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    Going Back To The Dark Ages?: From The Stands Domini M. Torrevillas

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    ELIZABETH CRUZ
    1) The document discusses former Philippine president Joseph Estrada saying he would only run for Manila mayor again if elections reverted to a manual system. 2) It notes that automated elections have improved security and reduced violence against poll watchers compared to the past when manual elections were used. 3) While new technologies like blockchain and touchscreen voting interfaces offer promising options, the current automated system is viewed as the best affordable option and a downgrade from it could endanger lives by returning to the dangers of the previous manual election era.

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    Going Back To The Dark Ages?: From The Stands Domini M. Torrevillas

    Uploaded by

    ELIZABETH CRUZ
    21 views2 pages
    1) The document discusses former Philippine president Joseph Estrada saying he would only run for Manila mayor again if elections reverted to a manual system. 2) It notes that automated elections have improved security and reduced violence against poll watchers compared to the past when manual elections were used. 3) While new technologies like blockchain and touchscreen voting interfaces offer promising options, the current automated system is viewed as the best affordable option and a downgrade from it could endanger lives by returning to the dangers of the previous manual election era.

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    1) The document discusses former Philippine president Joseph Estrada saying he would only run for Manila mayor again if elections reverted to a manual system. 2) It notes that automated elections have improved security and reduced violence against poll watchers compared to the past when manual elections were used. 3) While new technologies like blockchain and touchscreen voting interfaces offer promising options, the current automated system is viewed as the best affordable option and a downgrade from it could endanger lives by returning to the dangers of the previous manual election era.

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    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    21 views2 pages

    Going Back To The Dark Ages?: From The Stands Domini M. Torrevillas

    Uploaded by

    ELIZABETH CRUZ
    1) The document discusses former Philippine president Joseph Estrada saying he would only run for Manila mayor again if elections reverted to a manual system. 2) It notes that automated elections have improved security and reduced violence against poll watchers compared to the past when manual elections were used. 3) While new technologies like blockchain and touchscreen voting interfaces offer promising options, the current automated system is viewed as the best affordable option and a downgrade from it could endanger lives by returning to the dangers of the previous manual election era.

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    Going back to the dark ages?

    16SHARES00
    image: https://www.philstar.com/images/authors/1804859.jpg

    FROM THE STANDS - Domini M. Torrevillas (The Philippine Star) - July 18, 2019
    - 12:00am

    During a recent interview with the press, former president, former Manila mayor, and now
    citizen Joseph Estrada addressed the allegations of newly elected Manila Mayor Isko Moreno
    about the way the ex-mayor supposedly drove the city into debt and bankruptcy.

    Although I won’t weigh in on Estrada’s rebuttal, there is a particular portion of the interview
    that I found quite interesting.

    When GMA News reporter Susan Enriquez asked him whether he would be willing to run for
    mayor again, he said that he would only do so if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reverts
    to a manual election.

    I am the first to admit that I am not the most tech-savvy person. Nevertheless, I recognize and
    appreciate the conveniences of technology, and in the case of elections, the security and
    expediency it brings. Honestly, the only logical reason I could think of why anyone chooses to
    go back to manual systems is if manual elections offered some other “conveniences” for the
    electorate.

    I’ve been through quite a number of elections in my lifetime, and I can attest that automated
    elections have literally saved lives. I remember back in the day when manual elections were the
    norm. Our brave teachers, nuns, priests, and other volunteers would guard ballots and face goons
    at gunpoint. I’ve lost count of the many poll watchers I’ve interviewed over the years who have
    had close calls with death – and this is not even counting the ones who did not survive their
    encounters.

    Now, with automated elections, such violence against poll watchers have become a thing of the
    past – a relic of a dark and insidious age.

    When news broke out over the past months about certain politicians advocating manual or
    “hybrid” elections, I once again feared for the lives of these people. They will once again have
    to defend ballots with their lives.

    My fears were allayed when I spoke with my friends from the Department of Information and
    Communications Technology (DICT) press corps about the recently concluded Automated
    Election Systems (AES) Tech Fair at the DICT offices in Diliman. At the very least, the DICT is
    working hard to find the best and most applicable solutions to the Philippines.
    Our current technology provider Smartmatic was also present to showcase their latest tech. My
    press corps friends were especially impressed with the touchscreen voting interface they
    demonstrated.

    Apparently, it was broached to the Comelec for use in the 2016 National Elections, but cost and
    time constraints ultimately led to using paper ballots.

    The other companies that presented also highlighted the use of blockchain technology, which
    also has been reportedly used in Norway by Smartmatic. Looking forward, it is heartening to
    know that there are many options available for Filipinos.

    Despite the many choices, though, my friends still believe that what we currently have is the
    best that our government can afford. Everything else – especially those that still rely on a human
    element – is a downgrade.

    As a political exercise, of course, it doesn’t matter who the provider is. It will always be
    politicized. Whatever issues that our current provider is facing will be also the same ones hurled
    at future providers.

    Currently, we actually have one of the most secure and accurate electoral systems in Asia. There
    is always room for improvement, but there is no room for going back to the dark ages.

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