Teachers, police to help study poll system

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is enlisting the help pf teachers, police and IT groups to help survey available network infrastructure in preparation for the 2010 elections.

The poll body’s en banc Resolution 8675, the Department of Education, the Telecommunications Office, the Philippine Postal Corp., the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) will participate in the survey “effective and uninterrupted transmission of election results” from polling precincts to Comelec-designated servers on May 2010.

On July, Comelec awarded the P7.2 billion automation contract to Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) that will provide 82,200 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) units to automate the voting, counting, canvassing and consolidation of votes, including electronic transmission of election results from polling stations nationwide.

Comelec has requested the concurrence of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as chief executive for the deputation of AFP and PNP.

The deputized groups will work with the project management office of Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, which will deploy 1,800 technicians who will test all available technologies.

“Personnel from Telof, PPC and DepEd can aid us in the site survey of schools and buildings to be used as polling centers given their presence in all municipalities and cities nationwide while AFP and PNP will provide security during the site survey,” said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez .

Using data from site survey, Comelec will choose from various wired (DSL) and wireless or satellite technologies. Also considered are SMS or text messaging, WiMax/WiFi, and two-way radio for transmitting election results.

Jimenez said Smartmatic-TIM will submit on November a report mapping the country’s network technology infrastructure. –Anna Valmero, INQUIRER.net