COMELEC Shows PCOS Source Code

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) officially presented the controversial Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine source code on Thursday, May 9, just a few days before the May 13 polls.

In a report, according to COMELEC Chairman Sixto Brillantes during the public presentation of the CD that contains the source code, interested parties and political groups are allowed to review the source code.

The source code is the computer software that runs the PCOS machine, it will receive and count the votes on election day.

Brillantes led the turn-over of the CD from SLI Global Solutions, an international certifier that reviewed it, and from its US-based owner, the Dominion Voting System.

The arrival of the source code is deemed to be late already for a thorough review from the local experts as it would take months to conduct the proper inspection.

It has been reported that the delay of its arrival is due to a legal dispute between Dominion Voting Systmes, Inc and Smartmatic, the Comelec’s contractor for the automated elections system.

However, Brillantes was grateful that despite the dispute, Dominion Voting Systems, Inc and Smartmatic agreed to bring the source code in the Philippines at the end as it needs to be reviewed by the local experts, as required by law.

The CD which contained the source code will be enclosed in a safety box and will be brought to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for safekeeping.

Source: inquirer.net, abs-cbnnews.com, gmanetwork.com