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Pablo Manalastas wrote: > The Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) is making > one LAST FINAL APPEAL to COMELEC to release the source code of the > election computer programs NOW, so that we can do a source code > review. > > If you believe in this CAUSE, please help CenPEG by supporting this > appeal. You can do so by replying to this email, adding your name, > position, etc to the end of the list, and email this reply to > > "Evi Jimenez" <[email protected]> > > Ms.Evi Jimenez is a Director of CenPEG coordinating this appeal. > Thanks > > ~Pablo Manalastas~ > > > Forwarded message: > > From: evi jimenez <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at > 5:10 PM Subject: For Signing_Joint Appeal for release of source > code_Sept30 To: [email protected], "Bro. Vince Fernandez" > <[email protected]>, [email protected] > > > Sept. 29, 2009 > > Dear Friends, > > After going around to share the findings of our study on the AES, > we now ask for your support. Can you help follow up the Comelec to > release the source code for review, as mandated in RA 9369 and > which was approved en banc to be given to CenPEG for independent > review by its network of computer scientists in the academe? > > The recent storm Ondoy last week hit us unprepared. Many lives > were lost and billions of pesos worth of property destroyed. THAT > was a disaster of terrible magnitude that could have been > prevented, or at least mitigated through a comprehensive disaster > preparedness program. The coming automated polls, the first to be > implemented nationwide, will need the same preparedness. > > Please support the cause for a credible and transparent election by > signing the following Statement. Emailing us back with a short note > to confirm your signature would be most appreciated. You may also > download the attached copy of the Appeal and ask your friends > especially those who attended our briefings, to sign. We are > rushing against time. There is little time left for a meaningful > source code review. > > > Thank you very much! > > > Evi > > Center for People Empowerment in Governance www.cenpeg.org > > > > A FOLLOW-UP APPEAL TO THE COMELEC > > COMPLY WITH THE AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM LAW; > > RELEASE THE SOURCE CODE FOR REVIEW NOW! > > > > September 30, 2009 > > The country has barely eight months to go before May 10, 2010 when > 48 million Filipino voters are expected to troop to the polls. On > that day, the voters shade their votes on small ovals opposite the > names of their candidates on ballots 2.5 feet long, and feed the > ballots into the Precinct Count Optical Scan-Optical Mark Reader > (PCOS-OMR) machines that will read and count their votes, and > transmit the vote tallies at the end of voting day to the > Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS) machines. If everything > goes as planned, the next President, Vice President, and other > national and local elective officials will be known in 2-3 days. > > For the speed that it promises, the Automated Election System (AES) > is certainly revolutionary, and the AES Law or RA 9369, a landmark > piece of legislation that could modernize the fraud-ridden voting > in the Philippines. But speed without addressing the deep-seated > problem of cheating in the country will make the automated election > a wasteful exercise at PhP7.2 billion. Machines can help, but will > not solve fraud completely. > > The voters must be assured that the machines themselves cannot be > used as instruments for cheating, that they have been programmed > correctly and are internally resistant to vote rigging. For this, > the RA 9369 provides for certain safeguards that the Comelec is > duty bound to implement. One of the key safeguards is the source > code review provision: > > Section 12 [Sec 14] of RA 9369 mandates, “Once an AES technology is > selected for implementation, the Commission shall promptly make the > source code of that technology available and open to any interested > political party or groups which may conduct their own review > thereof." [underscoring supplied] > > Source code is the human-readable set of computer program > instructions used to specify the internal actions to be performed > by the PCOS-OMR called SAES-1800 (Smartmatic Auditable Election > System) machines and CCS called REIS (Real-Time Information System) > computers. A most thorough examination of the source code for > correctness and security of the programs running in the e-voting > machines to be used for the first time in the country’s election > history must be undertaken by reputable computer scientists who are > known for their independence and probity and are unattached to the > vendor or the Comelec.. This will ascertain that the programs in > the machines will correctly implement the provisions of RA 9369 for > counting, canvassing, and transmission of the votes and that any > serious security flaws are identified and properly fixed. More than > the external procedural features of the machines – that is, feeding > of the ballots into the PCOS-OMR machines to printing of