eighteen years of age and have resided in the country for at least one year in the place

where they plan to vote at least six months preceding the elections. No literacy, property, or

other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.

Furthermore, the provision goes on that The Congress shall provide a system for securing

the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot as well as a system for absentee voting by qualified

Filipinos abroad. The Congress shall also design a procedure for the disabled and the illiterates to

vote without the assistance of other persons. Until then, they shall be allowed to vote under

existing laws and such rules as the Commission on Elections may promulgate to protect the

secrecy of the ballot.

Suffrage as conferred by the constitutional provision is not a natural right of the citizens,

but a political right intended to enable them to participate in the process of government to assure

it derives its powers from the consent of the governed. Both international and domestic laws

protect and guarantee its effective exercise by the people so that their sovereign will can be

manifested.

According to Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Everyone has the

right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen

representatives. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. And the

will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in

periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held

by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also underscores that

every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity to take part in the conduct of public affairs,

directly or through freely choose representative, to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic

elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot,

guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors and to have access, on general terms

of equality, to public service in his country.

As envisioned under international and domestic laws, the Commission on Human Rights

(2004) sees to it that the sovereign will of the people should win in an election. It is this will to

participate in the election of officials that determines the kind of democratic government that will

eventually be established. It is by reason of the votes to cast that duly elected candidates may

assume the office they wish to hold. The right to suffrage is one prized right. Election day is one

instance when in one day ALL becomes equal before the law – regardless of sex, religious,

political and other beliefs, property, racial background, status, literacy and education. This is the

time when everyone, and each one, participates in equal share and weight, that is, with one vote.

The right to suffrage is the spirit and essence of democracy and republicanism. In a country with

a government “of the people, by the people and for the people,” election becomes so vital and

momentous that it gives life to the government itself.

Elections in the Philippines

          Since the inception of elections in the country, the electoral process has been generally

characterized by irregularities such as fraud, terrorism, violence, vote-buying, ballot snatching,

bribery, cheating, and the like. These do not reflect the true will of the Filipino people, thus, a

gross violation of the right to suffrage. According to the Commission on Human Rights Advisory

(2004), all these infringe on the right of Filipinos to self-determination. The Philippines has been

both a witness and victim to the problematic, perverted and violent exercise of elections in the

country. It affects the credibility of the whole democratic process and mocks at this sacred right

to suffrage.

In the midst of clamors for clean, honest, orderly, credible and genuine elections, the will

of the voting Filipinos should be exercised freely, safely and intelligently, whether inside or

outside the voting precincts. There is much to be done in these respect and instrumentalities of

government, particularly the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the Philippine National

Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) must play their critical roles, as

duty holders, for the full and free exercise of the right to suffrage by all Filipino voters. The

observance of these international and national standards on the roles of both the government

instrumentalities as duty holders and the Filipino electorate as claim holders in the exercise of

the right to suffrage shall ensure that the sovereign will of the Filipino people is truly and

effectively manifested in electoral exercises. To the Commission on Human Rights of the

Philippines, winning in an election does not stop when the duly elected candidates shall have

officially taken their respective oath of office. Winning the election is the effective governance

within the tenure of the elected and the quality of public service. The right to suffrage, therefore,

is not limited to the outcome of the electoral process. In short, the electoral process is crucial for

the Filipinos to come out victorious in the process of governance of the elected (Commission on

Human Rights of the Philippines, 2004).

With regard to the process of voting, Lordzden (2010) describes how the Filipinos voted

through the traditional way of writing the name of their chosen candidate in an ordinary piece of

paper. It has always been a burden for canvassers to do the counting of votes and the long

process has been the cause of countless election fraud. One of the burdens of the manual system

is its slow results because the counting of votes is just performed manually. It is also the reason

why many candidates are appealing to the Comelec and to the court that they have been cheated

during the counting. Due to this, they would try to file a recount of votes. Second, is that many

cruel candidates are making deal with some Board of canvassers who are primarily composed of

teachers to manipulate the results. In addition, some of the politicians are also making deal with

electric companies, to shut down the power during canvassing so that’s the time where they can

have the opportunity to change the votes and cheat in the election. Manual voting system gave

rise to fraudulent election practices like tampering of election returns and statements of votes.

After each election, the Comelec and courts are flooded with complaints of election fraud.

Election Automation

In order to pursue a secure and honest election, it is the function of the government to

provide the people the means to a credible system of election. Zerna (2009) defines manual

election as a system that counts votes using paper audits stored by a ballot box. In addition,

manual election usually takes a long time before proclaiming the winning candidate. It is a time

consuming system, for it takes more than a month before the results are transmitted to the

COMELEC. Computerized election systems however, count votes using electronic devices such

as computers. Unlike manual election, computerized election is easy and fast for the transmission

of results is done by computers. In addition, computerized election usually takes a short period of

time before proclaiming the winning candidate.

In preparation of a nationwide automated system, a pilot testing is required by law to be

implemented on at least two highly urbanized cities and two provinces each in Luzon, Visayas

and Mindanao in the 2007 elections. However, time constraints made it impossible to implement

theproject. Hence, upon recommendation of the CAC, the plan to automate the 2007elections

was abandoned.

