5,300 PCOS machines transmit data days after polls

MANILA, Philippines – Just when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and election watchdogs were getting worried about the slow transmission of votes, election machines transmitting to the Transparency Server suddenly shot up at a surprising rate. This came days after the elections, and at an unlikely hour of the day.

An analysis of data from the Comelec-Rappler Mirror Server shows that quite a number of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines were able to transmit votes only 3 days after the elections. Also, all of them transmitted data at dawn. 

Signs of an increasing volume of PCOS transmission were already noticed by evening of Wednesday, May 15.

Only 3 PCOS machines transmitted at separate periods each between 8 and 9 pm. The number increased to 14 by 10 pm, then to 95 by 11pm.

By 12:05 am of Thursday, 243 PCOS machines transmitted data. 

In every transmission that followed, the Comelec server was receiving from around 100 to 200 PCOS machines nationwide. (See our PCOS Transmission Status Map to see areas where machines failed to successfully transmit results.)    

Date and time of transmission	No. of PCOS that transmitted
05-15-13 08:57 PM	3
05-15-13 09:04 PM	3
05-15-13 09:24 PM	3
05-15-13 09:47 PM	3
05-15-13 10:03 PM	14
05-15-13 10:24 PM	14
05-15-13 10:46 PM	40
05-15-13 11:04 PM	95
05-15-13 11:24 PM	165
05-15-13 11:46 PM	159
05-16-13 12:05 AM	243
05-16-13 12:31 AM	175
05-16-13 12:47 AM	204
05-16-13 01:05 AM	225
05-16-13 01:24 AM	211
05-16-13 01:44 AM	217
05-16-13 02:06 AM	212
05-16-13 02:26 AM	214
05-16-13 02:45 AM	219
05-16-13 03:05 AM	131
05-16-13 03:25 AM	175
05-16-13 03:45 AM	57
05-16-13 04:06 AM	194
05-16-13 04:26 AM	199
05-16-13 04:47 AM	197
05-16-13 05:05 AM	198
05-16-13 05:28 AM	145
05-16-13 05:46 AM	176
05-16-13 06:06 AM	214
05-16-13 06:29 AM	161
05-16-13 06:46 AM	200
05-16-13 07:06 AM	227
05-16-13 07:26 AM	153
05-16-13 07:46 AM	197
05-16-13 08:06 AM	212
05-16-13 08:26 AM	83
05-16-13 08:47 AM	1
05-16-13 09:10 AM	0

By 8:26 am of Thursday, May 16, transmission dropped again to 83 PCOS machines, then to just 1 PCOS by 8:47 am.

A total of 32 file transfers were received by the Rappler Mirror Server from 10 pm of Wednesday to 8 pm of Thursday, May 16.

These files included around 5,300 election results (ERs), and added 2.89 million voters to the number of voters who actually voted.  

Total registered voters for the additional precincts amounted to 3.76 million.

The additional precinct results reduces the number of voters who potentially voted but are still unaccounted for in the system to 8.14 million, assuming a 77 % turn-out across all precincts.  

There were transmissions made from almost all provinces, with the bulk coming from the following areas:

• Batangas – 218 PCOS machines
• Bulacan – 183 PCOS machines
• Camarines Sur – 110 PCOS machines
• Cavite – 205 PCOS machines
• Cebu – 228 PCOS machines
• Davao del Sur – 119 PCOS machines
• Laguna – 169 PCOS machines
• Leyte – 133 PCOS machines
• Negros Occidental – 152 PCOS machines
• Nueva Ecija – 172 PCOS machines
• Pampanga – 168 PCOS machines
• Pangasinan – 144 PCOS machines
• Rizal – 176 PCOS machines

In Metro Manila alone, 756 PCOS machines in various cities also transmitted at around this time.

The sudden increase in transmission contrasts with the snail-paced count of votes just two days after the country’s second automated national elections. On Tuesday, the percentage of precincts accounted for nationwide stood at only 69%.

(Read: Where are the 11.9 million votes?)

Votes from a total of 24,090 precincts nationwide have not yet been received by the Comelec Transparency Server as of Wednesday, May 15.

Brillantes earlier claimed that poor telecommunications signals have hampered transmission, but the “major problem” involves disputes and incomplete results. He refused to disclose these problems – to avoid blowing these out of proportion, according to him.

(Read: Comelec on slow count: No ‘hocus pocus’)

Changes in Top 12

At around these times when the PCOS data transmission shot up, no one was added or removed from the top 12 of the senatorial race.

As of Wednesday evening, the top 12 lineup included:

• Grace Poe
• Loren Legarda
• Alan Cayetano
• Chiz Escudero
• Nancy Binay
• Sonny Angara
• Bam Aquino
• Koko Pimentel
• Sonny Trillanes
• Cynthia Villar
• JV Ejercito
• Gringo Honasan

However, the rankings of re-electionist candidates Alan Cayetano and Francis Escudero were changing between midnight to morning of Thursday.

Based on the unofficial tally of Rappler, Cayetano was at 3rd spot at 12:31 am, then was replaced by Escudero at 12:47 am. Cayetano regained 3rd spot at 1:24 am, and was dislodged again by Escudero at 6:29 am.

All canvass reports from the Comelec National Board of Canvassers show Escudero still on 3rd spot, followed by Cayetano on 4th (See official tally of votes). – Rappler.com