The star of the recently concluded automated polls in the Philippines is the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) voting machine. There were many Filipinos who doubted the durability and reliability of the PCOS but in the end the machine performed above expectations.
A major reason why many groups were skeptical about the capability of the PCOS was due to the fact that the machine was not pilot-tested on a nationwide level. It didn’t help that PCOS machines malfunctioned during several mock elections in selected areas. A week before the elections, it was discovered that the compact flash cards to be inserted into the PCOS contained an erroneous software command that would affect the ability of the machine to yield accurate results. Because of this major flaw, the poll body had to reconfigure all the compact flash cards to be used in the polls. This emergency scenario almost caused the postponement or even cancellation of the elections.
There was a high turnout of voters on Election Day because Filipinos were not just excited to vote for a new president; many were also curious to see the PCOS machine. It is amusing to note that some voters mistook the PCOS for a big trash can. An elderly voter even thought that it is a washing machine.
About 400 PCOS machines crashed during the elections but they were immediately replaced. That only 400 out of more than 70,000 PCOS machines deployed throughout the country malfunctioned on Election Day means that majority of the PCOS machines worked well.
Filipinos were amazed at the speed and efficiency of the PCOS to accept the ballots inserted by the voters and store the voting data. Filipinos became even more impressed when the PCOS successfully counted the voting results in a clustered precinct in just a few seconds. After the counting, the PCOS was again used to electronically transmit the votes to the national tabulation center. It is an understatement to declare that the PCOS played a major role in making the country’s first auto polls a very successful and peaceful endeavor.
The PCOS machine is already a legend in Philippine election history but will the Philippines use the PCOS machines again in the next elections? Or will the government continue to look for a better voting machine?
Filipinos may be satisfied today with the performance of the PCOS but once the euphoria has died down maybe they will remember the flaws of the PCOS machine which affected the credibility of the automated election system. Maybe Filipinos will cite the inadequate security features of the machine and the awkward ballot design that was used in the elections. Aside from the inconvenience of filling out a 2.5 meter long ballot, voters had to be careful in shading the names of candidates because the PCOS would reject a ballot that contains unnecessary markings.
Some suggested that a more appropriate voting machine for the Philippines should have similar technological features used by ATM banks. Voters will just touch a screen to vote for a candidate or party. They don’t have to read the names of candidates because the pictures and logos of candidates and parties are uploaded in the machine. Some even suggested that internet voting or phone voting should also be considered by the government.
There are more advanced voting machines used around the world and the government should seriously consider looking for better alternatives than PCOS. If the government opts to use the PCOS again, it should correct the weak features of the machine. More importantly, the poll body should start training its personnel so that it will be more competent in handling the next auto polls.
ren
i will definitely agree that the PCOS machines helped us a lot during the election. it even gave us a result generated far far quicker than the usual, which, personally, amazed me a lot. however, what went wrong during that historical day is, obviously, the “facilitators” missed is on how to have a much more systematic way of doing the pre-voting activities such as looking for one’s name and precint assignment, the long queues must have been avoided s well. some voters traveled far from other places to get back to their respective provinces to practive their right, to do their resposibility as a Filipino, only to find out they are not in the database or list of their respective area as a voter, thus, they can’t vote, their count, as well as their time, money and effort were all wasted. it is really a big waste. i noticed that during the election. many were hard up just by looking for their names. another thing, senior citizens are supposed to be highly prioritized, i mean, the moment they appear in their precint, they should be assisted, i would understand if young people like me will not be accomodated by those “authorized people” who are very proud wearing their identfication cards because i can look for myself, but come on people, these old people have served our country long enough, they don’t deserve to be ignored. Now you, yes you, if you were the “authorized person” during the election wearing your fancy ID, remember the old lady you ignored when she just wanted to enter to cast her vote? i hope you won’t be treated that way when you’re old.
Going back, what i am trying to imply is that it is not enough that we rely on machines alone. we should also think of ways how to adjust with humans,how to not sacrifice them because what?we’re excited of the machines? sounds funny eh? but it seems like it. there should be a system or program that will have individuals and machines jive, i mean there should be a harmony between them for more effectivity. Well, to the next President, I hope you can think of a better way to improve the election. we don’t need new machines since it will again be costly on our part, let’s be practical, these PCOS machines worked well for us, they would still do the same next election, and I hope for the longest time possible.
joy reyes
what’s the diifference counting Presidential votes and senatorial votes by PCOS machine from the vice presidentisl votes. Until now we don’t have the result who won the Vice presidency.hmmm… i smell something fishy.