CAC Resolution dated July 12, 2007 opened the possibility of using an AES in the 2008

ARMM Elections. Two different kinds of technologies were deployed by COMELEC for the

ARMM Elections, the Direct Recording Electronic or DRE and the Optical Mark Reader or

OMR. The DRE provided by Smartmatic, uses a touch pad device where voters simply select

their choice of candidates by touching selected areas of the touchpad. The DRE technology was

deployed in the entire province of Maguindanao. On the other hand, the OMR provided by

Avante International Technology Inc., uses paper ballots which contain the names of the

candidates and the different races being contested where voters shade or mark the circles

corresponding to the names of the candidates they choose to vote for. This technology was

deployed in the areas of Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and

Marawi City. Successfully used in the 2008 ARMM Elections was the canvassing and

consolidation system developed by Smartmatic and procured by the COMELEC. This system

combined or merged the two partial results from both systems in order to arrive at the national

winners. These elections results were transmitted from the precinct level for the DRE and from

counting centers for the OMR up to the national data center in COMELEC's head office in

Intramuros (Comelec Advisory Council, 2008).

In its own evaluation of the ARMM automated elections in August 2008, the Comelec Advisory Council (October 2008 report) found at least 23 common errors and other deficiencies in connection with the use of OMR, as well as the Digital Recording Electronic (DRE). Among the problems documented with the OMR are:

• Votes shaded in the OMR ballot were exposed to tampering; • Unscrupulous erasures;

• The distribution of the official OMR ballots was exposed to the threat of advance shading; • The attached full 196-key Keyboard in the ACM is open to programming intrusion; • Scratches and smudges of the ballots hampered their optical scanning or led to their rejection thus slowing down the counting; • The folding and unfolding of OMR ballots resulted in delays; • Constant paper jamming of the OMR ballots; • Lack of training (or deliberate errors) of BEI officials as shown in the tearing off of the bar codes resulting in their rejection by the OMR machine; • Lack of procedural knowledge on the part of the BEIs particularly on the disposition of invalid ballots and other problems; • Discrepancies in the number of actual voters and number of ballots being counted; • Several incidents where the system would not close the counting and canvassingafter showing that it did not count 100% of the total votes from all the precinctswhen in fact all precincts counted all the votes;• Some systems, including laptops and printers, overheated and stopped functioning; • Malfunctioning of data communication infrastructure or total transmission failures that compromised the integrity and security of the AES; and• Constant paper jamming of the OMR ballots

These problems can prove fatal in showcasing the credibility of an Automated Election

System. It is of this reason that an assessment to the national automated election system is in

order to track the same problems what arouse in the August 2008 ARMM automated Elections.

The following are the technical project specifications of the Commission on Elections

regarding the recently held automated election system. These data shall be relevant in providing

the actual processes that were taken during the May 2010 national and local elections in the

Philippines.

COMPONENT 1

PAPER-BASED AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM (AES)

Component 1-A

Election Management System (EMS)

1. The system shall have an integrated election management system (EMS) which shall be:

A. Capable of creating pre-election configuration data by direct entry and by importing these data

from mySQL format, mdb format, or csv format, into the EMS, such as:

i. Voting jurisdictions (provinces, legislative districts, provincial districts, councilor districts,

cities/municipalities, barangays, precincts)

ii. Number of registered voters per precinct;

iii. Elective positions and number of seats to be voted for;

iv. Candidates information (full name, nickname/stage name, elective position, political

party affiliation, jurisdiction where he intends to run;

v. Title and date of elections;

B. Capable of automatically generating the ballot faces to be used in printing the official ballots;

C. Able to handle configurations for different types of electoral exercises both for the PCOS and the

CCS, such as:

i. National and Local Elections;

ii. ARMM Regional Elections;

iii. Plebiscites;

iv. Initiatives;

v. Recall elections;

vi. Special elections.

D. Capable of maintaining an immutable audit log, which shall include, among others:

i. All user activities;

User ID;

Actual date and time stamps; and

Specific action taken;

ii. All system messages (including error messages);

E. customizable in accordance with the requirements of this RFP;

2. The system shall require authorization and authentication of all users, such as, but not limited to,

usernames and passwords, with multiple user access levels.

3. The system shall make use of a graphical user interface, including, but not limited to, screen prompts,

error messages and help screens.

Component 1-B

Precinct-Count Optical Scan (PCOS)

1. The system shall allow manual feeding of a ballot into the PCOS machine.

2. The system shall be capable of scanning a ballot sheet at the speed of at least 2.75 inches per second.

3. The system shall be able to capture and store in an encrypted format the digital images of the ballot for at

least 2,000 ballot sides (1,000 ballots, with back-to-back printing).

4. The system shall be a fully integrated single device. The printing and transmission functionalities may or

may not be integrated into the system.

5. The system shall have a scanning resolution of at least 200 dpi.

6. The system shall scan in grayscale.

7. The system shall require authorization and authentication of all operators, such as, but not limited to,

usernames and passwords, with multiple user access levels.

8. The system shall have an electronic display indicating the acceptance or rejection of a ballot.

9. The system shall employ error handling procedures, including, but not limited to, the use of error prompts

and other related instructions.

10. The system shall count the voter’s vote as marked on the ballot with an accuracy rating of at least 99.995

%.

11. The system shall not count ballots more than the specified number of registered voters, inclusive of the

number of BEI members and support staff for every precinct/clustered precinct.

12. The system shall only count ballots intended for the city/municipality/councilor district for which it has

been configured.

13. In case of over-voting for a position, the system shall not credit any vote for any candidate for the affected

position. The rest of the votes for the unaffected positions shall be counted.

