Lack of Digital Signatures in ERs Ignored by COMELEC, Supreme

Court
Group said its petition to activate the digital signature before the May polls fell on deaf
ears

Press release

In a classic, “I told you so moment”, the Compact for Peaceful and

Democratic Elections (COMPACT) today said Makati Rep. Teodoro
Locsin’s claim that thousands of election results transmitted by the vote
counting machines could be void due to the lack of digital signatures is
already “old news.” The group said they already brought the attention of
the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Supreme Court of
this issue days before the elections.

In a statement, COMPACT said as early as April 28, 2010, they already

sent a letter to the poll body asking it to activate the digital signatures by
correcting specific provisions of COMELEC Resolution No. 8786.
However, the group said COMELEC ignored their plea. The group said
the Supreme Court also junked their petition which they filed last May 7,
2010.

Vindicated

“We are vindicated. We have been warning our institutions of this grim
scenario. The lack of the legally required digital signatures to all the
election returns transmitted could be challenged as illegal, result in a
plethora of protests and put the credibility of the election process in
question,” COMPACT Co-Convenor Loretta Ann Rosales said.

The group said COMELEC Resolution No. 8786 or the Revised General
Instructions for the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) directs the BEI
not to use the digital signature during the transmission of Election
Returns (ER). COMPACT said this is explicit in Paragraphs (f) to (h) of
Sec. 40, which states,

“Section 40. Counting of ballots and transmission of results;

Procedure.

“x x x;

“f) Thereafter, the PCOS shall automatically count the votes and
immediately display a message "WOULD YOU LIKE TO DIGITALLY
SIGN THE TRANSMISSION FILES WITH A BEI SIGNATURE KEY?",
with a "YES" or "NO" option;

“g) Press "NO" option. The PCOS will display "ARE YOU SURE YOU
DO NOT WANT TO APPLY A DIGITAL SIGNATURE?" with a "YES"
and "NO" option;

“h) Press "YES" option. x x x;”

The group said in a petition it submitted before the Supreme Court said
the removal of the digital signature would make the transmitted Election
Returns unofficial, per the requirement of the law.

COMPACT pointed to the penultimate paragraph of Section 22 of

Republic Act No. 8436 to prove his argument. The group said the law
uses the word “and”, meaning that the transmitted election returns
should come with a digital signature.

The mentioned paragraph of the said Republic act read as follows:

“SEC. 22. Election Returns. - Each copy of the printed election returns
shall bear appropriate control marks to determine the time and place of
printing. x x x.

“x x x

“The election returns transmitted electronically and digitally signed shall

be considered as official election results and shall be used as the basis
for the canvassing of votes and the proclamation of a candidate.”

Legal Monkey Wrench

Rosales said the lack of digital signatures could embolden any citizen
albeit of his/her intention to question the integrity of the election or
worse, to sabotage an otherwise peaceful and democratic election
process using a “legal monkey wrench.”

“Any Tom, Dick and Harry can now question the process. From those
sincerely aspiring to realize election reforms and lucidity to sour losers
and destabilizers, the system’s integrity much more its capacity to
express the people’s mandate is now being seriously doubted. As such,
its either we have a no proclamation scenario or the entire country is
taken hostage by a serious legal crisis,” Rosales said.

Something Fishy

However, COMPACT was quick to temper their position on the issue.

“While we agree with Rep. Locsin’s observation that the lack of digital
signatures would render all transmitted election returns unofficial, we
also cannot hide the fact that we smell something very fishy with this so-
called disclosure,” Rosales said.

Rosales said the mere fact that this is only being tackled now and not
before the conduct of the elections is highly suspicious. She said the
issue must be scrutinized by stakeholders not only from a strictly legal
point of view but must also take into consideration its serious political
implications.

“We have been shouting tfrom the top of our lungs about this particular
major lapse even before the elections, but all in vain. Now, all of a
sudden, it is now considered a major issue to be looked into,” Rosales
said.

Rosales said, “Lest the public wants it legitimate demands to be

hijacked and used by unscrupulous individuals and groups with vested
agendas, it is wise to discern who will benefit most from this issue.
Unfortunately, it seems the outgoing Arroyo government and its cabal of
losers is the ones who will profit from this predicament.”

Oppose ‘No Proc’ Scenario

The group warned that a “no proclamation scenario” as a result of the

“unofficial ERs” could be used by the Arroyo government as a trump
card to perpetuate itself to power.

“This we must vehemently oppose. The people’s mandate in the

recently concluded elections must reign supreme. In the absence of
‘credibility barometers’ to gauge the truthfulness of the elections due to
the lack of digital signatures among others and the inadvertent mistake
and negligence done by our institutions which brought us to this
dilemma, as such, we must therefore seek redress from the last arbiter
—the Filipino voting public. Whether the election is credible or not, it is
now in the hands of the people to decide,” Rosales said.

COMPACT is still pushing for a parallel manual count of recently

concluded elections. It will also push for an investigation of all public
officials responsible for the deactivation of the digital signature which it
described as a direct violation of the law. The group said all proven
guilty must be duly penalized.

Lastly, It also encouraged the correction of all enabling election laws

and its harmonization with the automated election system to prevent
future legal and technical predicaments. ###