Comelec official under fire; Smartmatic in the clear

A Commission on Elections (Comelec) official came under fire on Wednesday after it was discovered that he had “blanket authority” to control issuance of computer flash (CF) cards and card burners, two features of the country’s first automated elections held on May 10.

During a hearing of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on Wednesday, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City (Misamis Oriental) pushed for investigation of Comelec Executive Director Jose Tolentino Jr., the project director of the Project Management Office of the commission, after it surfaced that 20 blank CF cards, or memory cards, and two card burners were secretly distributed in the entire province.

A memorandum dated May 9, 2010 showed that Tolentino alone was responsible for farming out the CF cards and card burners.

Addressed to regional election directors and provincial election supervisors, it said that replacement of defective CF cards will be done at the offices of provincial directors of the Department of Science and Technology.

During a joint session of the National Board of Canvassers, House Speaker Prospero Nograles also on wondered why the Comelec gave Tolentino the blanket authority.

The poll official was the same person in charge of overpriced secrecy folders that were to be used in the May 10 voting.

Tolentino said that his absolute power over the distribution of the CF cards and card burners was an administrative matter that “did not need authority from the Comelec en banc.”

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said that there were 1,600 CF cards, not just two, that were distributed, with 80 provincial election supervisors each getting 20 CF cards.

Tolentino admitted that only 400 of the 1,600 CF cards were used, with the remaining 1,200 still in the possession of the provincial election supervisors.

Also during the hearing, Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati City (Metro Manila), chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, cleared Smartmatic—the contractor for the automated polls—of any liabilities in connection with allegations of electoral fraud in the May 10 balloting.

Locsin even said that he would recommend that Smartmatic also automate the 2013 elections.

Despite Teodoro’s good words for Smartmatic, Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales also on Wednesday insisted that there was cheating in the May 10 elections.

Gonzales, however, clarified that his stand was not aimed at interfering with results of the polls that seem to show Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd as the winner of the race for president.

“I [just] want to know why there were fake ballots, why were ballots sold to some politicians, authentic ballots were sold to some politicians and pre-shaded, why the machines accepted fake ballots,” he said.

Gonzales, though, called on Filipinos to “respect” the results of the elections and help correct “deficiencies” in the latest electoral exercise for the nation to be able to move on. –JOMAR CANLAS Reporter with report from Jefferson Antiporda, Manila Times