Two groups have urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to do manual counting after Atty. Harold Respicio revealed that the version used for the Automated Counting Machines (ACMs) was not audited.
It can be recalled that Atty. Harry Respicio revealed that the current ACMs used during the final testing were using version 3.5, which allegedly was not included in the audited version by the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC).
However, COMELEC called Respincio’s accusations ‘fake news’, saying that version 3.4, which was audited, and 3.5 were the same version.
“Ang sinasabing version 3.4 sa Local Source Code Review Report ay siya mismong version na sumailalim sa independent third-party audit at matapos nitong makapasa ay tinagurian na ito bilang version 3.5 na kasalukuyang ginagamit ng mga ACM base sa ipinakita ng kandidato sa bidyo,” said COMELEC.
However, the election watchdog, Kontra Daya, didn’t buy the explanation published by COMELEC, saying that version 3.4 cannot be considered equal to version 3.5.
“The version used in the Final Testing and Sealing of machines is version 3.5.0, while only version 3.4.0 is certified. What kind of revisions were made to the final version? Why were such revisions implemented without a proper announcement to the public?” said Kontra Daya.
Meanwhile, the Computer Professionals Union (CPU) believed that there was a possibility that something was inserted into the source code of the newer version of ACMs.
They urged the COMELEC to conduct manual vote counting because of the recent revelation published by the Atty. Respicio.