Marcos camp files raps vs Smartmatic execs, Comelec IT rep

MANILA, Philippines – The camp of vice presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday filed criminal charges against four Smartmatic and three Commission on Elections (Comelec) Information Technology (IT) Department personnel for their alleged unauthorized change of the script in the transparency server of the poll body.

Marcos, through his legal counsel Jose Amor Amorado, filed a complaint for violation of Section 4, Chapter II of Republic Act 10175, or the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2010” before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office (MPO).

Among the charged were Smartmatic Project Manager Marlon Garcia, General Manager Elie Moreno, Project Director Neil Banigued, a member of Smartmatic Technical Support Team and Rouie Peñalba, IT Officer of Comelec.

Amorado said the Republic Act 1017 punishes offenses that affect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems, including "illegal access of any part of a computer system without right."

Marcos’s lawyer claimed they have enough evidence to prove the errors of Smartmatic executives and the Comelec IT representative based on statements of the poll body that the script was changed without authorization.

In his privilege speech at the Senate on Monday, Marcos said his camp discovered irregularities after Garcia changed the script in the transparency server on the evening of the May 9 polls. 

Marcos also asked the Comelec to conduct a system audit in the servers used in the May 9 polls. — Rosette Adel