P300-M Comelec Smartmatic Deal ibasura — Watchdogs

IKINAMBIYO na sa mataas na antas ang kampanya upang wakasan ang malalim at kuwestiyonableng ugnayan ng Commission on Elections (Comelec) at ng technology reseller na Smarmatic.

Ito ay matapos magsama-sama ang iba’t ibang grupo kahapon para tuligsain ang desisyon ng Comelec na igawad sa Venezuelan company ang  ‘prohibitive’ P300-million contract para sa pagsusuri or ‘diagnosis’  ng  82,000 counting machines na muling gagamitin sa 2016 elections.

Ayon sa mga grupo,  ang desisyon ay  lubhang kaduda-duda at napakaimoral.

Sa isang joint protest letter, iginiit ng ilang watchdog groups, IT organizations and experts, Church leaders, mga miyembro ng academe, NGOs, people’s organizations at civic groups sa poll body na bawiin ang kanilang resolusyon na nag-apruba sa extended warranty agreement na ipinanukala ng Smartmatic para sa first phase ng pag-refurbish sa precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines na binili ng Comelec noong 2012.

“We are appalled by the fact that the Comelec resolution smacks of a midnight deal and cutting of corners based on unacceptable reasons that compromise the provisions of the procurement as well as election laws,” sabi ng grupo sa kanilang liham na personal na idiniliber sa Comelec ng isang delegasyon na pinangunahan ni Bishop Broderick Pabillo, public affairs head ng Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“It was, to say the least, in disregard of the urgent concerns raised in recent Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC) on the AES calling for thorough reports from Comelec on the latest discoveries and explanations by no less than the Technical Evaluation Committee of the government Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on the digital distortions of ballot images from the PCOS machines that, according to the TEC official report, ‘could have affected the results (counting) of the election’ and as the TEC official claims, ‘would be difficult to clean’,” ayon pa sa grupo.

Bukod kay  Pabillo, kabilang sa lumagda sa  protest letter sina Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles at Superior Mary John Mananzan. Sinamahan sila ng convenors ng Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E) at mga opisyal ng  Automated Election System (AES) Watch,  Center for People Empowerment and Governance (CenPEG), Transparentelections.org, at mga militanteng grupong Makabayan, Gabriela at Migrante International.

Hiniling din nila sa Comelec na ipagpaliban ang pag-award sa diagnostic contract hanggang magretiro sina Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes at Commissioners Elias Yusoph at Lucenito Tagle at iginiit na para sa “sense of propriety”  at  delicadeza dapat nag-inhibit ang mga outgoing officials mula sa an0 mang long-term decision making, lalo na sa mga kritikal na usapin kaugnay ng kwestiyonableng counting accuracy ng Smartmatic-provided PCOS machines.

Ito ay para mabigyan ang incoming chairman at commissioners ng prerogative para ipatupad ang kanilang desisyon sa lubhang kritikal na isyu at ma-exercise ang kanilang karapatan at duty na mapag-aralan ang kontrata para sila mismo ang makasaksi at maging responsable sa kung anuman ang maging kahihinatnan ng kanilang desisyon.

“It is their reputations that are at stake for whatever outcome this midnight deal between the Comelec and Smartmatic might produce,” dagdag ng grupo.

Muli nilang binigyan-diin ang kanilang posisyon na dapat i-ban ang Smartmatic sa paglahok sa kasalukuyan at mga hinaharap na election procurement processes dahil sa iba’t ibang accounts of ownership misrepresentation at hindi pagtalima sa election and government procurement laws at iba pang kadahilanan.

“It is our moral and legal obligation to stop this blatant mockery of the rule of law in the country and the continued subservience of the Comelec to foreign automated poll system provider Smartmatic and Cesar Flores (president of the firm’s Philippine office) who is allowed to malign and libel even reputable Filipino information technology experts and legitimate organizations,” anila.

Ilang ulit itinanggi ni Flores ang umano’y kuwestiyonableng track record ng kompanya at ang special treatment na nakukuha nito mula sa Comelec.

“Why the Comelec rush to close the deal involving taxpayers’ money of P1.2 billion for the supposed repair of damaged PCOS machines to be paid exclusively to Smartmatic against the recommendation of its own legal department?” tanong ng grupo.

Iginiit ng grupo na nanininidigan pa rin sila na dapat ay pinadaan ng Comelec sa bid-out ang kabuuan ng PCOS refurbishment contract at ang argumento na kakapusan ng oras at exclusivity ng Smartmatic sa PCOS ay “highly arguable and questionable.”

Hinimok din nila ang poll body na payagan ang kanilang IT experts at kanilang counterparts mula sa ibang government agencies na malayang makilahok at tumulong sa pag-develop ng akmang election systems at technology sa pag-promote ng right of suffrage.

“After two automated elections (in 2010 and 2013), the Comelec should now have developed its own technical capability to undertake the PCOS repairs and other services, thus, reducing its dependence on foreign outsourcing and cutting costs in the end,” giit ng grupo.

Kasama rin sa co-signatories sa protest letter sina former Comelec Commissioner Augusto Lagman, ex-national treasurer Leonor Briones, Philippine Computer Society president Edmundo Casiño, former Congressman Glenn Chong, CEnPEG chairman Temario Rivera, Dr. Gregorio Mariano ng Global Filipino Nation, secretary-general Nathaniel Santiago, at former Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Masa, at iba pa.