the > Election Returns – the correctness and the security of the internal > programs running in the machines should be of primordial concern. > > It was in this spirit of transparency that on May 26, 2009, the > Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) wrote the > Comelec requesting for the source code of the counting and > canvassing computers as well as the election database and servers. > On June 10, the Comelec en banc approved the release of the source > code for review through its Minute Resolution No. 09-0366 but it > was delivered to CenPEG only on July 10, the day of the contract > signing between the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM. > > To this day, however, the Comelec has not yet released the source > code, citing as reasons the following: “lack of guidelines” > (Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez), “premature release” (Comelec > Executive Director Jose Tolentino, also PMO), “CenPEG (and other > groups) to apply (first) as resource person … and under controlled > conditions,” and “the source code does not currently exist” (Atty. > Ferdinand Rafanan of the Comelec legal department), and “we are > still waiting for Smartmatic-TIM to turn over the source code so > that it could be opened for review” (Commissioner Rene Sarmiento > who pointed out that the source code is not owned by Smartmatic but > by another firm, Canada’s Dominion Voting Systems!). > > Then on the September 21 poll automation forum on ANC TV, Atty. > Rafanan delivered a final blow to the call for source code review > by announcing that “CenPEG (and other interested groups) will not > do a source code review, but that an international certification > agency will do it as a requisite to TEC (Technical Evaluation > Committee) certification.” This announcement is misleading. As > clearly spelled out in RA 9369, the certification by TEC through an > international entity is a separate requirement (Sec. 9) from the > mandate to release the source code for review by interested groups > (Sec. 12). > > We, concerned citizens and organizations from various professions > and sectors, join other interested groups like CenPEG in demanding > that the source code be made available to interested groups as > provided by law so that it may be reviewed by competent computer > experts who are not vendors or Comelec-designated but are > independent and known for their probity and integrity in the IT > hardware and software security industry. > > Source code review, in accordance with international standards, > takes time. Any further delay in the release of the source code for > thorough examination by “interested groups” will surely frustrate > the intent of the law to give all concerned the opportunity to > review the source code and be assured of the integrity of the > e-voting system. > > We believe that implementing this particular safeguard, even if not > a sure-cure to fraud, is a big step toward ensuring the integrity > of the automated election system, that internal safeguards are well > plugged in while assuring the Filipino voters that the machines are > secured, accurate, and reliable. Reviewing the source code will > certainly not make the system impervious to external attacks and > manipulation but rather make it more immune to manipulation as > possible vulnerabilities are identified and fixed beforehand. In > landmark cases in the U.S., more and more citizens’ groups are > calling for e-voting systems to be periodically reviewed long > before the elections to check if they are defective, obsolete, or > otherwise unacceptable. > > We reiterate in strongest terms our call for the Comelec to comply > with Sec. 12 of RA 9369 and release the source code of the PCOS-OMR > and CCS computer programs NOW before it is too late.. > > As we sign this joint statement, of primordial concern to us are > the rights of the voters and the integrity of the voting system. > While our demand for the release of the source code is based on > law, we believe that the review is critical on moral, political and > economic grounds. Let us work together in making sure that the > integrity of the machines and our votes will not be under grave > threats. > > Signed: > > Name Organization > Designation > > Alfredo E. Pascual University of the > Philippines President > > Alumni Association (UPAA) > > > > Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo National Secretariat for > Chairman > > Social Action (NASSA)- > > Catholic Bishops Conference > > Of the Philippines (CBCP) > > > > Bishop Deogracias S. Iniguez Public Affairs Committee > Chairman > > CBCP > > > > Angelito S. Averia, Jr.. Philippine Computer > > Emergency Response Team (PhCERT) President > > > Salvador P. Flores Jr. Maynilad Water Services, Inc. Network Administrator -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (Darwin) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iD8DBQFKybmwP6yMxtoXFZYRAgD/AJwOExJFBe7nWyFbIqBH6knhHb4mcwCcDNgr cYNpL2wKO7FRz8jchPaUKnQ= =GDmn -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List http://lists.linux.org.ph/mailman/listinfo/plug Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
