Automation for the elections is here to stay.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo issued the statement after the Random Manual Audit (RMA) report prepared by the RMA-Technical Working Group led by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) showed 99 percent accuracy rate in poll count.

“It is a very encouraging report. It means that the machines worked 99 percent,” he said in a press briefing.

Melo said even the survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed a high satisfaction rating in the automated election system (AES).

“I think the people generally will want to have automation. We can’t go back to manual (elections) anymore,” he said.

However, Melo said the automation of the next polls will also depend on the government’s budget.

“As long as we have the money, we will automate,” he said.

PPCRV chairperson Henrietta de Villa is hoping for a longer time of preparation if the next elections will be automated.

“We would recommend that in the next AES, I hope there’s longer time for preparation,” she said.

Among the recommendations of the team is for the inclusion of the RMA in the budget for the elections; for the permanent setting of a standard number of precincts to be audited; more studies on the proper methodology to be used in the audit; better technical features on auditing in the voting machines; and a wider public information of the RMA

Also being recommended to the commission is the printing of an understandable RMA handbook; integration of auditor training in
the regular training of Board of Election Inspector members; and the early designation of the members of the RMA-TWG.

Based on the 24-page report of the RMA Technical Working Group, the variance showed between the manual and computer count of the results of the elections was no more than one percent.

Variance refers to the difference of results between the machine count and the audit by teacher-auditors called by the Comelec to examine the ballots from the 1,145 participating clustered precincts.

The RMA is a process required by the Poll Automation Law in a bid to test the accuracy of the electronic count made by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines although it cannot affect the proclamation of the winning candidates.