Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 9369)
The policy is to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, credible, and informed elections by adopting an automated election system (AES) that ensures the secrecy, sanctity, transparency, and credibility of ballots and election documents, resulting in fast, accurate, and genuine election results.
AES is a system using appropriate technology demonstrated in voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmitting election results and other electoral processes.
At least one member of the Board of Election Inspectors shall be an information technology-capable person trained or certified by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to use the AES.
The Advisory Council recommends appropriate AES technology, participates in bidding and implementation committees, advises on system planning and problems, risk management, and submits a report evaluating AES use to the Oversight Committee.
Penalties prescribed include imprisonment of eight years and one day to twelve years without parole, disqualification from public office, and deprivation of suffrage rights; electoral sabotage may result in life imprisonment.
AES must ensure adequate security, accuracy in vote recording and tabulation, error recovery capability, system integrity, voter-verified paper audit trail, auditability, accessibility to disabled and illiterate voters, and control of sensitive system data and functions.
Once an AES technology is selected, the Commission must promptly make the source code available and open for review by any interested political party or group.
The Committee must certify that the AES hardware and software operate properly, securely, and accurately based on field tests, software audits, source code review, and operational continuity plans prior to elections.
Multiple copies are printed and distributed to various recipients including boards of canvassers, Congress, Commission on Elections, political parties, accredited citizen's arms, media, and posted publicly, with measures to ensure authenticity and transparency.
AES must have a continuity plan containing contingency measures to ensure continuous operation during system breakdowns; activation must be announced and political parties furnished copies in advance.
Every registered political party or coalition, each candidate, the dominant majority and minority parties (each entitled to one paid official watcher), and six major accredited political parties excluding dominant parties, all entitled to watchers under the law.
Once transmitted electronically and digitally signed, such election results and certificates of canvass are considered official and used as basis for canvassing and proclamation of winning candidates.
No pre-proclamation cases are allowed on matters relating to preparation, transmission, receipt, custody, and appreciation of election returns or certificates of canvass except as expressly provided; manifest error corrections may be made by the canvassing body.
The act is an election offense punishable in accordance with the Omnibus Election Code; offenders are subject to imprisonment and other penalties provided by law.
The Commission has exclusive charge of enforcing and administering election laws, including the implementation and regulation of the AES system, ensuring free, orderly, and honest elections.