14. The system shall allow under-voting or no vote in any positions to be voted for.

15. The system shall be able to detect and reject fake or spurious, and previously–scanned ballots.

16. The system shall be able to scan both sides of a ballot and in any orientation in one pass.

17. The system shall have necessary safeguards to determine the authenticity of a ballot, such as, but not

limited to, the use of bar codes, holograms, color shifting ink, micro printing, to be provided on the ballot

and which can be recognized by the system.

18. The ballot design and layout shall be as specified by COMELEC.

19. The required features of the ballot are:

A. Names of the candidates shall be pre-printed on the ballot.

B. Only one ballot sheet per voter shall be used to accommodate all the names of the candidates

for all elective positions.

i. Both sides of the ballot sheet may be utilized.

ii. Each side of the ballot sheet shall be able to accommodate at least 300 names of

candidates with a minimum font size of 10, in addition to other mandatory information

required by law.

C. The ballot paper shall be of such quality as to prevent markings on one side of the ballot to bleed

through to the other side.

D. Ballots shall have an Arabic translation of the titles of the offices to be voted for, in addition to

and immediately below the English title, in areas where Arabic is of general use.

E. There shall be as many ballot faces as there are cities/municipalities and districts for the NLE.

20. The system shall be able to recognize the following marks on the appropriate space on the ballot opposite

the name of the candidate to be voted for:

A. full shade;

B. partial shade;

C. check marks;

D. x marks.

21. The system shall be able to recognize both pencil and ink marks.

22. The system shall, before transmission, require the electronic authentication and certification of the

election returns through a secure mechanism by at least two BEI members.

23. The system shall transmit digitally signed and encrypted election results and reports enabled by

public/private key cryptography to provide authenticity, integrity and non-repudiation utilizing at least

128-bit encryption scheme.

A. The system shall have the ability to transmit the precinct results to the following destinations:

i. city/municipal BOC;

ii. provincial BOC;

iii. NBOCs of COMELEC and Congress;

iv. Dominant majority party, Dominant minority party, Accredited citizens’ arm, KBP; and

v. Central server:

24. The system shall generate a backup copy of the digitally signed and encrypted ER, including all generated

reports, in a removable data storage device.

25. The system shall have alternative power sources, such as batteries, inverters or power generators, which

will enable it to fully operate for at least 12 hours.

26. The system shall, immediately before the start of the voting/counting, require that its vote counters be

zeroed out using administrator and operator access levels, and shall generate and print an initialization

report showing that no votes have been cast/counted. The system shall not start unless the initialization

report has been generated.

27. The system shall be able to generate and print the ER, statistical report and audit log for the precinct in

the COMELEC-specified formats, both in soft and hard copies.

A. The statistical report shall contain the following information, among others:

i. Demographic information for the precinct (Province, City/municipality, barangay name,

precinct number or clustered precinct name with the individual precinct numbers);

ii. Number of registered voters for the precinct; and

iii. Number of voters who actually voted in the precinct by gender and age group.

The final design of all required statistical reports shall be provided by the COMELEC within the

period specified for Systems Customization/Development.

B. The audit log shall record the following, among others:

i. Machine ID;

ii. Voting jurisdiction;

iii. All user-generated activities, indicating:

User ID;

Actual date and time stamps; and

Specific action taken

C. Transmission logs, including:

User ID;

Date/time each transmission started and ended (with the size and name of the

transmitted file, such as precinct result);

Date/time transmitted result was received at remote station;

B. All system messages (including error messages);

22 The system shall have error recovery features.

22 In compliance with RA 9369, the system must have demonstrated capability and been successfully used in

a prior electoral exercise here or abroad, with a written certification to that fact from the election

authority of the client country/state/province.

22 The system shall ensure that the printed election results and other reports shall remain legible for at least

5 years.

22 All related requirements by the system which are needed to make it fully operational during the entire

duration of the project shall be included in the proposal/offer, including the software and hardware, back-

up power supply, external data storage devices, ballot marking pens and other supplies, printers and

other equipment, services, and consumables.

22 The system shall be customizable in accordance with the requirements of this RFP.

22 The design and functionality of the system shall still be subject to final customization requirements by the

COMELEC.

Component 1-C

Consolidation/Canvassing System (CCS)

1. The consolidation/canvassing system (CCS) shall be secure, fast, accurate, reliable and auditable, and able

to:

A. Monitor, detect, record and secure itself against intrusion and/or unauthorized access and

recognize its authorized users with the use of physical security devices, such as USB flash drives

or PCMCIA cards, with digital certificates, aside from the use of user IDs and passwords;

B. Use the electronically transmitted results or the results as contained in the backup data storage

device as input for processing;

C. Decrypt and authenticate the transmitted encrypted election results prior to

consolidation/canvassing;

D. Detect previously-loaded election results and prevent these from being input again into the

system;

E. Restart and resume the operation without any loss of data in the event of an abnormal

termination of the system;

F. Provide real-time updates broken down by voting jurisdictions on:

i. Number of precincts, cities/municipalities and provinces reported against total number

of precincts, cities/municipalities and provinces and percentage thereof;

ii. Number of registered voters represented in precincts, cities/municipalities and

provinces received against total number of registered voters, and percentage thereof;

iii. Number of voters who actually voted in precincts, cities/municipalities and provinces

received against total number of registered voters, and percentage thereof;

iv. Number of votes obtained by each candidate for all positions.

