Namfrel says Comelec did 'due diligence' in choosing Miru Systems

An official from the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections on Friday said the Commission on Elections did "due diligence" in awarding the contract for vote-counting machines to Miru Systems.

"Sa tingin ko gumawa rin naman ng due dilligence ang Comelec kasi yung mga iba-ibang miyembro ng technical committee pati yung mga observers, maraming ni-raise na issues laban dito sa Miru dahil nga sa mga balita na sinasabi na hindi maganda yung performance niya sa mga ilang bansa kung saan siya nag-operate (I think the Comelec also did due diligence because the various members of the technical committee as well as the observers, many issues were raised against him in Miru because of the news saying that its performance was not good in some countries where it operated)," Namfrel Secretary General Eric Alvia told Dobol B TV.

"Pero noong inassess naman ng Comelec at tinanong doon sa election management body ng mga bansang ito, hindi naman totoo. So dahil dito, ito ngayon yung mga rason na nagbigay ng lakas ng loob sa Comelec na ipagkaloob sa Miru yung lease ng elections operations system (But when Comelec assessed and questioned the election management body of these countries, it was not true. So because of this, these are now the reasons that gave Comelec the courage to grant Miru the lease of the elections operations systems)," Alvia added.

Election watchdogs earlier urged Comelec to review the track record of Miru Systems, citing its recent failures and questioning projects in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Miru Systems Company Limited, on the other hand, belied claims of election failures in Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"The allegations of elections failures due to Miru's technology are false, as the company designs, develops, and manufactures secure electoral systems that are of international standard," it said in a statement.

Alvia, meanwhile, expressed hope that the 2025 national and local elections will be transparent.

"Maraming mga rekomendasyon, Namfrel na mismo pati mga ibang grupo pero karamihan dito yung sa Namfrel para paigtingin at gawing transparent yung sistema (There are many recommendations, Namfrel itself as well as other groups, but most of them are from Namfrel to intensify and make the system transparent)," he said.

"Maraming idinagdag sa sistema na wala dun sa dating nakaraang mga automated election systems (Many things have been added to the systems that were not there in the previous automated election systems)," he added.

Comelec on Thursday awarded the contract for vote-counting machines for the 2025 midterm elections to Miru Systems.

The contract is worth P17.9 billion, lower than the Comelec’s budget of P18.8 billion.

The contract included 110,000 automated counting machines, 104,345 ballot boxes, and 2,200 CCS servers/laptops and printers. It also includes the printing of 73,851,934 ballots, ballot papers, and ballot verification.