THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, May 31, 2019, admitted it was caught off guard by President Rodrigo Duterte call for an end to all transactions with Smartmatic International.
Speaking at a media forum in Manila, Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez said they did not expect Duterte to speak against Smartmatic, whose machines were once again used in the just concluded May 13 National and Local Elections.
"It was not expected that he will be that specific. Because whenever the President talks to the Filipino community overseas, he always speak about elections in general," said Jimenez.
"We had no idea. We didn't have inside information that he is planning to give such a statement. So what he said last night, that is the first time we heard it also," he added.
During his meeting with the Filipino community in Tokyo, Duterte urged the Comelec to end its deal with the multinational technology firm in the wake of the issues that plagued the midterm elections.
Duterte, while acknowledging the commission's independence, said he would advise it to dispose of the vote counting machines (VCMs) of Smartmatic and look for a new technology partner that is free of fraud.
According to Jimenez, a proper evaluation and assessment of the VCMs is exactly what the Comelec will do three weeks after Election Day.
"It comes from the President, which has more weight and importance, thus making it imperative for the Comelec to evaluate his statement," Jimenez said.
"And we have a lot of aspects from the statement of the President that needs to be studied. So, definitely, over the next few days, this will really be a major discussion in the Commission," he added.
Asked if granting the President's wish to junk Smartmatic is feasible, Jimenez answered in the affirmative.
"It is clear to us that Smartmatic has no hold on the Comelec except for the fact that they always win the bidding," he said.
"There is always that chance that we can have a different provider because we undergo public bidding. So there is always a chance for that," added Jimenez.
But as to the possibility of blacklisting Smartmatic, he was non-committal.
"What we will need is a legal basis to ban any supplier. We will have to look into that," he said.
Jimenez said they do not have any idea yet as to who can be their new technology partner.
"It will really depend on who will respond to our request for proposal. As of now, we are not yet actively looking because our focus is still in the last elections," said Jimenez.
Since the 2010 elections, the Comelec has always partnered with Smartmatic, mainly in the provision of the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines for 2010 and 2013 as well as the VCMs for 2016 and 2019.
In the 2019 elections, however, the only participation of Smartmatic is to provide technical support to the Comelec. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)