G. Make use of a graphical user interface, including, but not limited to, the use of screen prompts,

error messages and help screens;

H. Consolidate/canvass and generate reports:

i. for the city/municipal BOC, using precinct results;

ii. for provincial/district BOC, using consolidated city/municipal results;

iii. for COMELEC sitting as the national BOC for Senators/Party-list, using consolidated

provincial/city results;

iv. for Congress sitting as the national BOC for President/Vice-President, using consolidated

provincial/city results.

I. Allow election results to be received for consolidation/canvassing only after the vote counters

have been initially zeroed out and an initialization report has been printed;

J. Allow the BOCs to end the actual consolidation/canvassing process for each canvassing level and

generate final canvassing results only when all expected results have come in and when the

previous canvassing level has already been completed;

K. Accurately consolidate results from all expected precincts / cities / municipalities / provinces

according to the different jurisdictions of each BOC;

L. Allow the BOCs to digitally sign all electronic results and reports before transmission;

M. Encrypt the digitally signed results and transmit the same to the next upper level of canvassing

and to the central server;

N. Generate and print the following, using 8-ply TSF, in a format to be specified by COMELEC:

i. Initialization Report prior to the conduct of the actual canvass operation showing that

no vote has been credited in favor of any candidate;

ii. COC with supporting SOV, and COCP when applicable;

iii. Immutable audit log report; and

iv. Statistical report;

O. Reconfigurable for use in other electoral exercises by the COMELEC;

P. Provide for a public website for real-time publication of canvassing results based on the

electronically transmitted precinct results, including services for web design, development and

hosting;

2. The system shall include a secure redundant/back-up site, which shall be at least 10 km from the main

site, or an equivalent contingency plan subject to approval by COMELEC.

3. All related requirements by the system which are needed to make it fully operational during the entire

duration of the project shall be included in the proposal/offer, such as but not limited to required

software, servers, canvassing units, other related hardware, back-up power supply, external data storage

devices and other supplies, printers and other equipment, services, and consumables.

A. The bidder shall include in its offer the hardware and software for the consolidation server that

shall be able to accommodate all the requirements of the COMELEC as specified in this RFP.

B. The bidder shall propose the hardware needed for the canvassing units by the BOCs.

i. All hardware shall have 3 years warranty (parts and service), if purchased.

C. The minimum specifications for the dot-matrix printer to be used by the canvassing units for the

BOCs shall be:

i. 500 cps high speed draft;

ii. 8-ply TSF paper handling;

iii. Automatic paper forms handling;

iv. Standard parallel interface connectivity;

v. 9 pins printhead;

vi. 136 columns;

vii. 128 KB memory;

viii. 200 million characters printhead life;

ix. 4 million characters ribbon life;

x. 20,000 hours MTBF;

xi. 3 years warranty (parts and service) , if purchased;

D. UPS:

i. 650 VA output power capacity;

ii. 15 minutes typical backup time at half load;

iii. 3 years warranty (parts and service) , if purchased;

4. The system shall be customizable in accordance with the requirements of this RFP.

5. The design and functionality of the system shall still be subject to final customization requirements by the

COMELEC.

COMPONENT 2

PROVISION FOR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

USING PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS

1. The service shall provide all the transmission requirements of the system.

2. The service shall have a designed availability of >99%.

3. The service shall be available from 3:00 PM on Election Day to 3:00 PM the following day or until all

election results have been transmitted.

4. The service shall cover 100% of all clustered precincts covered by this RFP.

5. The service may utilize wireless, wired or satellite-based connection, or a combination thereof.

6. All related requirements by the service which are needed to make it fully operational for the duration of

the project shall be included in the proposal/offer, including the software and hardware.

COMPONENT 3

OVERALL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

A. SERVICES

The scope of work is to assist the COMELEC in ensuring the successful implementation of the Project.

The project management services component of the 2010 National and Local Elections Automation Project shall

include:

1. Project management, including team organization and implementation schedule;

2. Physical site design, preparation and operationalization;

3. Quality control and assurance;

4. Change management, including voter education and training;

5. Risk management and contingency planning

6. Configuration management

The following subsections outline the requirements of COMELEC from the bidders in the preparation of their

proposed solutions for the delivery of such services.

1. Project Management

The COMELEC recognizes the diversity of services and technologies that shall be integrated in the

implementation of the Project. Corollary, the bidders must demonstrate a clear understanding of the depth

and breadth of the scope of work to be integrated and the criteria for evaluating these services and

technologies.

Bidders must describe its proposed solution to include:

A. Demonstrable ability in the management of diverse services and technologies

This will require a project management approach with successful large systems

integration experience. The various teams participating within the project must be

integrated to achieve their outputs in a coordinated and timely fashion. Bidders must

describe clearly their approach to systems integration for the successful implementation

of the Project.

B. Dedicated and competent project management teams

Project management requires multi-faceted skill and talent, embracing people, processes

and organization.

i. Bidders must describe the role of the Project Director, the Technical

Coordinator and the Project Team Leaders in various disciplines. The Project

Director is required to have authoritative credentials to lead various teams for

the various components of the Project. On the other hand, the Team Leaders

are required to have the ability to plan and lead managerially and technically in

their respective disciplines.

ii. The Bidder’s Project Management Team must be able to show their ability to

interact with COMELEC leadership and the counterpart COMELEC-PMO team in

an atmosphere of learning that is enriching each other’s knowledge and

experiences.

iii. Bidders must describe the team they are proposing, including the actual

number of staff members, the time each staffer will dedicate to the project,

and outline of terms of reference for these positions. This team must be

provided until the end of the Project.

iv. Bidders must provide resumes of its management team nominated for the

Project on the basis of which the nominees will be evaluated.

