Ben Madilynn
THE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is set to conduct a parallel assessment of the automated election system (AES) to be used by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the May 2025 polls.
In a press briefing, Comelec Chairman George Garcia announced that the Commission en banc has approved the proposal for the DOST to conduct a parallel test in addition to the one to be carried out by the International Certification Entity (ICE).
“We approved the proposal for the DOST to conduct parallel testing based on its own capabilities,” said Garcia.
“For this particular election, there will be DOST parallel testing alongside the one conducted by the ICE, as required by law,” he added.
The poll chief said the parallel test also aims to determine whether it is possible to eliminate the ICE requirement in future elections.
“For all we know, the DOST is fully capable of evaluating our software and hardware tests,” he said.
Should the parallel test be successful, he added, a law may be proposed to eliminate the ICE requirement.
“We could then propose a law designating the DOST to test our system, making it unnecessary to involve an international entity,” said Garcia.
Under the Poll Automation Law, the Comelec must engage an international certification entity to evaluate the AES for each election.
The ICE must then confirm that the AES, including its hardware and software components, is “operating properly, securely, and accurately” in accordance with the law. (SunStar Philippines)
