by Jovie Cabais | May 16, 2010 | Tech Updates
Various doomsday predictions were quickly proven wrong at the close of the elections on May 10, 2010 when results started pouring into COMELEC and PPRCV servers. The swift counting due to the implementation of the PCOS machines and other technologies employed by COMELEC and Smartmatic gave no time at all for dagdag-bawas operations which would have been quite easy to do in the previous elections. The random manual audit (RMA) also has shown no significant variations from the PCOS counts. Only one more unofficial check remains: To review if the precincts included in the RMA are not significantly different compared to those not audited. So far though, the election results are looking credible and the PCOS machines proved to be accurate in the counting. The country was given positive feedback by foreign observers and the US and UK congratulated us for the successful elections. However, even with the successful automation of the ballot counting, the clustered precincts suffered long lines and delays because the queue of voters was not managed well. Each set of BEIs had different methods of managing the queue. The fastest moving queues where those given priority numbers from 1 to about 1000. The slowest were those processed in batch of 10s or 20s. The queue management was dismal in most precincts. We hope that in the next election, priority numbers should be part of the election materials to be distributed by COMELEC. This is a low tech solution for a low tech problem. Also, a holding room beside the precinct would be good also because it allows the voters who are about to enter the...
by Jovie Cabais | May 10, 2010 | Tech Updates
The Bohol Table Tennis Club congratulates the winners of the 4th Bohol Table Tennis Club Open Tournament: Class A 1st Prize: Victor Causin Jr. 2nd Prize: Ivan Cagas 3rd Prize: Ruji Cuizon Class B 1st Prize: James Perlas 2nd Prize: Maurello Petalcorin Jr. 3rd Prize: Arnel Aparicio The BTTC would like to acknowledge the following sponsors: – Boysen Paints -Magnolia Fruit Drinks -Hon. Rene Relampagos -Judd Joshua Gesite Share...
by Jovie Cabais | May 9, 2010 | Tech Updates
The automation of counting of ballots at the precinct level on the May 10 national elections is hounded by a lot of controversy of malfunction and other issues. The latest and embarassing mistake made by COMELEC and Smartmatic involved a relatively simple program issue: single space vs. double space. It is something that is easily tested and fixed before they came out to the public. However, it is also possible to be an honest human error and nothing more. The machine just follows whatever instruction it is given and an erroneous instruction would lead to erroneous results. But this error is already fixed and should not be used a basis for calling the coming elections a failure. In the last several weeks, so much misunderstanding, either due to lack of information or misinformation that has confused all of us and has created a cloud of doubt on the capability of COMELEC to succeed in the coming elections. Auza.Net has compiled 10 Myths About the May 10 Elections. This serves as a guide to all voters and hopefully everyone can vote according to their concience and free will rather than be influenced otherwise because of some of these myths. 1. We can’t verify the results of the counting and therefore it is easier to cheat in this election. — Of course we can. The ballots will not be destroyed after counting. In the worst case scenario, we can always do a manual count. But let’s do an automated count first because the machines are definitely faster and more accurate and consistent than humans. And we can repeat the counting as...
by Jovie Cabais | May 2, 2010 | Tech Updates
The May 10, 2010 elections is perhaps information technology’s biggest moment in Philippine politics. The automation of the counting of ballots is intended to speed up the counting at the precinct level. It should be made clear though that the automation is only up to the counting at precinct level. Everything else is the same process of manual consolidation of ballot counts per precinct to municipal, provincial and then national levels. Some sectors have suggested that a parallel manual count must be done but this is unnecessary and very costly, not only to the government but to the political parties who have to monitor the manual count per precinct. The random manual count to audit the results of a randomly selected precinct is sufficient for the purpose of verifying the level of error occuring which we hope should be close to zero. Also, let’s not forget that manual counting is most likely going to be more error prone due to the biases of the persons doing the counting. The candidates can be confident they are elected, even with some level of counting error, by making sure they have a significant lead. A lead of 10% should be quite secure even with a 2% counting error. A lead of just 1% is just subject to naturally occuring error. It is the responsibility of the candidate to make sure he leads by enough votes and that he makes sure the votes he gets are protected from fraud after the automated counting. Can the computer that counts the votes on the PCOS machine be programmed to favor a certain candidate? Unfortunately the answer to this is yes. However, that is the reason for having a random manual count to audit the results. Organizations watching the elections should make sure the random selection of precincts where manual counting will be done is truly random and that random selection is done only after the official results are printed on all PCOS machines in the area. A candidate with enough influence and financing can implement a dagdag-bawas scheme if the manual count audit is not random. Also, the results of the precincts with manual counts should be compared to other precincts nearby to make sure the results are similar. If the random manual count for audit is done properly, it would be impossible not to detect an intentional rigging of the program doing the counting on the PCOS machine. As Ronald Reagan used to say, “Trust, but verify”. We should trust COMELEC and the technology they have implemented to speed up our election process. However, let us verify the results and not be complacent. And lastly, let us hope candidates not elected will concede gracefully and not blame technology for their situation after the elections. Share...
by Jovie Cabais | Apr 25, 2010 | Tech Updates
MARIBOJOC – Residents of the 22 barangays of the municipality were beneficiaries of the Summer Operation ‘Tuli’ and Dental Extraction 2010 initiated by the Divine Word College-High School Department Batch 1993 (DWCT-HS Batch ’93) in cooperation with LGU Maribojoc. 137 young boys were circumcised during the operation ‘tuli,’ while 37 barangay residents benefited from the free dental extraction held at the Parola Hall in Poblacion, Maribojoc, Bohol last April 17. Dr. Elva D. Evasco-Auza, DWCT-HS Batch ’93 president, expressed elation over the heavy patient turnout from far-flung barangays. According to her, because of the successful pilot activity done last year in Maribojoc, DWCT-HS Batch ’93 alumni organization decided to conduct another civic activity in the municipality to make the services and medicines available to Maribojocanons. Mayor Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr., commended DWCT-HS Batch ’93 for choosing Maribojoc as a beneficiary of their yearly medical missions. Evasco declared that the people of Maribojoc are very fortunate to have the support of countless organizations and government agencies who share the common goal of pro-active local governance. The operation tuli volunteer doctors included Dr. Elva Evasco-Auza, Dr. Luci Dianne Ejercito, Dr. Charmaine Magpayo, Dr. Allan Magpayo, Dr. Ronaldo Rances and Dr. Shary Manuta- Baton. Dr. Anthony Vitorillo, another Batch ’93 alumna, provided free dental extraction. 30 registered nurses, headed by Marc Vallar, volunteered to assist in the surgical area. Auza.Net, Unilab/Pediatrica, Inc., Pasonangka, Hats-Inn, Pharmalink Sales, and Batch ‘93 alumna Oliver Pingkian sponsored the medical mission. Other DWCT-HS Batch ’93 alumni who assisted during the activity were Crisamerl Geonzon, Jescel Lagari, Joyce Cris Badinas, Myrna Fabiosa, Malle Bataycan, Jeffrey Inojales, Anastacio Torralba...