The bidders must describe the project organization to be established during the life of the

project and the reporting and working relationships between the project teams and the

COMELEC. It is important to describe how they will manage the services to be provided.

In this connection, the bidders are required to submit a work plan detailing work

materials, procedures, personnel tasks/responsibilities, project plan(s) in MS Project

format.

C. Proposed project management processes, tools and techniques

Bidders must describe its project management processes and tools to include the

following:

i. Project planning;

ii. Task estimation;

iii. Work allocation;

iv. Progress tracking and monitoring;

v. Reporting internal to the project and reporting to the Commission;

vi. Problem resolution; and

vii. Change request procedures.

D. A proven or responsive implementation methodology

Bidders must describe the proposed methodology (including implementation,

tools and techniques) for progressing from contract award, and through all

critical phases of the project. Bidders must also outline stage-wise items of

delivery, review, acceptance, persons responsible and other concerns to ensure

the quality of the products and services to be delivered.

1. Physical Site Plan, Design and Preparation

The Bidder shall propose a design, plan and schedule for the preparation of the physical site that will house

the various equipment in the different sites. The preparation of the site shall include the detailed design and

engineering work to be performed by the Bidder for the Project, such as engineering services for the

preparation of drawings, maps, specifications, schedules, calculations, documents, estimates and

coordination with the engineering efforts of the subcontractor.

The Bidder shall plan and design the installation site layouts in accordance with the Bidder’s standards and

prepare the sites according to the technical requirements of the Project, with the approval of the

COMELEC.

The proposed technical bid for this component should include a detailed description as to how the

following criteria shall be addressed by the Bidder in its bid:

22 Operational efficiency

Operational efficiency shall be concerned with the smooth functioning of installed equipment with

provision for redundant power supply, redundant communication links, etc.

22 Adherence to environment and safety standards

This criterion shall be concerned with the provision all required environmental and safety

provisions that adhere with published standards.

2. Quality Control and Quality Assurance

The COMELEC will conduct a full project audit at periodic intervals of the progress of the Contractor’s

schedule of work and deliverables through the Technical/Functional Team and Audit Team independent of

the project. The project audit is designed to ensure that the Project delivers a range of Products, which may

be goods and services, of an appropriate quality within time scales and budget. For purposes of evaluation

of the bids, the Bidders must describe their standards for such audits including scope, required conduct,

demands upon project personnel, demands upon the COMELEC personnel and outputs. However, during

the Project’s implementation, the Audit Reports shall be prepared by an independent Audit Team whose

members shall be appointed by COMELEC.

The following tasks shall also be required:

22 Develop and implement procedures for the measurement and monitoring of the SLAs for the

other components of the Project;

22 Assist in the regular monitoring of SLA compliance for all components;

22 Assist in the conduct of a 3rd party Stress and Security Testing of all systems;

2D Assist in the conduct of a 3rd party code review of the system;

22 Assist in recommending acceptance and payment for the services or outputs, and/or the position

of penalties where applicable;

3. Change Management

The onset of the computerized operation of the envisioned system will call for changes in the process and

procedures presently used by the COMELEC. This will affect the functions, relationships, authority and

responsibilities of the Commission’s offices. The Commission, therefore, requires the Bidders to describe

its proposed change and risk management services detailing the following areas:

22 Change management methodology that should have a conscious bias toward organizational

improvements and sustainability measures to effect procedural, structural and attitudinal

changes in the organization as a result of this project and the agency’s comprehensive

modernization program;

22 Interventions and recommendations proposed must include strategies or measures that will

enable the Commission to address the following concerns:

i. Empowerment of the COMELEC personnel in terms of knowledge, attitudes and skills to

eventually takeover the functions and thereby enabling them to use the system in

managing the electoral process more effectively;

ii. Reengineering and simplification of pre-election, election day and post-election

procedures while maintaining adequate security and control;

iii. Personnel sociological, cultural and psychological change process should appeal to a

sense of nationalism among employees, defining and influencing their special role in the

democratic/electoral reform process of the country; and

iv. Advocacy and communications plans for the change readiness requirements of all

stakeholders within and outside the Commission, including candidates, local

government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs), as well as political and

public sectors.

B. Voter Education and Information

i. The winning bidder shall provide assistance in the conduct of the information

dissemination and education program by commenting on the program or providing

reference materials or contacts of other system users.

ii. The winning bidder shall design, develop and produce information content ready for

print, broadcast (radio and TV) and presentation in audio-visual, Internet and other

media forms.

iii. The winning bidder shall provide demo units for road shows.

iv. The winning bidder shall develop and maintain, in coordination with the COMELEC, a

website for this project for voter education purposes and related information

dissemination. The proposal shall include the delivery of all requirements, including

hardware (servers, firewall, etc.), software (operating system, antivirus, firewall, etc.),

services (web development, etc.), technical training and communication link (high-speed

Internet connection, etc.), which shall be turned over to the COMELEC after the duration

of the project.

