PCOS source code to be released within the week

MANILA — The Commission on Elections yesterday announced that the controversial source code for the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the 2013 elections would be finally released within the week.

The source code is the computer program that runs the PCOS machine when it counts the votes.

“Dominion is coming in anytime. We are just waiting. They have already agreed that they will open the source code,” Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said.

However, the Comelec chairman said the source code review by political parties and other interested groups would have to be completed after the elections.

“We are opening it for review to all people interested but this will have be completed after the elections. It cannot be completed at this time since it is not easy to review the source code,” Brillantes said.

agreement

Brillantes said that an agreement has been reached between the Dominion Voting Systems Inc. and Smartmatic to pave the way for the release of the source code.

The release of the source code had been held back by Dominion, owner of the technology, due to a legal dispute between Dominion and Smartmatic.

“Last Friday, Smartmatic and Dominion signed an agreement in America to allow the 2013 source code to be brought to the

Philippines,” Brillantes said.

“I also signed my conform to their agreement and after that we called Systest Labs Inc. (SLI) for them to come here,” he said.

SLI is the international company that conducted an independent certification of the source code.

Brillantes refused to confirm if the actual source code has been placed in the hands of Comelec.