THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has assured Congress that it will deposit next week to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) vault the three source codes, the human-readable version of the voting software program that will be used in the May elections.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia made the assurance on Tuesday in response to the queries of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the delayed deposit of the source codes for the automated election system (AES) software in the BSP vault in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.

"Based on our estimate, the deposit of the source codes may happen by next week," Garcia said in a letter to Rep. Maximo Dalia Jr., chairman of the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms.

He said that it will be the first time that Comelec will deposit three source codes in the history of automated election because of innovations in the automated counting machines (ACM), the unbundling of the transmission system, and the first-ever internet overseas voting (OVS).

Garcia said that the source codes for the ACM and the election transmission system were already certified.

Under the law, the source codes should be completed and certified not later than three months before the scheduled electoral exercises.

"We have already coordinated with the BSP, and we are currently finalizing the memorandum of agreement," he said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros has called on the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System to investigate reports that Comelec has failed to obtain certification on the security and accuracy of AES for the May 12 elections.

"It's almost 70 days before the election; that's why the Senate and the House of Representatives should ensure that all mechanisms under the law are being followed for a clean and orderly automated elections," Hontiveros said in Filipino.

"These reported issues should be cleared to allay the fears and doubts of the people come May 12," she said in a statement.

WITH BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO