SC defers ruling on Smartmatic TRO

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday deferred ruling on a petition to stop the contract of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with technology provider Smartmatic-TIM for the diagnostics and repair of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used for the 2016 elections.

SC spokesman Theodore Te said the justices of the high court would first seek comment from the Comelec and Smartmatic before ruling on the consolidated petition filed by poll watchdogs Automated Election System (AES) Watch and Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E) for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO).

Te said the SC also directed the respondents to answer the allegations raised in the petitions within 10 days.

In a petition filed last Monday, AES Watch asked the SC to stop Comelec from implementing the contract with Smartmatic.

A similar petition was filed with the high court by C3E last week.

Retired Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. signed the P268.8-million contract with Smartmatic last Jan. 30, three days before retiring along with Commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph.

Petitioners led by former Comelec commissioner Augusto Lagman and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo also urged the SC to nullify Comelec Resolution 9922 that provided for the diagnostics, repair and refurbishment of 80,000 PCOS machines.

They alleged that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion and violated Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) in approving the contract with Smartmatic without public bidding.

“Lack of material time, as Comelec alleged to conduct it, is not one of the conditions spelled out in RA 9184 when public bidding may be dispensed with,” read the petition filed through lawyer Manuelito Luna.

The group said the poll body failed to perform its constitutional mandate to enforce and administer the laws relating to elections or to conduct free, orderly, honest and peaceful elections and accused it of violating specific requirements set forth in the law.

The petitioners alleged that Resolution 9922 was “tailor-fit” to satisfy Smartmatic.

Smartmatic will start the diagnostics of the PCOS machines this week, said Brillantes.

He said the diagnostics, which is expected to last for five months, starts with the inspection and inventory of some 82,000 PCOS machines kept in a warehouse in Laguna.

“It has actually been delayed because of our critics. But the Comelec has to push through with this because we are already behind schedule,” he said.

‘Poll execs misled Congress’

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, chairman of the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation, criticized Brillantes, Yusoph and Tagle for misleading Congress about their participation in the transaction, citing their statements during the last hearing that retiring officials would not be involved in the bidding for the repair of the PCOS machines.

“So I was surprised that all of a sudden there was a 5-2 vote and the three retiring commissioners participated and sided with the five and this is a negotiated contract,” Pimentel said.

“They told us that in order to show that they are really in retirement mode already, they would be hands off except for supervising. They said they will not be involved in the nitty-gritty, in the details, that’s what they said but in the last minute they still participated,” he added.

Pimentel also questioned the contract for not going through public bidding.

Controversial

“Pushing through with the controversial Smartmatic contract puts the integrity of the upcoming elections in jeopardy. The deal is not only controversial because there was no public bidding held, but because it again involves Smartmatic-TIM, a company that has been tagged in various reports of election rigging,” Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said.

Ridon lamented that Comelec did not consider the call of election watchdogs for the poll body to conduct an independent audit of the old PCOS machines.

“By awarding the diagnostics contract to Smartmatic, Comelec essentially surrendered its responsibility to inspect the existing PCOS machines and check their status,” he said.

Comelec does not know how many of the machines are working and if there are irregularities in them, he said.

He also called on acting Comelec chairman Christian Robert Lim not to allow Smartmatic to participate in the bidding for the 23,000 new PCOS machines that it will procure for the 2016 elections.

All appointees of Aquino

Meanwhile, poll watchdog Political and Electoral Reform (IPER) expressed concern that all the commissioners will be appointees of President Aquino following the retirement of Brillantes, Tagle and Yusoph.

IPER executive director Ramon Casiple said the situation could affect the credibility of the Comelec.

“Theoretically, this will open a weakness for the Comelec. It will have an impact on the credibility of Comelec,” he said.

Tagle and Yusoph were the remaining appointees of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

While the four commissioners – Luie Guia, Al Parreño, Arthur Lim and Christian Robert Lim – were able to prove their independence from Malacañang, Casiple said it is a different case when the sitting president appoints all the commissioners.

Brillantes, however, said it does not follow that the President’s appointees can be influenced by the President. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero