SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.No. 
2957 
) 
) 
) 
':5 
SEP 17 A4 :24 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8436, SECTION 6 ALSO KNOWN AS "AN ACT 
AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED 
ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS 
AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES," AS 
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9369, ON THE MINIMUM SYSTEM 
CAPABILITIES OF THE AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 5, Section 2, paragraph (1) provides: 
The Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and 
sanctity of the ballot as well as a system for absentee voting by qualified 
Filipinos abroad. 
The May 2010 Presidential Elections cannot be considered a perfectly executed 
implementation of the automated election law. Critics point out the lapses in the way the 
Commission on Elections (Comelec) carried out the last national elections, such as the 
absence of digital signatures and a weak verification system of the installed software. 
At present, there is no feature that allows for the verification of the software 
installed in the PCOS and CCS machines and all other components of the AES system. 
The Hash Code extracted by the Forensic Team from the PCOS machines used in 
Antipolo is not the same as the one published on the COMELEC website. The Hash Code 
of the software in the PCOS machine is there to ensure that the same copy of the 
reviewed software and stored in escrow at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is the same as 
those installed in more than 76,000 PCOS machines. 
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There is therefore a need to amend the automated election law to safeguard the 
integrity of the electoral process. While the last election may have been considered 
acceptable, there is still a large room for improvement. These proposed amendments werc 
submitted by the Center for People Empowerment and Governance to the Joint 
Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System.' 
I This bill was filed during the Fifteenth Congress, First Regular Session. This bill was based on 
the Legislative Proposals to Improve and Enhance the Automated Elections Law (R.A. No. 9369) by the 
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CENPEG). 
2 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session 
SENATE 
S.No. 
2957 
) 
) 
) 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
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AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8436, SECTION 6 ALSO KNOWN AS "AN ACT 
AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED 
ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY II, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS 
AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES," AS 
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9369, ON THE MINIMUM SYSTEM 
CAPABILITIES OF THE AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Republic Act No. 8436, Section 6, as amended by Republic Act No. 
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9369, is hereby amended to read as follows: 
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SEC. 6. Minimum System Capabilities. - The automated election 
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system must at least have the following functional capabilities: 
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(a) Adequate security against unauthorized ac<?ess; 
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(b) Accuracy in recording and reading of votes as well as in 
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the 
tabulation, consolidation, canvassing, electronic transmission, and 
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storage of results; 
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(c) Error recovery in case of non-catastrophic failure of device; 
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(d) System 
integrity 
which 
ensures 
physical 
stability 
and 
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functioning of the vote recording and counting process; 
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(e) Provision for voter veritied paper audit trail PROVIDE 
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THE VOTER 
A SYSTEM OF VERIFICATION TO FIND OUT 
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WHETHER OR NOT THE MACHINE HAS REGISTERED HIS 
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CHOICE USING ONE OR MORE OF 
THE 
FOLLOWING 
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ESTABLISHED VOTER VERIFICATION PROCEDURES: 
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(i) VOTER VERIFIED PAPER AUDIT TRAIL (VVPAT) 
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(ii) VOTER VERIFIED VIDEO AUDIT TRAIL (VVVAT) 


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(iii) 
VOTER VERIFIED AUDIO AUDIT TRAIL (VVAAT) 
(iv) 
VOTER VERIFIED BRAILLE AUDIT TRAIL 
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(f) System auditability which provides supporting documentation for 
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verifying the correctness of reported election results; 
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(g) An election management system for preparing ballots and 
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programs for use in the casting and counting of votes and to consolidate, 
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report and display election result in the shortest possible time; 
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(h) Accessibility to illiterates and disabled DIFFERENTLY-
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ABLED voters; 
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(i) Vote tabulating program for election, referendum or plebiscite; 
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(g) Accurate ballot counter; 
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(k) Data retention provision; 
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(1) Provide for the safekeeping, storing and archiving of physical or 
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paper resource used in the election process; 
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(m) Utilize or generate otlicial ballots as herein defined; 
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(n) Provide the voter a system of verification to find out whether or 
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not the machine has registered his choice; arul 
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(0) Configure access control for sensitive system data and function; 
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(P)PROVlDE 
A 
FEATURE 
THAT 
WILL 
ALLOW 
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VERIFICATION IF THE SOFTWARE INSTALLED IN ANY 
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COMPONENT OF THE AES IS ONE AND THE SAME AS THAT 
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HELD 
IN ESCROW WITH THE BANGKO SENTRAL NG 
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PILIPINAS. THE VERIFICATION CODE SHALL BE PRINTED 
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OUT AND COPIES OF THE PRINTOUT SHALt BE POSTED ON 
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THE DOOR AND WALL OF THE PRECINCT/ CANVASSING 
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CENTER. 
THE VERIFICATION SHOULD BE PART OF THE 
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INITIALIZATION PROCEDURE EXECUTED BY THE BEl OR 
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BOC; 
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(Q) PROVIDE THE CAPABILITY OF DIGITAL SIGNING OF 
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ALL SOPTCOPY DOCUMENTS 
(ER, COC, SOV, ETC.) USING 
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COMPUTER-INDUSTRY-STANDARD SECURE PRIVATE-PUBLIC 
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KEY 
CRYPTOSYSTEM 
THAT 
UTILIZES 
ESTABLISHED 
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1 
CERTIFICA TE 
AUTHORITIES 
OR 
DTI-ACCREDITED 
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CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY; AND 
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(R) 
PROVIDE THE CAPABILITY OF DIGITAL SIGNING 
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OF ALL SOFTCOPY DOCUMENTS USING SIGNING HARDWARE 
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THAT DOES NOT COMPROMISE THE PRIVATE KEY OF THE 
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SIGNER, SUCH AS BY EMPLOYING PROCESSOR SMART 
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CARDS FOR REACH SIGNER AND PROCESSOR SMART CARD 
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READERS FOR EACH COMPUTER EQUIPMENT. 
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In the procurement of this system, the Commission shall develop and 
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adopt an evaluation system to ascertain that the above minimum system 
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capabilities are met. This evaluation system shall be developed with the 
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assistance of an advisory council. THE COMMISSION IS REQUIRED 
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TO PROCURE COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE 
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SYSTEMS THAT INCLUDE ALL OF THESE CAPABILITIES. 
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SECTION 2. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances, or 
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portions thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby 
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repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
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SECTION 3. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
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its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
/dpm I OSept20 15 
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