BANTAY
GOBYERNO
Ike
Señeres
In the old days, there
was no need for technology in order to practice democracy, because all that was
needed then was a show of hands, and that was it. Another variation is for
voters to stand to express their vote, which was in a way very symbolic, because
it would really appear that the voters are standing for their rights, literally
that is.
That simple
method of showing hands and standing up must have worked for hundreds of years,
until it became difficult for every citizen to vote directly, hence the
practice of electing or selecting representatives came about, such as the
Senators of ancient Greece. Even during these modern times however, the size of
legislative bodies have become so large that simply showing hands and standing
up would no longer suffice.
In many
legislative bodies today, voting is already done via electronic means within
the premises, but it seems that there are no precedents yet for remote voting
or long distance voting. Another issue that is related to this is the question
of whether or not members of legislative bodies could participate in the
discussions if and when they could have voice or video access, even if they are
not actually physically present.
Above
everything else, the biggest issue here actually is whether or not a quorum
could be established by also counting those who have logged in to a meeting
that would be conducted online or via any other electronic means.
It is a
well known fact that in the private sector, online meetings are already being
conducted via video conferencing, using both desktop and mobile devices. As a
matter of fact, these live video conferences are now being held with the
participation of people who are located all over the world.
What that
means is that members or voters could actually participate or vote regardless
of where they are, anytime there is a meeting, for as long as they have access
to a device, and for as long as there is a signal. Only a few months ago, I
used to say that I could deliver content for as long as there is a signal. Nowadays,
I no longer say that because it is now possible to have a signal everywhere,
meaning that everyone could now be connected from everywhere.
In theory,
the legal fiction that anyone who has logged in into a computerized system
should already be considered as being virtually present, even if he is not
really present. Of course it goes without saying that the person who claims who
he is when he logged on is actually who he claims to be, or who he claims he
is. This entire issue is actually premised on the security of a system,
assuming that it could not be breached or hacked.
If it could
be clearly established that the person who logged in is he who claims to be,
then he should already be able to transact anything when he is online,
including the ability to cast his vote in a virtual election, so to speak.
According
to the Electronic Commerce Act (ECA), electronic evidence is already
admissible. The law seems to be clear as far as images, text and data are
concerned, but it is rather vague when it comes to live voice and voice clips.
Technically, a voice clip or recording is an electronic file that should
already be admissible.
Technically
as well, there is only a few seconds of difference before live voice becomes a
recording. In this regard, what seems to be more important is the validity of
the virtual attendance and along with that, the determination of a quorum. In
theory, virtual attendance could actually be determined if someone is able to
log in and authenticate his person. However, the question of determining a
quorum is more of a legal matter.
As provided
for in the Local Government Code (LGC), each and every barangay is supposed to
hold a Barangay Assembly at least twice a year. Technically, a Barangay
Assembly is the equivalent of a Stockholder’s Meeting in a private corporation.
The comparison is not exact however, because any registered voter in the
barangay could attend the assembly, whereas only the stockholders or their
proxies could attend the corporate meetings.
As far as I
know however, there appears to be no provisions in the election laws that would
allow voting via email, via web forms or via mobile applications. What that
means is that every registered voter in a barangay has no other choice but to
physically attend if he wants his voice to be counted.
No, I
am not demanding because I am only wishing. My wish is that sooner or later,
the election laws could either be interpreted or modified so that any
registered voter in any barangay could virtually attend a Barangay Assembly and
at the same time be able to electronically cast his vote regardless of where he
is, even if he is abroad.
I
understand that many would have apprehensions about this idea, but the fact
remains that this is already the regular practice in many other countries, notably
in Estonia. Some might have apprehensions about data security and the
possibility that the system might be hacked or compromised, but as it is now,
there are many ways to prevent that.
No comments:
Post a Comment