Palace to ‘follow’ Comelec inquiry on 2016 polls
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday said it will leave the matter of possible election violations in the 2016 polls to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III revisited the general elections that year in a privileged speech on Tuesday, raising the possibility of “electoral sabotage” and of vote transmissions ahead of Election Day, May 9. The senator cited a “concerned and impeccably reliable source” as the basis of his speech.
Mr. Duterte won by a landslide of some 16 million votes in 2016. But the vice-presidential contest was immediately beset by controversy over an alleged correction by poll company Smartmatic in the automated polling system. After an early lead by then senator Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Election Day, Maria Leonor G. Robredo thereafter overtook Mr. Marcos and was subsequently proclaimed vice-president.
The Marcos camp in a statement on Wednesday said, “We congratulate Senator Tito Sotto for bringing the election anomalies to the attention of the public,” adding the “the issues raised by Senator Sotto need to be investigated and all the questions he asked need to be answered by both Smartmatic and the Comelec.”
“Informed observers have wondered why — despite all the evidence of massive cheating committed by Smartmatic, the Comelec still awarded them the contract to do the same thing all over again in the forthcoming 2019 elections. We have never understood Comelec’s insistence in again awarding Smartmatic despite the multitude transgressions attributed to it,” the Marcos camp also said.
Mr. Sotto, interviewed at the Senate on Wednesday, confirmed the Comelec’s coordination with his office following his speech but said, “Hindi pa kami nakakapagsetup ng meeting ( We have yet to set up a meeting).”
The senator said he looks forward to an inquiry by the Senate committee on electoral reforms and people’s participation before the congressional break toward the end of this month. By then, he said his source is willing to testify in an executive session.
Mr. Roque for his part also said, “Walang duda po na ang kampo ng Presidente mas maraming boto ang nakuha ni Presidente kaysa sa 16 million.” (There’s no doubt to the President’s camp that he won by more than 16 million votes.)
“So posible po iyan pero hinahayaan na ng Presidente na magimbestiga muna ang Comelec at tingnan natin kung meron ngang mga election violations na naganap,” he added. (That is possible, but the President is leaving it to the Comelec and let’s see if indeed there were election violations.)
Mr. Roque said further: “So, susubaybayan po natin iyan, dahil ang Presidente naman ay tagapagpatupad ng ating mga batas at napakaimportante po ng ating election laws, dahil ang ninanakaw ay ang mandato ng taumbayan.” ( So we’ll follow that, because the President is the implementer of our laws and our election laws are very important, because what is being stolen now is the people’s mandate.)
Mr. Roque also noted in part that “wala po tayong (we have no other) election contest other than ( for the post of ) vice- president and the last seat in the Senate.” —