Lawmaker questions purchase of vote-counting machines

A LAWMAKER has questioned the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) decision to purchase 97,000 vote-counting machines worth P2.2 billion from Smartmatic Inc.

Rep. Sherwin Tugna of Citizens Against Corruption partylist said the poll body should explain its decision considering that it also bought Precinct Count Optical Scan machines for the 2010 election that were not used.

“They need to explain what happened there because for one, this action was done during the December rush, when everybody was dealing with Christmas rush. It is hard to attribute words, but this decision raises questions,” Tugna, chairman of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, said.

“The Comelec is saying that it would be cheaper if we rent later time. It’s like if you want to buy a house that you can pay for 30 years, then you go and take a rent to own scheme. You don’t rent it only to purchase it later, and the purchase price does not even include the rental fees you already paid,” he added.

A joint congressional oversight panel co-chaired by Tugna is set to continue its probe on the matter on February 22.

“Since we bought these

machines, their values are depreciating. Comelec, as well as Smartmatic, need to explain this” Tugna said.

“We don’t want these machines to be a white elephant,” ha added.