(UPDATE) THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified and disallowed technology provider Smartmatic Philippines Inc. from participating in all its public bidding and procurement processes.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia on Wednesday said the decision had nothing to do with the petition filed against Smartmatic in June by former Information and Communications Technology secretary Eliseo Rio, former Comelec commissioner Augusto “Gus” Lagman, Franklin Ysaac and Leonardo Odono.
Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said the decision of the en banc was related to the questionable procurement during the 2016 elections won by Smartmatic.
The Comelec cited the request for official documents relative to the investigation by the United States government of former Comelec chairman Juan Andres Bautista and other individuals and entities for violation of US criminal laws.
It said the request from the US government was in pursuance of the Philippine-United States Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters relative to the alleged violation of US criminal laws that include Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering.
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The evidence requested by the US prosecutor, it said, was crucial “for tracking the flow of payments and identifying other individuals involved in the alleged scheme.”
“It is noteworthy that Bautista, who served as the Chairman of the Commission, was formally charged in September 2023, in connection with allegations of receiving bribes in exchange for awarding a contract for election machines to Smartmatic Corp,” the 17-page Comelec resolution read.
“Bautista and others are alleged to have laundered the bribe money through multiple entities. It was revealed that Bautista established a foreign shell company, which was used to receive bribe payments from Smartmatic. The charges against Smartmatic and former Chairman Bautista are of public knowledge and tend to cause speculation and distrust of the electoral process.”
“Given the gravity of allegations related to bribery and compromised procurement processes, as independently determined by foreign bodies, the Commission recognizes the imminent threat to the strength and integrity of our democratic processes. In the light of these findings the Commission acknowledges the imminent peril to the integrity and robustness of our democratic institutions,” it further said.
It said that “the allegations not only undermine and cast a shadow over the procurement protocols but also threaten to erode the public’s confidence in the electoral system.”
Aside from disallowing Smartmatic, the poll body also referred the matter to the Special Bids and Awards Committee for “possible permanent disqualification and blacklisting from all government procurement proceedings, not just in relation to elections.”
Rio and his group filed a petition against Smartmatic in connection with the alleged irregularities in the 2022 elections.
Smartmatic won all the biddings of the Comelec since 2010 when it first bagged the election automation project.
In 2015, Smartmatic was post-disqualified by the SBAC in the P2.503 billion contract for the supply and lease of 23,000 units of precinct-based optical mark reader (OMR) counting machines for its failure to submit valid articles of incorporation and for the failure of its demo unit to meet the system requirement.
The SBAC decision was, however, reversed by the Comelec en banc.
Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon on Wednesday hailed the Comelec decision.
“The Comelec just did the best and timely move, disqualifying Smartmatic from participating in any upcoming and future elections in the Philippines,” Gadon told The Manila Times via Viber.
“Smartmatic is a cheating machine,” said Gadon, who ran under the ticket of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the May 2022 polls.
He claimed that Smartmatic cheated Marcos in 2016 when he ran for vice president.
“In 2022, Smartmatic was unable to cheat PBBM (in reference to the President) by reason of the overwhelming turnout of voters, which resulted in the 31 million votes of PBBM,” Gadon said.
Gadon alleged that Smartmatic also cheated some Senate candidates.
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