THE call to blacklist Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) continues to gather steam with a former high-ranking government official calling on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ban the Venezuelan firm.
Prof. Leonor Magtolis-Briones, a former national treasurer, said the Comelec should no longer tap Smartmatic for having a “not-so-good record” as proven by the numerous complaints and legal issues and hurdles against it.
“Bakit uulit pa tayo? Hindi na kanais-nais ang record nila sa dami ng complaints and legal issues laban sa kanila,” Briones said in a news statement released by the Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections (C3E). This developed as more than 5 million registered voters are likely to be disenfranchised in the coming 2016 nationwide elections due to incomplete or lack of biometrics data voter registration, or the automated identification of an individual particularly his/her photograph, fingerprint and signature.
Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez announced that the “NoBioNoBoto” campaign is gaining ground as the number of voters without biometrics data has gone down from 9 million to 5.02 million.
The voters’ registration will be running until October 31, 2015.
Under Republic Act 10367, or the Mandatory Biometrics Voter Registration Act of 2013, registered voters with no biometrics will be deactivated for the succeeding elections and therefore, be disenfranchised. On Wednesday the Comelec announced that the voters’ registration will be suspended nationwide from December 21, 2014 until January 4, 2015. Thus, on January 5, 2015, the remaining 5.02 million voters should start registering for biometrics to avoid being disenfranchised.
“In observance of the holiday season and in order to provide Comelec personnel nationwide ample time to prepare for the scheduled Election Registration Board Hearings, voters’ registration nationwide will be suspended,” Jimenez said.
Based on Comelec Resolution 9853, the commission may adjust or suspend the registration period whenever necessary. The voters’ registration will be running until October 31, 2015.
Briones said she is prepared to go to court if the Comelec awards a P1.2-billion contract for the refurbishment of about 82,000 used Precint Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to its reseller Smartmatic.
“Nakadalawang eleksyon na tayo, at saka andaming palpak ng Smartmatic,” she said, adding that she had firsthand experience of the inefficiencies and defects of the PCOS machines having been in the field in the past elections.
She added that aside from its poor track record, numerous experts from the election and information-technology fields have already given their input and are convinced that the PCOS is prone to tampering.
Briones added that the PCOS, like computers, are considered to have zero value three years after it has been first used, and can no longer be subject to repair, nor can parts be bought for replacement.
Since the PCOS were used in the 2010 elections, she said, technically, they are now past three years old and therefore can no longer be repaired.
According to Briones, this is among the main issue she will raise should the Comelec continue to insist on directly awarding the repair and upgrade contract to Smartmatic.
Earlier this week, the Comelec Bids and Awards Committee declared that Smartmatic and Indra Sistemas S.A. were eligible to proceed to stage two of the bidding process for additional 23,000 units of Optical Machine Reader.
The decision was met with protests from groups, including the Philippine Computer Society, Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz and the C3E, citing deficiencies in the eligibility documents submitted by the Venezuelan firm, particularly its tax clearance certificate and articles of incorporation.