Dennis Uy denies acquiring Smartmatic ‘partner’

MANILA, Philippines — Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy has denied reports circulating on social media that he acquired last year the local IT company Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) to influence the outcome of the recently concluded midterm elections.

Monday’s polls saw the victory of many Duterte allies and the opposition failing to get even a single seat in the Senate. However, on social media, the elections were marred by allegations of cheating. One viral video claimed that ballots were pre-shaded.

The camp of Uy, a known long-time supporter of President Duterte, said there is no truth to the reports.

“There is absolutely no truth to the allegations that the Udenna Group or its chairman, Dennis Uy, purchased a local IT company called TIM,” said Udenna spokesman Adel Tamano to refute claims in various social media platforms that Uy had purchased TIM to affect the outcome of the 2019 national elections.

TIM is reported to be the local partner of Smartmatic, which provided the machines for the automated elections.

“As law abiding citizens who respect the democratic electoral process, we take these allegations very seriously,” stressed Tamano, a lawyer.

He hinted that Udenna Group might take legal measures against individuals who started the report.

“In fact, we have instructed our security and legal teams to investigate this matter, specifically on who are the persons making these ridiculous claims. We are considering the filing of civil and/or criminal cases, if necessary, to protect the reputation of Dennis Uy and the Udenna Group,” he added.

A post on Facebook alleged that Uy “scrambled to buy” TIM in late 2018.

The post, which could no longer be found, insinuated election cheating as it claimed that the Commission on Elections servers are housed in one of TIM’s data centers.

The Comelec itself has been looking into different allegations of fraud, with its officials saying it has started an investigation into a video showing alleged pre-shading of ballots.

The 39-second video that is being shared online shows a woman supposedly pre-shading several ballots. The post said the alleged incident happened in Lanao del Sur.

Social media users were alarmed by the video, noting such incident raises questions on the credibility and integrity of this year’s elections.