Palace defends Comelec, anomalous PCOS deal The Palace on Monday defended the Commission on Elections over the alleged anomalous deal it had entered with regard to the close to P2-billion contract, the first stage of which was given to Smartmatic again, saying it respects the commission as a constitutional body and is leaving the clarifications to the poll body on the transaction. At a press briefing, Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said it is best to allow the poll body to explain the issue regarding the transaction tagged by critics as anomalous due to the high cost of even the first stage which consists of diagnostic examination of the old precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines and minor repairs, with a cost of P300 million for that first stage, something which could have been done by any team of IT experts. “We share the citizens’ concern on the integrity of the electoral process. At the same time, we recognize that the Commission on Elections is an independent constitutional body,” Coloma claimed, adding that Malacañang continues to lodge its trust in the poll body on the use of the PCOS machines for the 2016 polls despite issues being raised on the contract to refurbish these machines. Coloma went further, saying that the reliability of the PCOS machines has been proven during the 2010 and 2013 elections. “We have gone through two national elecitons in 2010 qnd 2013. There was also the barangay elections in 2013. There were no massive protests or uprising from the people against the results of the two elections,” the Palace spokesman said, stressing that the Palace trusts that the Comelec will follow the right procedures. There may not have been any uprisings during those two election periods, but there certainly were a lot of anomalies noted in 2010 and 2013. All safety features were not in place at all, this making it easier to commit automated fraud. Moreover, in the 2013 polls, again, the safeguards were discraded and worse, the 60-30-10 pattern nationwides through the vertical lines found in the ballot images were discovered. The pattern was clearly mathematically improbable and proves the fraud, which resulted in a uniform 60 percent victory for the administration senatorial candidates and 30 percent for the opposition senatorial bets. Groups are geared to bring the case before the Supreme Court. A former commissioner, Gus Lagman, whose appointment was not renewed by Aquino after he started to question the integrity and reliability of the PCOS machines called the contract a midnight deal with Smartmatic. Sixto Brillantes, the poll body chief, is set to retire next month. Another procedure was also discarded by the Comelec as Billantes admitted that the Comelec no longer held public bidding for the diagnostics because Smartmatic, which is the supplier of the PCOS machines, is in the best position to determine if there are glitches in them. Smartmatic, in the past two national elections claimed that all the machines were in perfect order, but more and more so called glitches were noted. Election watchdogs earlier threatened to question the Comelec’s decision before the Supreme Court. Some have even warned of “massive confusion and disorder” during the 2016 polls because of the use of PCOS machines. Hermenegildo Estrella, one of the convenors of the Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E) said that his group and many others who oppose the decision of the poll body en banc to extend their warranty contract with Smartmatic-TIM instead of holding a public bidding. “We are manifesting our strongest rejection of this callous and despicable act,” he said in a statement, adding the group “will use all available means to stop the Comelec from further rewarding the inefficiency of Smartmatic.” According to a statement issued by Comelec, the decision to award the contract of refurbishing PCOS machines is in accordance with Executive Order no. 423 series of 2005 or the law prescribing the rules and procedures on the review and approval of all government contracts to conform with Republic Act no. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. “Since they (Comelec) are an independent constitutional body, the presumption is that they act in accordance with the law, and the opportunity to explain their side and give just explanation is in their hands with respect to the demands of the public,” Coloma said. The Palace official noted that the executive branch still trusts the reliability and accuracy of the PCOS machines. “We are one with the public in the belief that the results of the election should be acceptable and this is reliant on the integrity of the machines and the process used during the polls. tribune.net.ph/headlines/palace-defends-comelec-anomalous-pcos-deal
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 00:27:52 +0000