IT’S ELECTIONS SEASON for Filipinos this first half of 2025. While most of the voters believe that their one vote can make a difference in coming up with the right leaders for the country, many concerns occupy their minds. The last elections last May 9, 2022, handled by Comelec headed by Chairman George Erwin Garcia, with Smartmatic, has been found riddled with doubts about its credibility.
Offhand, why was Comelec headed by Atty. George Erwin Garcia, the lawyer of presidential candidate, Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos? Isn’t this set-up quite suspicious, and the appointing power and Atty. George Erwin Garcia should have had a sense of “delicadeza” about getting personally involved, managing the election exercise? Why did Comelec not disqualify presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, who was convicted by the Court of Appeals for non-payment of real estate taxes, worth millions, due in the 1980s?
IT experts, the TNT trio, composed of former DICT secretary Ret. Brig. Gen. Eliseo Rio, Jr., former Comelec Chair Gus Lagman, and ex-FINEX president banker Franklin Ysaac, and other IT professional groups, had a lot of questions about the results of the election, but so far there has been no satisfactory response from Comelec.
Why did Comelec publish as early as 7pm, the official closing time of voting, the count of 20 million votes for Ferdinand R. Marcos, when there were administrative tasks to be undertaken only after 7pm? The TNT requested as early as in June 2022 to see the Transmission Logs for perusal, but only after many months did Comelec respond, but gave Reception Logs, which were useless. Why did Comelec use one mysterious IP address, 192.168.02, to send voting results to many provinces within an hour of ballotings’ end at 7pm?
With the silence of Comelec in providing satisfactory answers and explanations on the simple questions and requests made, Comelec must be hiding the truth about the May 9, 2022 elections.
Comelec, in an En Banc Resolution dated November 29, 2023, allowed retired Gen. Eli Rio and his team to open ballot boxes of their own choice for examination. But when the TNT chose to open ballot boxes in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, Comelec reversed its own Resolution with another En Banc Resolution, dated July 3, 2024, wherein no ballot boxes would be opened anymore. Why?
Petitions were filed with the Supreme Court to compel Comelec to give the Transmission Logs to the TNT trio, but no favorable response from Comelec. With the silence of Comelec in providing satisfactory answers and explanations on the simple questions and requests made, Comelec must be hiding the truth about the May 9, 2022 elections.
Comelec, with Chairman George Erwin Garcia, using a new technology from Korea, Miru, will be handling the May 9, 2025 elections. Smartmatic was discarded, and a Hybrid Election System (HES), as demanded by many reform-oriented-organizations, including the TNT trio, as a guarantee for transparency and fairness, and to prevent any rigging of the elections, was not adopted by Comelec.
Just lately, a CPA, Atty. Jeryll Harold Respicio, an experienced IT Auditor, wanted to help Comelec about preventing any hacking on its use of the technology in the coming elections this May 2025. But, without giving him any hearing about his concern for a hacking-free election process, he was slapped by Comelec with a possible case of Cyber libel, threatening to disbar him and withdraw his professional standing as a CPA. Why didn’t Chairman George Erwin Garcia simply meet personally with Atty. Harold Respicio and listen to his side before thinking of taking a drastic move.
Thus, a valid question: Will Comelec manage the 2025 elections with integrity and fairness?
