Smarmatic used wrong UV ink for the Ballots - "Sugod na ang Krimen"

[surikbots]

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Wrong ink used on ballots
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated April 01, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Now it’s the wrong ink.


The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has admitted that Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) supplied the wrong ultraviolet (UV) ink used in the printing of the ballots for the May 10 elections, and that these marks are thus unreadable by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.


However, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal refused to say if the supplier would be penalized.


“I don’t want to preempt because at this point in time that question has to be decided by the en banc,” Larrazabal said.


A UV mark is placed on each ballot as one of the security markings.

According to Consortium on Electoral Reforms executive director Ramon Casiple, the poll body has decided to shut off the UV readers of the PCOS machines after they failed to read many ballots during the laboratory [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]tests[/COLOR][/COLOR]
last January.


Casiple, also a member of the Comelec Advisory Council on Poll Automation, claimed that the UV ink provided by Smartmatic-TIM “lacked the density” needed to be read by the machines.


As a way out, the Comelec will instruct the teachers serving as Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) to use portable UV lamps to scan the UV security markings on the ballots.


But this will extend the queuing time of each voter by at least two seconds.


The portable UV lamps are the same ones used to check whether currency is fake or real.


Larrazabal would not confirm or deny that the UV ink supplied by Smartmatic-TIM was wrong and refused to divulge the explanation given by the joint venture.


“There’s a number of things and let’s wait for the en banc. For me what is important is there is still a way to authenticate the UV ink. The ballot itself is authenticated by the PCOS machines,” he said.


Asked why the Comelec opted to use portable UV reader instead of replacing the UV ink, Larrazabal said that would have set a bad precedent
“If you do that people will come up with so many excuses to invalidate this ballot and that ballot.



Right now we are working on a timeline to ensure that we have ballots on Election Day,” he said.
Another official said the Comelec is actually on schedule as far as the printing of 50 million ballots for the May polls is concerned.


Esmeralda Amora-Ladra, head of the poll body’s printing committee, said they have already printed 55 percent of the ballots as of last count.


Ladra said there is still enough time to finish printing the ballots on April 25, which is currently being done at the National Printing Office (NPO).


She said their level of confidence was further boosted when a fifth printer was commissioned last March 27 by Smartmatic to add to the previous four machines they were using.


Ladra, however, stressed that their effort entailed only the printing of 50 million ballots for automated voting and not the printing for manual voting.


She admitted they were previously wary that they would not finish the printing in time, which made them entertain offers by private printers.


She said that one firm, Secomp Solutions, had offered their [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]technology[/COLOR][/COLOR] and services to the Comelec.
“But with the fifth printer, I think we don’t need any additional services,” Ladra said.
Rumors had been circulating at the NPO about the slow progress of the printing of the ballots.
Sources at the NPO said that the ballot printing has only finished 50 percent of the target as of last tally.

[ngano-diay?]

aguy nang .. bad news ni da!

[COMCAM]

mao na ni ron, ang ako sad aning automation, dapat ang urban areas ra ang full automation, ang sa rural is suppose to be the old school.

mu mahal sad ang sa partido na watcher kai dapat naa pud technical know how hehehe

[adrianna]

mao na ni ron, ang ako sad aning automation, dapat ang urban areas ra ang full automation, ang sa rural is suppose to be the old school.

mu mahal sad ang sa partido na watcher kai dapat naa pud technical know how hehehe

kun mano2x ra gihapon ang rural areas wala ra gihapoy kwenta sir. ballot switching ra gihapoy mahitabo..

[ing_pacz]

mao na gamit sa power....hehehe

[ngano-diay?]

Morag na g ka dako ang gastohonon ani da!


Poll body's move to buy ultraviolet lamps hit


MANILA -- A teachers' group expressed opposition Monday to the poll body's move to allot P1 billion for handheld ultraviolet (UV) readers after voting machines rejected a percentage of election ballots.

"One billion is the amount that will be allotted by the Comelec (Commission on Elections) to buy handheld UV lamps because, allegedly, may misprinting ng ballots sa National Printing Office (NPO). P1 billion is no joke," ACT Teachers Partylist (ACT) national chair Antonio Tinio said.

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In a recent precinct count optical scan (PCOS) testing, 20 percent of printed ballots for the May 10 polls was rejected.

Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM), the Comelec's partner, admitted that the UV ink lacks the needed "density", the reason the PCOS machines rejected the ballots.

The Smartmatic UV ink is a bar code type placed on all the official ballots being printed at the National Printing Office. It is one of the several security markings to be found in the more than 50.7 million ballots.

But Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal clarified Monday that there is nothing wrong with the supplied UV ink to be used for the election ballots.

He said the issue has already been answered repeatedly to the political parties and members of the Comelec Advisory Council.

The poll body reported that the UV ink was not properly aligned with the scanner inside the machine due to the high-speed printing of the ballots.

It then decided to provide portable UV readers to the board of election inspectors (BEIs) for the manual detection of the UV marks in the ballot.

Around 80,000 lamps will be provided, one per precinct and the other as back-up. The UV readers have the same mechanism of devices used to scan counterfeit money.

The Comelec said the contract for the lamps will still be bid out.

But Tonio said through phone interview Monday that "the incompetence of Smartmatic is costing us billions."

"One billion pesos is the equivalent of 2,500 classrooms. This move to purchase UV lamps should be closely scrutinized by the media and the public. This could prove to be another source of corruption," he said.

Tinio also said he and members of the ACT will monitor the matter themselves with citizens' watchdog group Kontradaya.

Smartmatic Asia-Pacific president Cesar Flores, meanwhile, said the manual detection was the effect of earlier delays caused by pending cases against candidates that also affected the date of ballot printing.

"There were some inconsistencies in the UV mark but this was being resolved by basically increasing the density and intensity of the ink, but this will require more testing but as I explained, we do not have any time because the schedule was tight," Flores said.

If Smartmatic-TIM and Comelec chose to correct the UV marks on the ballots, printing of ballots will be delayed for another two to three weeks, he said.

The commission has set the ballot printing to finish on April 25.

Flores added that voters need not worry on the delay that the manual detection will cause on election day since the BEIs are also instructed to show the ballots to the voters and ensure that these are not pre-shaded.

The poll body earlier said it will only take one to two seconds for the manual detection of the UV marking.

[jrconde]

sa ako lng noh i have no problem jud aning mga nay palitonon sa govt. As long as needed, less hassle, not overpriced ug wala g rigged ang bidding process. kapaet nato oi.

[cliff_drew]

I agree that there is too much incompetence on Smarmatic as well as Comelec from the start up to the present. I could enumerate those lapses. And now, another billion to spend? This is worst.

[Emzs]

maskin automation or balik ta full manual ug kung naay tikasan, manikas gyud na. Ang atoa lang gyud dili ta magpadala ug aware sab ta. Sumbong dayon too kah ...