NEWS RELEASE

By Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)

For the Automated Election System (AES) Watch
January 18, 2010

Following is the executive summary of the STAR Scorecard presented by AES Watch at a
press conference today at Club Filipino,
Filipino, Greenhills, San Juan. AES Watch is a new alliance
of citizens’ groups and individuals concerned with the management of the automated election
by Comelec.

aesWatch
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
STAR Scorecard
Scorecard (as of January 15, 2010)

Comelec’s poll automation is endangered

Appraisal Report No. 01

The aesWatch’s STAR (System Trustworthiness, Accountability and

Readiness) Scorecard
Scorecard presents the group’s rating on the 20 areas of concern
for the 2010 automated elections. The 20 items are grouped into four
categories:
categories: (1) setting-
setting-up; (2) trustworthiness of the internal workings of the
machine; (3) training of personnel and voters’ education and; (4) contingency
plans.

The appraisal done on these 20 items insofar as the target deadlines were
were
met or, whether ongoing or completed, the preparations and activities were
accomplished properly forms the basis for rating the Comelec’s Readiness for
the automated elections. The Readiness rating has an impact on the system’s
Trustworthiness.
Trustworthiness. As the country’s chief election manager,
manager, planner, and
implementer the Comelec will therefore have to Account for whatever lapses,
lapses,
delays, and system vulnerabilities there are now and will unfold during and
after Election Day.

Tasked by the AES Watch alliance for the appraisal is the STAR Scorecard
Scorecard
Committee whose members included
included: Mr. Lito Averia, president of Philippine
Computer Emergency Response (PhCERT); Dr. Pablo Manalastas, Ateneo IT
faculty and CenPEG;
CenPEG; Prof. Segundo Romero of UP, DLSU, and Association of
Schools of Public Administrators
Administrators (ASPAP); Prof. Allan Borra, DLSU-
DLSU-Caucus;
Mr. Mano Alcuaz;
Alcuaz; Engr. Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada;
Lozada; and Rick Bahague,
coordinator of Computer Professionals
Professionals Union (CPU). Mr. Alfredo Pascual,
president of UPAA, Evita Jimenez, CenPEG executive director and Dr. Jaime
Caro,
Caro, chair of UP computer science and president, Computing Society of the
Philippines (CSP),
(CSP), also joined. The committee inputs were consolidated and
summarized by a team of CenPEG researchers – Prof. Rosa Castillo,
Castillo, Ayi dela
Cruz,
Cruz, and Roda Manalac.

The AES Watch has also been informed and guided by numerous studies,
reports, and observations on the Comelec management and its AES system
done as early as 2008. The appraisal also distils the concerns raised by many
sectors, voters and poll watchers, teachers, citizens’ organizations, IT
professionals, academics, and political parties in numerous forums, symposia,
and dialogs held all over the

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country as well as in meetings with the Comelec, Congress leaders, and other
agencies.

The 20 items were rated according

according to the preparedness of Comelec to
properly implement the automated elections on May 10, 2010. Comelec’s
preparedness is assessed based on its compliance with the Comelec
timetable, provisions of RA 9369, and the Terms of Reference (ToR), as well
as with its response to the concerns and requests from various stakeholders
regarding data and security of the automated election system.

Each item was rated as Pass, Warning, or Danger or Fail. “Pass” is given
when an activity is timely and properly accomplished;
accomplished; “Warning” if time is
running out for Comelec to finish the activity without compromising the
reliability of the system or to respond to issues and concerns raised by
stakeholders; “Danger” if deadline had been breached which leaves Comelec
little time
time to recover in preparing for a successful automated election on May
10, 2010. Lastly, “Fail” is given for concerns which Comelec can no longer
satisfactorily
satisfactorily deliver or remedy.

Based on Comelec’s latest calendar as of October 10, 2009, 10 out of 27

activities
activities due for completion on Jan.15 this year have not been completed.
Foremost among the delayed activities is the delivery of machines and
software components by Smartmatic-
Smartmatic-TIM which should have been finished by
December 31, 2009. The delay of the delivery
delivery of the hardware and software
components impedes or compromises succeeding activities that Comelec has
set in its timetable such as the certification of the system by the Technical
Evaluation Committee and the configuration of the machines.

Last Decem
December 17, the JCOC asked the Comelec to submit their replies to
the 20 questions raised by AESWatch by January 4, 2010 but up to this date,
there have been no responses and report yet especially on the preparedness of
the resources in voting centers such as telecommunications/ transmission and
power infrastructures as well the refinement of the General Instructions.
Chief among the concerns of the group is the non-
non-compliance of Comelec with
RA 9369, Sec.12 regarding the release of the source code for review by any
interested groups or political parties. With the limited time from now until
May 10, there is no way for the source code to be reviewed thus putting in
doubt the reliability and trustworthiness of the system.

Based on this STAR Card, Comelec FAILED 1 item, was given a

WARNING rating for 11 items, DANGER for 8 items, and did not PASS any
item. Comelec was not given a PASS rating
rating by AESWatch because
because of its
pattern of delays and changes in the calendar as as well as inability to install
needed internal safeguards
safeguards for the election system as of January 15, the cut-
cut-
off date of the Scorecard study.
study.

Mor
Moreover, the
the basic structures like transmission, machine deliveries and
deployments for the setting up of the AES nationwide have not been
effectively put in place;
place; voters education and technical training have long
been overdue for the poll centers’ thousands of personnel including the BEIs
(teachers) and most of all, the General Instructions (GI) as well as
contingency plan all but remained drafts and proposals.

Overall, the ratings revealed that Comelec is in the danger zone in its
preparation
preparations
rations for the coming May 10, 2010 automated elections. #

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The AES Watch Conveners include: UP Alumni Association (UPAA); Center
for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG);
(CenPEG); National Secretariat for
Social Action (NASSA-
(NASSA-CBCP), Bishop Broderick Pabillo (CBCP) and Bishop
Deogracias Yniguez (CBCP and Ecumenical Bishops Forum / EBF); National
Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP); Dr. Reena Estuar, chair of
AdMU Dept. of Information Communications System; Dr. Jaime Caro, UP
computer science & President, Computing Society of the Philippines (CSP);
Dr. Rachel Roxas-
Roxas-Uy, DLSU College of Computer Studies; Computer
Professionals Union (CPU); Association of Major Religious Superiors
Superiors in the
Philippines (AMRSP); Association of Schools of Public Administrators
(ASPAP); Philippine Computer Emergency Response Team (PhCERT);
Transparency International (IT-
(IT-Philippines); National Union of Students of
the Philippines (NUSP); Engr. Rodolfo
Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada; Health Alliance for
Democracy (HEAD); Senior Catholic Citizens’ Organization;
Transparentelections.org; CCM; Coordinating Council for People’s
Development (CPDG); Solidarity Philippines; Pagbabago (Movement for
Social Change); Council for Health & Development (CHD); Movement for
Good Governance (MGG); and others.

For details, please contact:

Ms. Ayi dela Cruz
CenPEG TelFax 9299526
or
AES Watch Secretariat Office c/o Jenny
UPAA, Bahay ng Alumni
Diliman, Quezon City
TelFax 9206875