Sen. Vicente Sotto III told to bare source of poll fraud allegations

MANILA, Philippines — Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Sixto Brillantes yesterday urged Sen. Vicente Sotto III to reveal his source for the allegations of fraud in the 2016 automated elections.

Brillantes expressed doubt about Sotto’s claim, noting it is not possible to transmit tampered results a day before the actual elections.

“I don’t believe that transmissions done before election day can be counted as part of the official results,” Brillantes said, noting the series of transmission tests done prior to election day.

He said the Comelec had conducted automated elections in the past eight years and there had been no proof showing the results were manipulated.

“I am surprised with the claim of Sotto. Who is his source, maybe I know him and I think the senator should not trust him,” Brillantes said.

He said an investigation must be conducted to identify Sotto’s source.

Rampant cheating in previous manual elections, Brillantes said, could not happen in automated elections.

Voters can be paid, but voting machines cannot be tampered with, he said.

He cited an event during the 2010 elections wherein a losing congressional candidate complained of poll fraud and early transmission, but it was never proven.

He said the Senate should conduct an inquiry to give Sotto an opportunity to prove his claim and the Comelec to comment on the matter.

Brillantes said Sotto’s allegations could erode public trust in the election system. He said this could only be addressed if the source would be identified.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body also wants to know Sotto’s source.

Jimenez said they reached out to Sotto and the Comelec immediately submitted the documents requested by the senator.

He said voting machines have audit logs, which can be checked if a transmission was made before election day.

Jimenez reiterated Brillantes’ call for an investigation in order to shed light on the matter and the truth to come out.

“We cannot assume that the allegations are correct because nothing was proven yet,” Jimenez said.

“For now, we cannot confirm anything because what we have are only copies of pictures from the TV. That would not be enough to serve as basis for any conclusions,” he added. – Ghio Ong