Robredo camp urges Comelec to probe reported Smartmatic breach

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of presidential candidate and Vice President Leni Robredo has urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to fully investigate the reported security breach of election service provider Smartmatic and take appropriate action.

“Regardless of the candidate we support, we can all agree on the importance of honest, peaceful and credible elections,” Robredo’s spokesman, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, said.

“But we should be responsible in making any claim regarding supposed ‘breaches’,” Gutierrez added.

Following an executive session on Thursday, senators have expressed concern over the reported breach involving Smartmatic.

Among them were Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who is running for vice president, and Sen. Imee Marcos, who chairs the committee on electoral reforms and whose brother in running for president.

Comelec, for its part, maintained that all systems that will be used in the upcoming elections are safe and accurate, adding that no hacking incident occurred within the agency’s systems.

The reported breach is currently being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation, Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and National Privacy Commission, among others.

Ex-DepEd chiefs back Leni-Kiko

Six former secretaries and at least 90 former officials, staff and teachers from the Department of Education (DepEd) have endorsed the tandem of Robredo and Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

Among those who signed the statement of support were former DepEd chiefs Edilberto de Jesus, Fe Hidalgo, Mona Valisno, Jesli Lapus, Florencio Abad and Armin Luistro.

De Jesus, Hidalgo, Valisno, Abad and Lapus served during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, while Luistro was the education chief during the term of the late former president Benigno Aquino III.

According to the former education officials and employees, Robredo and Pangilinan “both bring solid experience and a grounded understanding of the education sector, its challenges and what needs to be done.”

“A vote for them on May 9, 2022, goes beyond electing sincere, genuine and competent leaders. A vote for them is a vote for quality education for all Filipino learners,” they added.

They stressed the need for leaders who will advocate lifelong learning for all Filipinos and understand the value of education in every person’s life and as the foundation of our country’s development and growth.

Earlier, thousands of educators and academics from different institutions expressed their support for Robredo’s bid for president, including at least 117 current and former presidents and heads of schools, colleges and universities.

These include former Commission on Higher Education chairpersons Patricia Licuanan, Angel Alcala and Ester Garcia and former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general Edicio dela Torre.

Faculty and other members of the academic community of the University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, San Beda University and the Asian Institute of Management have also issued statements supporting the Vice President.

Also supporting Robredo and Pangilinan were over 100 members of the religious order Society of Jesus, more commonly known as the Jesuits, and the De La Salle Brothers of the Taft Community.

These include Ateneo de Manila University president Roberto Yap, former Ateneo de Manila president Jose Ramon Villarin, Ateneo de Cagayan-Xavier University president Mars Tan, Ateneo de Naga University Roberto Exequiel Rivera, De La Salle Philippines president Raymundo Suplido and De La Salle University president Bernard Oca.

Robredo and Pangilinan were in Pagadian City on Friday to conclude their four-day visit to Mindanao, which included campaign stops in General Santos, Cotabato, Basilan and Zamboanga, among others.

Bishop challenges Bongbong

Meanwhile, a Catholic bishop has challenged presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to put into action what he said about abiding by what the court orders him to do with respect to his family’s alleged ill-gotten wealth.

“The presidential candidate has been very consistent in his statements, saying he will abide by the orders of the court… I think it’s about time he walks his talk,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, Caritas Philippines national director.

Bagaforo’s statement came after Marcos said at Wednesday’s “Kapihan sa Manila Bay” forum that he is leaving the issue with their lawyers, stressing that he would do whatever the court orders.

But he emphasized that there is a lot of fake news involved on the alleged illegally acquired assets of his family, including the estate tax cases against them.

Bagaforo said that if Marcos wants to clear his family’s name, he would have to do it honestly and sincerely. “Even your great-grandchildren will be haunted by a past they did not make or choose,” said the prelate. – Robertzon Ramirez