C. Policy Recommendations

The bidder shall provide the COMELEC with policy recommendations that the bidder may deem

necessary for the efficient operation, administration, management and upgrading of the

Commission’s election administration system. These policy recommendations shall clearly

explain, in layman’s terms, why management should adopt and enforce these policies, how they

impact on the delivery of services, and how they affect the mission and goals of the Commission.

For example, some policy recommendations may be made on security procedures, IT staffing and

hiring, service contracting, budget allocation, and others.

1. Risk Management and Contingency Planning

This refers to a risk management program that will address security and other related risks

(environmental, physical, political, people-related risks, etc.) that the project might encounter in the

course of project implementation and more so anticipate the possible risks after the Project.

This shall also include a back-up plan in case of systems failure in any of the Project components.

This shall also include issue and conflict resolution, in terms of providing alternative courses of action, in

case of inevitable conflicts among the parties involved in the Project and the mitigation of risk in case

there are any.

2. Configuration Management

1. Bidders shall provide a Configuration Management system. Configuration Management provides

guidance on developing and maintaining compatibility and consistency of project documentation,

products, and support items throughout the project. It is imperative, from the functional baseline

to the last product baseline, that both client and project personnel have the same definition of

system configurations, configuration items and deliverables throughout the project life cycle.

2. The configuration management process should describe clearly the step-by-step activities, inputs,

outputs and process metrics. It also harmonizes other processes such as Requirements

Management, Work Breakdown Schedule, and Project Planning and Control.

STAFFING

The Project Management team who shall report full-time should possess:

1. A proven track record in the management if IT projects preferably with an outsourcing component;

2. Substantial experience and knowledge in the areas of applications development, quality assurance and

testing, data center operations, computer hardware and networking, and change management; and

3. An appreciation of the processes and realities of government rules, regulations and procedures.

Bidders must provide CVs of their proposed staff clearly showing the relevant skills, work

experience and professional certifications. Bidders may propose additional staffing to

complement skills of their proposed staff (Commission on Elections, 2010).

Through automation we can ensure a credible transition of power and have clean, honest

and orderly 2010 elections. Setting up the country’s automated and electoral system is a crucial

step towards clean and honest election. While it will not be a cure-all for the country’s electoral

problems, automating the polls will eliminate a lot of the human intervention and that has made

vote-rigging possible (Angara on Comelec, 2009).

Electronic Governance

Also in pursuit of a developed and more efficient government in the Philippines, Teodoro

(2009) emphasizes the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in

providing inter-connectivity not only in the government infrastructures, but also in the enterprise

private sector as well. ITC can also be a tool in helping the country prepare for and respond more

effectively to natural and man-made disasters like flood control, early warning and prediction of

weather patterns. Many other agencies will benefit through the ICT and it will help the country

cope up against the trend of globalization.

According to Dannug (2005), the advent of information technology (IT) introduced new

ways of transactions in government and in business. The electronic mode of doing and finalizing

transactions has become the most fashionable way of ensuring efficiency, effectiveness, and

efficacy of new plans and programs. Practicing electronic governance (e-governance) promotes a

government that does more, that is cheaper, that is quicker, that works better and that is

innovative. In can provide benefits such as better staff motivation or greater political control or

an improved public image and cheaper yet better services to those who depend on government.

May 2010 Technical Problems and Controversies

As any system in the Philippine goes, the May 2010 automated elections was still

unsuccessful to provide a fail-safe system. The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections

(Namfrel) has cautioned the Commission on Elections against its plan to conduct automated

elections in 2013 pending “unresolved” issues in the first computerized balloting last May 10.

Among the issues being looked upon are the wrong time and date stamps on the election returns,

the lack of digital signatures, and the incomplete inventory of the voting machines and the

compact flash cards. These deficiencies threw doubts on the integrity of the results.

In the audit of a precinct cluster at the University of the Philippines Integrated School,

there were differences in the manual and machine count for the positions of president, vice-

president, and representatives. Teachers who audited the ballots counted 689 votes for president,

but the voting machine tallied 695. The manual count for vice-president was 695, one more vote

than the machine tally. Overall, the machine had a 99.35-percent accuracy, which is below the

required 99.995 percent as told by Namfrel (Alave, 2010).

National Development

A critical factor in good governance is the ability of the government to generate trust that

allows people to work together toward national development. In this sense, Morgan and

Qualman (1996) asserts that that the effectiveness of organizational performance comes as much

from the political culture of the country as it does from the efficiency of the organizations.

The key to development comes from the people through performance evaluation. Szilagyi

(1990) defines performance evaluation as the process by which the organization obtains feedback

about the effectiveness of its employees. It serves as an auditing and control functions generating

information on which many organization decisions are made. Performance is translated into

behaviors and actions as rated by supervisors and peers.

The Economist (2010) underscores that the idea of progress forms the backdrop to a

society. In the extreme, without the possibility of progress of any sort, your gain is someone

else’s loss. If human behavior is unreformable, social policy can only ever be about trying to

cage the ape within. Society must in principle be able to move towards its ideals, such as equality

and freedom, or they are no more than cant and self-delusion.

Synthesis

This chapter presents the different related to study. The literature on concept of election

emphasizes the citizen's role in exercising their political rights through elections. National and

international laws as well as different international bodies such as the United Nations sees to it

that the sovereign will of the people should win in an election. Suffrage is a right that is afforded

to all citizens regardless of sex, religion, political beliefs, literacy, racial background, social

status, and education. Suffrage is not only a right but also a responsibility for every citizen to

participate in administering proper governance.

