Comelec: No glitches so far in Miru's systems demo, end-to-end testing

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 25) — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) said no issues have been encountered so far during the systems demonstration and end-to-end testing of the joint venture of Miru Systems Co. Ltd.

The South Korean firm—the lone bidder in the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project worth ₱18.8 billion—presented the whole voting process on Tuesday, which is part of the post-qualification evaluation.

The demo started from the shading of the ballots, casting of the vote, and transmission until the canvassing.

«Wala po kaming nakitang aberya hanggang sa ngayon,» SBAC Vice Chairperson Rex Laudiangco said on Wednesday. «So far po sa checklist namin sa technical requirements ay tumutugon pag dating doon sa makina.»

[Translation: We have not seen any malfunctions until now. So far, our checklist of technical requirements is met when it comes to the machine.]

Among the new features in the automated counting machine (ACM) is the LCD screen, which will show the ballot face.

The sample ballots have the same format in previous elections, but were noticeably thinner. Comelec said the ballots can still be read by the ACMs.

The technical working group (TWG) also proved that the ACMs will not accept ballots from other precincts and duplicate ballots.

«Binasa po pero merong nakalagay na prompt duplicate ballot. So kinilala po na pagkainulit mo yung balota, babasahin siya pero di na siya bibilangin,» Laudiangco said.

[Translation: It was read but there was a prompt that it's a duplicate ballot. So it is recognized that if you duplicate the ballot, it will be read but will not be counted.]

The poll body official also noted the accuracy in the transmitted election results.

The SBAC continued the testing on Wednesday, wherein 1,000 ballots were fed into the machines as part of the stress test. The process went smoothly and was completed within seven hours.

They also tested if the battery, which will serve as a backup power source of the machine, will last for at least 14 hours.

The SBAC will continue the post-qualification evaluation of Miru's machines next week, where