Election watchdog Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) on Saturday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to answer bribery allegations thrown against the poll body.
In a radio interview, LENTE executive director Rona Ann Carlitos welcomed the transparent response of Comelec Chairperson George Garcia.
“Tama rin na head-on siya ina-address at hindi isinasantabi lang kasi isa siyang direct attack sa Commission and sa integrity ng procurement sa mga makina (It is also right that he addressed it head-on and did not just put it aside because it’s a direct attack on the Commission and the integrity of the procurement of machines),” Carlitos said.
“Yun naman po ang kailangan e, bukas ka. Kung wala ka namang itinatago e di okay ka lang sa pag-iimbestiga at nagbigay pa nga siya ng consent para sa pag-imbestiga sa kanyang mga account (That's what's needed, you should be open. If you have nothing to hide, then you should be okay with the investigation and he even gave consent for the investigation of his accounts),” she added.
Garcia on Wednesday asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council to probe the allegations that he was accepting bribes from a South Korean firm through offshore banks.
This after Sagip partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta accused him off receiving arcoleta said at least P1 billion worth of funds from the firm via offshore accounts.
Carlitos, however, said that the allegations will affect the credibility of the upcoming 2025 polls.
“Makakaapekto po yan kasi ang inaatake naman po diyan ay yung pagkuha ng mga bagong makina at pagkuha ng bagong provider (Of course it will affect the credibility of the elections because what is being attacked there is the acquisition of new machines and the acquisition of a new provider),” Carlitos said.
“Usually kapag may ganyan na pagbabago may lagi namang mga agam-agam o pagi-isip na ano kaya nangyari behind closed doors (Usually when there is such a change there are always doubts or thoughts about what happened behind closed doors),” she added.
Comelec awarded in February 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.
“Tandaan natin yung makina naman talaga ang magbibilang ng ating mga boto. At kung mayroon pong atake doon sa makina, ayan po ay atake rin sa kredibilidad at integridad na magkakaroon tayo sa darating na taon (Let's remember that the machine will actually count our votes. And if there is an attack on the machine, there is also an attack on the credibility and integrity that we will have in the coming year),” she added.