Dayanghirang: Salceda behind PCL election glitches

DAVAO. Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang. (Photo by Macky Lim)
DAVAO. Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang. (Photo by Macky Lim)

THE camp of Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang accused Legazpi City Councilor Jesciel Richard Salceda as behind the computer glitches that resulted in the failure of election in the Philippine Councilors League (PCL).

Dayanghirang, during Monday's (March 2) Kapehan sa Dabaw press conference at The Annex of SM City Davao, said prior to the election day on Thursday, February 27, all voting machines were tested and certified as functional by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the oversight agency of the PCL election.

PCL national board members declared a failure of election after some discrepancies were observed on the voting system.

Dayanghirang and Salceda are running for the national chairman position.

Salceda, in a statement posted on his Facebook account February 29, said the first round of testing of the election machines showed that votes cast for Salceda were counted for Dayanghirang.

He added the following test showed that while only 10 test votes were cast, the results showed 15 votes.

He also said no receipts were printed by the machine, thus, making it questionable.

"Clearly, these are not computer glitches but deliberate cheating attempts to rig and steal the elections! [sic]," Salceda said.

Salceda even called Converge IT Solutions, the system provider of the election, "more primitive" than the software used in student council elections.

However, Dayanghirang contradicted his rival's statement. He added that Salceda's camp is the cause for the system glitches.

He said lawyer Miles Raquid Arroyo, Salceda's legal counsel, insisted on introducing some features in the voting system software, which was agreed by the provider.

"All the mismatches of names resulted only after they introduced the new features. The voting area was compromised in terms of security," Dayanghirang said.

"(The) IT guy of the other camp was already at the machine to gain access, dictating the features to the official programmer hired by PCL," Dayanghirang said, adding the changes resulted in problems with the voting system.

Following the mismatches during the test run of the election machine, there was an attempt to fix it, Dayanghirang said. However, it was unknown if the voting system was restored to its original state.

Dayanghirang said around 3 p.m. of election day, Salceda's camp demanded a manual voting instead but the PCL did not allow it since most of the councilors already left the polling venue.

During the elections, Dayanghirang said some of the votes for him went to Salceda.

Based on reports Dayanghirang received from his staff, some votes intended for his partymate, Jose Nelson "Tata" Sala Sr., who ran as national president, also went to Salceda.

"But what is always highlighted in the social media is my name only excluding the other candidates in question who were also affected in the trial test," Dayanghirang said.

Despite the postponement of the election, Dayanghirang said based on the surveys conducted before the election day and during the actual date, he could have won.

In a survey conducted on February 19, he received a total of 78 percent approval rating, while on February 26, a day before the election, his approval rose to 83 percent.

Following the postponement, the board passed a resolution postponing the election to a later date and an Ad Hoc Committee is formed to coordinate with DILG to set the date of elections within 60 days starting Thursday.

The board also passed a resolution to conduct an immediate investigation on the failure of the automated elections and to report its recommendations to the national board.

Dayanghirang said he will respect the decision of the board, whether to conduct the election on a regional or provincial level.

He had previously questioned Salceda for allegedly engaging in massive vote buying by depositing, through a law firm, a manager's check amounting P7.3 million to the PCL's bank account.

Councilors speak up

Jovellar, Albay Councilor Michael "Mike" Arellano Anzano expressed his disappointment following the declaration of the failure of election.

"What harassment are you talking about? Shame on you, you left us councilors waiting for nothing. Is it not proper that we all should be informed about what has transpired during the board meeting? We have the right to know! We are just asserting our right. Our right to vote and our right to a fair and clean election. You all should be held accountable for this [sic]," Anzano commented on one of PCL's Facebook live video.

Tiaong, Quezon province Councilor Rec Rec Baldeo, meanwhile, commented on the live video "Refund," expressing refund on the expense spent by the local government unit.

PCL Cebu president Francis Salimbangon said in a statement on his Facebook account that he was allegedly bullied by Salceda after he refused to support the latter.

"It is unfortunate that bullying tactics such as this have to be resorted to in what should otherwise be a civil and transparent elections among equals and public servants," Salimbangon said in a statement released on February 26, 2020.

Salimbangon said Salceda refused to support him as he is expected to be impartial being a member of the league's Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Fellow Davao City Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr., meanwhile, showed his support to Dayanghirang, calling him a "proven and tested" leader.

Mahipus also urged his fellow councilor to "remain united under PRRD (President Rodrigo Duterte) and the 'tapang at malasakit' principle."


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