Duterte in Japan
President Duterte has left Japan. His plane took off at 8:58 p.m. Philippine time, reports The STAR's Alexis Romero.
President Duterte has left Japan. His plane took off at 8:58 p.m. Philippine time, reports The STAR's Alexis Romero.
President Rodrigo Duterte says he wants the Commission on Elections to drop tech provider Smartmatic.
"Dispose of Smartmatic, look for a new one free of fraud. It is no longer acceptable to me, the people. I think it promotes cheating," he says at a gathering of the Filipino community in Tokyo.
Duterte said he was supposed to ask Comelec to stop using the machines of Smartmatic in his next State of the Nation Address
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) May 30, 2019
Smartmatic has been Comelec's tech provider since the 2010 polls, when elections were automated.
The midterm elections earlier this month saw vote-counting machines malfunctioning, although Comelec said it encountered fewer problems this year than in previous automated elections.
According to early reports on election day, there were around 400 to 600 cases of malfunctioning vote counting machines by midday, a 220% increase against the number that malfunctioned in the 2016 polls.
The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, is hearing an electoral protest filed by former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo, whom the former senator has accused of poll fraud. — with a report from The STAR/Alexis Romero
President Rodrigo Duterte says he wants the Commission on Elections to drop tech provider Smartmatic.
"Dispose of Smartmatic, look for a new one free of fraud. It is no longer acceptable to me, the people. I think it promotes cheating," he says at a gathering of the Filipino community in Tokyo.
Duterte said he was supposed to ask Comelec to stop using the machines of Smartmatic in his next State of the Nation Address
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) May 30, 2019
Smartmatic has been Comelec's tech provider since the 2010 polls, when elections were automated.
The midterm elections earlier this month saw vote-counting machines malfunctioning, although Comelec said it encountered fewer problems this year than in previous automated elections.
According to early reports on election day, there were around 400 to 600 cases of malfunctioning vote counting machines by midday, a 220% increase against the number that malfunctioned in the 2016 polls.
The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, is hearing an electoral protest filed by former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against Vice President Leni Robredo, whom the former senator has accused of poll fraud. — with a report from The STAR/Alexis Romero
Malacañang denies that President Rodrigo Duterte's trip here is a reward for cabinet members as it claimed that their presence is needed to promote "stronger cooperation" between the Philippines and Japan.
Philippine ambassador to Japan Jose Laurel V previously said about 20 cabinet members were allowed to join the trip because Duterte was elated by the results of this year's midterm polls.
Eight of the 12 senatorial bets backed by Duterte won in the election, which was widely seen as a referendum for his administration.
The president's delegation is composed of about 200 people, including cabinet members, local officials and their staff, Laurel said.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the claim that the trip is a reward for cabinet members was not logical because the president had barred them from campaigning for administration candidates.
"The Palace does not share the position or remarks of Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose C. Laurel V concerning cabinet members joining the president in this trip to Japan," Panelo says. — The STAR/Alexis Romero
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo says over 25 business agreements will be signed during President Duterte's working visit to Japan that will bring about around P300 billion investments in the country and projected employment of at least 80,000 jobs.
— with Alexis Romero
Malacañang says it does not share the position of Philippine Ambassador to Japan Jose Laurel V on Cabinet members joining President Rodrigo Duterte in his Japan trip. Laurel said Duterte is elated by results of the recently held polls and the trip may be a reward for Cabinet members.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo says Cabinet members were prohibited by Duterte to campaign for administration candidates during the last elections so it is "therefore sans logic that they can be rewarded when they were disallowed from contributing to the reason or cause for the grant of reward."
"The good ambassador may have been either innocently speculating for lack of information or may have been misinformed of the nature of the trip of the Cabinet members. The latter's presence is necessary," Panelo adds.
— with Alexis Romero
President Rodrigo Duterte is in Japan to attend an economic forum and to join in rountable meetings.
He will also meet with the Filipino community in Japan to talk to them and give them updates on what the government has been doing.
Duterte arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday evening.
JUST IN: President Duterte has arrived here in Tokyo (Arrival time: 8: 52 p.m. Philippine time) | @alexisbromero
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) May 28, 2019
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