‘Comelec servers not hacked’

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon yesterday reiterated that contrary to a news report, the servers that would be used in the upcoming national and local elections were not hacked.

In a post on her official Twitter account, Commissioner Guanzon said, “Our servers were not hacked. Fake news.”

Guanzon made the tweet after officials and agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted a site inspection of the Comelec’s warehouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

In an interview over GMA 7, NBI Director Eric Distor denied that hacking took place in the Comelec’s warehouse where the vote counting machines (VCMs) are stored.

Distor said they checked the configuration and testing areas, and “we are convinced walang nangyaring hacking dito.”

But a more thorough investigation would still be conducted by the NBI’s Cybercrime Division (CCD) National Capital Region, and their Special Project Team.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had also said that last Saturday, “The NBI conducted a physical security inspection of the Comelec facilities in Laguna, together with representatives from Smartmatic and the Comelec. Certain documents were turned over to the NBI for validation and authentication. A thorough investigation is now in progress.”

Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo accompanied the NBI during the site inspection last Jan. 15 and said that the bureau officials saw that “our system is stand-alone. It is not connected to the internet or any network and there is still no data being generated here. So wala ka pa pwede makuha (information) dito.” – Paolo Romero