Comelec says surprised by Duterte’s call to junk Smartmatic

May 31, 2019

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday it was caught off guard by the remarks of President Rodrigo Duterte calling for the poll body to end its dealings with Smartmatic International.

Speaking at a media forum , Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they were not expecting Duterte to speak regarding Smartmatic, whose counting machines were used in the May 13 midterm elections.

Smartmatic machines were used since the Philippines shifted from manual counting to automated counting on 2010.

"It was not expected that he will be that specific. Because whenever the President talks to the Filipino community overseas, he always speak about elections in general," said Jimenez.

"We had no idea. We didn't have inside information that he is planning to give such a statement. So what he said last night, that is the first time we heard it also," he added.

Asked if granting Duterte's wish to junk Smartmatic is feasible, Jimenez said yes.

"It is clear to us that Smartmatic has no hold on the Comelec except for the fact that they always win the bidding," he said.

"There is always that chance that we can have a different provider because we undergo public bidding. So there is always a chance for that," added Jimenez.

During his meeting with the Filipino community in Tokyo, Duterte urged the Comelec to end its deal with Smartmatic due to issues during the midterm polls.

Duterte, while acknowledging Comelec's independence, said he would advise the commission to dispose of the vote counting machines (VCMs) of Smartmatic and instead look for a new one free of fraud.

Jimenez said a proper evaluation and assessment of the VCMs is what the Comelec will do.

"It comes from the President, which has more weight and importance, thus making it imperative for the Comelec to evaluate his statement," said Jimenez.

"And we have a lot of aspects from the statement of the President that needs to be studied. So, definitely, over the next few days, this will really be a major discussion in the Commission," Jimenez said.

But as to blacklisting Smartmatic, he was non-committal.

"What we will need is a legal basis to ban any supplier. We will have to look into that," he said.

Jimenez said they do not have any idea who can be their new technology partner.

"It will really depend on who will respond to our request for proposal. As of now, we are not yet actively looking because our focus is still in the last elections," said Jimenez. DMS