Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros expressed concern on Monday on the possible effects of the withdrawal of St. Timothy Construction Corp. (STCC) from its joint venture with Miru System, the country’s election technology provider.

In a statement, Hontiveros urged the Senate to exercise its oversight functions and look into the contracts awarded by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the upcoming midterm elections, citing several “red flags.”

“The Senate should exercise its oversight functions and closely investigate the contracts being awarded by Comelec for the facilitation of the 2025 elections,” she said.

“We cannot afford to resort to manual elections or any scenario that could affect the right of every Filipino to vote and choose our next leaders,” she added.

Red flags

According to her, the sudden withdrawal of STCC, a key partner in the procurement of voting machines for the 2025 national elections, was a “red flag.”

STCC was one of three local partners in the joint venture led by the South Korean-based Miru Systems for the automated election system for the May 2025 elections.