Comelec to hear petition on Smartmatic disqualification  

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to hear a petition seeking to prevent technology provider Smartmatic from participating in future elections.

“We will schedule a formal hearing on the petition to disqualify Smartmatic from Comelec procurement,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said yesterday.

Garcia has created a task force that would handle the investigation into the alleged irregularity in the bidding for the procurement of vote counting machines.

He said the US government has sought the Comelec’s help in a money-laundering case filed against former Comelec chairman Andres Bautista.

“They asked us for some documents and to interview certain people from the commission,” Garcia said, adding the poll body granted the request of the US government.

Last month, the US justice department filed money laundering charges against Bautista for allegedly receiving  bribe from Smartmatic, which provided the vote-counting machines used during the 2016 presidential elections.

The US report said Bautista awarded Smartmatic a $199-million contract for the supply of 94,000 VCMs.

Bautista has denied the allegations.

Response

Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the hearing is the poll body’s response to the petition previously filed by the group of former Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio.

“Based on the poll body’s rules of procedures, the Comelec en banc will order respondent Smartmatic to comment on the petition,” Laudiangco said.

He said Smartmatic should submit its comment to the Comelec Clerk of Court before the scheduled hearing in the coming week.

Rio’s group sought the disqualification of Smartmatic due to alleged irregularities during the general elections conducted three years ago.