On 14 April, Pacific Strategies & Assessments (PSA), a leading business risk consultancy, released a report, listing all the risks associated with electronic voting, including the lack of controls over voting machines by independent agencies and the use of registration memories that are highly vulnerable to cloning. In addition, only 70 per cent of polling stations have phones and computers that can send secured voting results. There is no certainty of protection for the 50 million ballots that could be cast.
One of the rally organisers, Mgr Oscar Cruz, retired archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, said that the prayer vigil was meant to tell the election commission and others who want the automated elections to fail that people are watching and are ready to act if necessary.
Demonstrators believe that President Arroyo and her administration want to take advantage of the situation to rig the election in order to stay in power.
For organisers, the march is a symbolic attempt to tear down “walls” that could prevent the country from having credible, honest, and peaceful elections.