However, elections in the Philippines are not as ideal as it aims to be. The Philippines has

a long history of problematic and violent exercise of elections characterized by fraud, terrorism,

violence, vote-buying, ballot snatching, bribery, cheating, and many more. Also, the Philippines

used to vote in the traditional way of writing the name of their chosen candidate in an ordinary

piece of paper which is very tedious and is prone to many irregularities.

That is why many sectors including the Commission on Human Rights are calling for

change in the electoral process in pursuit of an honest, clean, orderly, credible and genuine

elections and on May 10, 2010, the Philippines witnessed it's first-ever automated elections

which vows not only to eliminate irregularities but also improve the process of voting and

canvassing. The literature on Election Automation contains the complex yet specific

technicalities of a paper-based automated election system which came from the Commission on

Elections itself.

In addition to automation, electronic governance is also being pursued which will help

the country cope up against the trend of globalization. The importance of Information and

Computer Technology (ICT) is being emphasized to provide inter-connectivity between the

government and the people. Practicing electronic governance promotes a government that does

more, that is cheaper, quicker, innovative, and works better.

However, the country's step towards modernization was still unsuccessful to provide a

100% reliable system. There were still unresolved issues from the computerized balloting such as

missing compact flash cards, wrong time and date stamps on election returns, failure to achieve

100% accuracy and many more.

That is why this study is being pursued to make way for improvement of this new system.

In the literature of National development, the key to development comes from the feedback of

the people through performance evaluation. This feedback is a vital element to provide directions

on decisions being made. The voice of the people is essential because the ability of the

government to generate trust allows the people to work together toward national development.

CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design including the method of collecting data, the

development of the research instrument, sampling design, and statistical treatment.

Research Design

The descriptive analysis method of research will be used in this study. Descriptive

research, as defined by Manuel and Medel (1993), is a method that involves description,

recording, analysis, and interpretation of the present nature, composition or process of

phenomena. This method describes what is. This focuses on prevailing conditions, or how a

person, group, or thing behaves or functions in the present. It often involves some type of

comparison or contrast.

Furthermore, Calderon and Gonzales (1993) defines descriptive research as a purposive

process of gathering, analysing, classifying and tabulating, data about prevailing conditions,

practices, beliefs, processes, trends, and cause-effect relationships and then making adequate and

accurate interpretations about such data with or without the aid of statistical methods.

Since the present study is concerned with the assessment of the May 10, 2010 national

automated elections, the descriptive method of research will be the most appropriate method to

use.

Described in the study is the overall process of the automated elections system and its

transition from the manual election system. Evaluated will be the impact of the automation to the

Commission on Elections and the voters, the problems encountered in the process, and the

suggested solution to these problems.

Data Gathering Procedure

The method of collecting data that will be used in the study is the normative survey.

Calderon and Gonzales (1993) explains that the normative survey is concerned with looking into

the commonality of some elements. It is used in collecting demographic data about people’s

behaviour, practices, intentions, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, judgements, interests, perceptions,

and the like and then such data are analysed, organized, and interpreted. Since the present

research is a status study, the normative survey would be the most appropriate method to use in

gathering data.

The instrument that will be used to collect data is a questionnaire. This will be used

because it gathers data faster than any other method. Besides, the respondents will be teachers

and students and so they are very literate. They could read and answer the questionnaire without

difficulty. The questionnaire will be used to gather feedback of the voters on the automated

election system.

The researcher will also use the interview method in gathering necessary data from the

Commission on Elections. This will help the researcher arrive at a more complete and valid

information wherein greater complex questions can be asked by the researcher to be provided by

greater complex data which shall be vital to the study.

Sampling Procedure

The sampling procedure will explain the sampling technique that will be employed in the

study. This will also determine the study population that will be used by applying certain criteria.

The researcher will make use of the purposive sampling technique. Purposive sampling,

as defined by Calderon and Gonzales (1993), is determining the target population of those to be

involved in the study. The respondents are chosen on the basis of their knowledge of the

information desired. It is a sampling technique where the selects a particular group or groups

based on certain criteria, purposes, or variables.

Purposive sampling will be used in this research because the data that is needed shall

come from a part of the population that belong to certain criteria that are absent from others.

Selection of Respondents

In selection of respondents, the researcher will be identifying the target population

of the study and will be computing for the actual sample.

Since the feedback from the people should come from the electorate or those who

have voted in the election, the respondents should be chosen by considering certain criteria such

as the following:

1. The respondents must be employed or enrolled at Cavite State University for

school year 2010 – 2011.

2. The respondents must be 18 years old and above

3. The respondents must have participated in the May 2010 national and local

elections.

The researcher chose respondents employed or enrolled at the Cavite State

University for the purpose of availability and since the students and employees of the said

institution are very literate, they will be able to answer the questionnaire without difficulty.

The respondents should also be at least eighteen (18) years of age for it is the

mandatory age in practicing the right to suffrage as stated in Article V of the Philippine

Constitution. For this reason, the researcher will be including students who are at least at the 3 rd

year level assuming that most of them are of 18 years at the time of the election.

Finally, the respondents must have exercised their right to vote in the May 10,

2010 elections to be able to obtain the data needed with regards to the Automated Election

System.

There are 1031 3rd year students, 943 4th year students, 107 5th year students and 8

6th year students for a total of 2089 students who are at least at the 3 rd year level currently

enrolled at the Cavite State University Main Campus. At the same time, there are 649 faculty and

staff of Cavite State University Main Campus employed in the school year 2010-2011. These

figures will serve as the study population where the actual sample shall be taken.

To compute for the sample, the researcher will be using Pagoso’s formula which is

Nn = 1 + Ne2

where:

n = sampleN = populatione = margin of error

Actual computation of the sample:

(2089 + 649)n = 1 + (2089 + 649) (.05)2

(2738)n = 1 + (2738) (.0025)

2738n =

1 + 6.845

2738n = 7.845

n = 349

There will be 350 (rounded off) respondents for the survey of the study. This is computed from a population of 2738 people with a margin of error of 5 percent. The sample is computed using the formula provided by Pagoso.

Development of the Research Instrument

After reading and studying samples of questionnaire and interview guide from related

studies, the researcher prepared his own questionnaire and interview guide. He also consulted

some knowledgeable people about how to prepare one. The researcher saw to it that there were

enough items to collect data to cover all aspects of the problem and to answer to all the specific

questions under the statement of the problem. Attached hereto is a sample of the questionnaire

and the interview guide that will be used in the collection of data.

SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE

General Direction. Please accomplish this questionnaire very carefully and honestly and return it as soon as possible. Please rest assured that any information that you supply will be treated with the greatest confidentiality and anonymity.

I. Personal Profile

Please supply the information asked for.Name (Optional): _______________________________________________Age: ____ Date of birth (exact): _________________ Sex: _______E-mail address (for follow-up purposes): _____________________________

Please put a check mark before your choice. Then, kindly supply the information being asked.What is your current status in Cavite State University?____ Enrolled Year/Course/Section: _____________________________________ Employed College/Department/Specialization: _____________________

_____________________

II. Automated Election Assessment

Please put a check mark before your choice.1. Were you able to vote in the May 2010 elections? _______ Yes _______ No

2. If you answered yes, how enthusiastic were you in voting through an automated election system?

_______ Very enthusiastic_______ Enthusiastic

_______ Fairly enthusiastic _______ Unenthusiastic_______ Very unenthusiastic

3. How efficient is the voting process in terms of ease?_______ Very efficient_______ Efficient_______ Fairly efficient_______ Inefficient_______ Very inefficient

4. How fast is the voting process?_______ Very fast_______ Fast_______ Fairly fast_______ Slow_______ Very slow

5. How speedy is the canvassing of results?_______ Very speedy_______ Speedy_______ Fairly speedy_______ Slow_______ Very slow

6. How confident are you in the accuracy of the results?_______ Very confident_______ Confident_______ Fairly confident_______ Doubtful_______ Very doubtful

7. What is your overall rating for the automated election system?_______ Very effective_______ Effective_______ Fairly effective_______ Ineffective_______ Very ineffective

III. Problems Encountered in the Election Process

Please put a check mark before the problem you encountered and another check mark at the right under the proper heading to describe how serious your problem is, using the following guidelines:

VS Means very serious and the problem hampers the effectiveness of the electoral process to a great extent.

S Means serious and the problem hampers much the effectiveness of the electoral process but less than to a great extent.

FS Means fairly serious and the problem hampers the effectiveness of the electoral process to some extent.

NS Means not serious and the problem only slightly hampers the effectiveness of the electoral process. It can even be ignored.

NP Means not a problem. The supposed problem does not, in any way, hamper the effectiveness of the electoral process.

Problem Seriousness

VS S FS NS NP

_____ Overcrowding on clustered precincts _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Lack of organized system of queuing _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Inadequate election equipment. Mention

the equipment. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_________________________________

_________________________________

_____ Lack of privacy in voting _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Faulty equipment. Mention the equipment

and the problem. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_____ Lack of security personnel _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ unavailability of voter’s ID _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Inadequate supervisory assistance _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Lack of proper orientation _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Noisy environment _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Registration problems _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Weak administration of the board of election

inspectors _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

_____ Others, please specify _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

IV. Proposal to Solve the Problems

Please put a check mark before the proposals suggested to help solve the problems. Put another check mark at the right under the proposal heading to describe how urgent the proposal is.

Proposal Very Urgent Fairly Not NotUrgent Urgent Urgent Needed

_____ redistribution of clustered precincts _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ more stable system in organizing queues _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ more election equipment _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ equipment should be pre-tested and validated _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ tighter security on voting precincts _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ voter’s ID should be available before the election _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ more information drive regarding voter’s education _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ board of election inspectors should be properly

oriented and more prepared. _____ _____ _____ _____ __________ others, please specify. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

__________________________________________________________________________

Do you have any other suggestions to improve the current election system in the Philippines? If there is, kindly write your answer in the space provided.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

INTERVIEW GUIDE

Name _________________________________________________ Date _____________Position _________________________________________________Address _________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

1. What is the nature of an Automated Election System?

2. What is its advantages and disadvantages? Kindly enumerate.

3. How is it applicable to the Philippine Setting?

4. What preparations were made by the COMELEC for the Board of Election Inspectors?

5. What were the preparations made by the government to orient the people?

6. How effective are the facilities that were used in the election?

7. What were the problems encountered in the election? Kindly enumerate the problems.

8. How are these problems addressed?

9. What kind of election system will be used in the next national and local election?