Glitches

The absolute worst scenario did not happen.

- ALEX MAGNO

The controversial P18-billion automated counting system supplied by Miru did not break down like previous systems supplied by the same company to Iraq and several other African countries did last year.

But for over two hours after the polls closed there was great suspense. The tallies were not being reported with the same speed as in 2022. Instead, we were treated to stories of glitches, double counting of precinct tallies and other such horrors. There were enough snags in the process that the usual suspects mounted protests the day after elections and one losing senatorial candidate demanded a manual recount.

We invested P18 billion for the new technology even if the old one was entirely usable. Only one bidder participated, creating issues involving the Procurement Law. There were some issues about the certification of the software used. For some reason, the Comelec accepted "prototype" technology with an abundance of faith — although possibly with less fidelity to the law governing electoral automation.

Because of the generous investment of taxpayer money, we might rightly expect a faster, more reliable and vastly more transparent counting system. This one disappoints. One struggles to find marked improvements over the previous system.

I imagine all the geeks scrambling on election night, trying to troubleshoot the counting system. They managed to solve several problems after a few suspenseful hours.

Still, the system requires a thorough review.