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Smartmatic switches to Shanghai manufacturer for automated hardware

Poll machines delay up; 2GO opts out

10/25/2009

A failure of elections appears to be looming in the electoral horizon.

Even as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) says poll automation is a go for 2010, having fully automated elections nationwide may not be achieved, and a failure of elections has become a more likely scenario as sources said that Smartmatic may not be able to deliver the automated election counting machines on time.

According to reliable Tribune sources, Smartmatic has already informed the Comelec of the probability of the machines’ delivery, said to be 82,500 machines, being delayed.

Using the typhoon that devastated Taiwan some months back as the reason for the delay, Smartmatic has switched manufacturers from the original Taiwanese firm to a Shanghai manufacturer.

“This (the change of manufacturers) was admitted by Comelec officials in a meeting,” the source said.

When Tribune asked why there was this change from Smartmatic’s original manufacturer, the claim was that the typhoon in Taiwan made Smartmatic decide to subcontract the job to a Shanghai shop.

Asked whether this decision to change subcontractors meant a delay in the delivery, the source said that Comelec officials admitted the “probability of the delay in the delivery” of the automated machines.

It was also claimed by the same sources that the contract for storing the imported machines in warehouses located in different parts of the country and warehousing facilities, as well as other functions and responsibilities of 2GO, such as the location of of the hubs and sub-hubs, earlier announced as having been awarded to the Aboitiz-owned 2GO, is

likely not pushing through, as G20 was said to be opting out of the contract.

No reason was given, although the sources hinted that it could have a lot to do with upfront funds from Smartmatic as well the difficulty of 2GO to ensure the warehousing and positioning of the hubs, as the typhoons that devastated Metro Manila and many parts of Luzon will be causing 2GO difficulties in fulfilling its contract with Smartmatic-TIM.

“With 2GO out of this contract, who gets the contract?” The source said, noting that the Comelec has been extremely quiet about this and its plans along with the schedules of its automated program.

“Comelec officials, when asked at what stage of their preparations is, can’t even seem to answer the question directly, giving us the impression and strong suspicions that the Comelec is itself clueless, or at most, is much too dependent on what Smartmatic tells the poll commissioners,” the sources added.

They also pointed out that the unpreparedness of the Comelec to conduct the automated elections, as well as its reliance on Smartmatic for everything, along with its alleged lack of plans and preparations schedule, plus the alleged decision of 2GO not to participate in the automated polls, all lead to a failure of elections scenario, hinting broadly that this is part of the plan of Malacañang to stay in power and position since a failure of elections will have occurred.

Under constitutional rules, while there is nothing said about a failure of elections, the line of succession states that if a president and a vice president shall not have qualified, the Senate president is mandated to become the acting president.

The problem is that the Supreme Court, in its ruling, has stated that the Senate is not a continuing body, despite the fact that 12 senators would still be in office.

The other problem is that even with 12 senators, a Senate president cannot be elected from among them, since the Constitution also states that a Senate president is to be elected by 13 senators, at the minimum.

Another constitutional proviso states that within 10 days, should a vacancy arise in the seats of the president and vice president, Congress, without the need of a call from Malacañang, must convene and draft a legislative bill calling for special elections that will have to be scheduled at the earliest, in 45 days, and the at the latest, no longer than 60 days.

It also appears, according to a congressional source, that Smartmatic has not put out any money for the manufacture of the automated counting machines, relying instead on funds being released from the Comelec’s budget.

The Comelec contract with Smartmatic, however, if followed strictly by the poll body, calls for the release of the money only upon the delivery of the machines.

“In other words,” the congressional source said, “we are being fried with our own lard.”

The source said the poll officials were asked pointblank whether Smartmatic was spending its money for the manufacture of the automated counting machines or whether the company relies on Comelec for its total funding.

“They (Comelec officials) did not want to answer. It was clear to us that Smartmatic was not putting out any capital for this venture,” the source added.

It was also bared by the sources that it will not be the Comelec that will be printing the ballots but Smartmatic, which places the security of the ballot in question.

In the past elections, it has always been the Comelec that is charged with the printing of the ballots, done only in prescribed printing presses, such as the National Printing Office, with all political parties’ representatives permitted to inspect the security paper, as well as the printing of the ballots.

With the automated polls, it appears that the Comelec has passed on this task to Smartmatic, which will now control the paper, as well as the printing of the ballots.

The sources pointed out that this is much too dangerous.

“We don’t even know what kind of paper will be used by Smartmatic and where these ballots will be printed. Comelec just doesn’t know anything and we are all left to the mercy of Smartmatic.”

The Comelec has advanced the date of the filing of the candidates’ certificate of candidacy, justifying this as a requirement for the early printing of the ballots, estimated at 50 million.

At the same time, there is that problem of disqualification, withdrawal and substitution of candidates, since the ballot style no longer adheres to the voters’ writing down the names of the candidates as the candidates’ names will be printed, and all that is needed is for the voter to fill up the dots.

In the matter of the possibility of former President Joseph Estrada being questioned on his eligibility to run for the presidency again, Comelec chairman Jose Melo said the poll body has no choice but to accept Estrada’s certificate of candidacy when he files it in November. The filing of CoCs will run from Nov. 20 to 30, 2009.

“The presumption is that he is qualified, at this point we will accept his application for candidacy,” he said and have his name included in the ballot.

But once a party moves to disqualify Estrada, the Comelec chief said that would be the time for the poll body to take action.

“If there is an opposition to his application then that will be the time when we will look into it; it will become a case before us. We will probably touch on that, when the time comes,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec officials assured last Thursday that those election officers who are alleged to have been involved in electoral cheating in both the 2004 and 2007 polls have been placed in the freezer.

Thirteen election officers, some of them linked to controversial former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, are currently facing criminal charges and disciplinary action in connection with the alleged anomalies in the 2007 elections.

Among those facing charges in connection with the 2007 poll anomalies are lawyers Ray Sumalipao, current Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional election director; and Lintang Bedol, former provincial election supervisor in Maguindanao, who is at large.

The alleged irregularities in the 2007 elections prompted Comelec to hold special elections in two ARMM provinces, namely Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.

Comelec found Sumalipao guilty of “insubordination and misconduct” in August 2008 while Bedol was charged with “failure to account for election documents, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, and gross insubordination,” among other charges slapped in January 2009.

Also, two provincial election supervisors, lawyers Yasb Nasin (Lanao Del Sur) and Hamilton Cuevas (Lanao Del Norte) were both charged with “insubor-dination.”

Provincial election supervisors Yogi Martirizar (North Cotabato) and Lilian Suan-Radam (South Cotabato), on the other hand, were charged for “electoral sabotage.”

Also charged are five election officers in Lanao Del Sur and North Cotabato and two election assistants in Lanao Del Sur were also charged with violations ranging from “unauthorized registration, illegal deletion and transfer of votes, grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, dishonesty, and simple neglect of duty.”