1 week ago
9
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to file more charges against a vice mayoral candidate in the province of Isabela for allegedly spreading misinformation that the upcoming elections can be manipulated.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia disclosed over the weekend that the commission will file two more cases against CPA-lawyer Jeryll Harold Paz, a candidate for vice mayor in the municipality of Reina Mercedes, Isabela.
According to Garcia, the Comelec Task Force Katotohanan, Katapatan at Katarungan (KKK) sa Halalan will file an election offense complaint against Respicio for violating Section 261(z)(11) of Batas Pambansa Bilang 881 or the Omnibus Election Code, which carries a prison term and disqualification as candidate.
Section 261(z)(11) prohibits the propagation of false and alarming information with the intent to disrupt the election process or cause confusion among voters.
Garcia said that in relation to the criminal offense, the Task Force KKK will also look into the filing of a disbarment case before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines against Respicio and the removal of his license as a certified public accountant or CPA before the Professional Regulation Commission.
Get the latest news
delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters
By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Last week, the Comelec filed a criminal complaint against Respicio before the city prosecutor in Manila for violating Article 151 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Respicio has uploaded videos on the internet which suggests that automated counting machines that will be used in the May 12 national and local elections can be hacked.
Garcia said that Respicio's video, aside from being sources of misinformation, "are very dangerous, because if you think about it, as early as now, the minds of the people are being conditioned to concur with his thinking that the elections can be manipulated."
"We want to prove that a person cannot just freely utter words that undermine the credibility, not just of the Comelec as an institution, but of the election itself," said Garcia. "You cannot display superficial bravery and then not face the consequences of your actions."
For this year's polls, Comelec has signed an P18-billion contract with South Korean firm Miry Systems for the Lease of Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC).
The FASTrAC contract is for the lease of 110,000 customized automated counting machines (ACMs), including the provision of ballot boxes, servers/laptops and printer, ballot printing, ballot papers and ballot verification, that will be used in the 2025 midterm polls.
Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco said that in the terms of reference (TOR), specifically the technical specifications of the FASTrAC, the ACMs and servers are standalone the whole period of voting and counting, and connected to the Telcos "only" at the point of transmission, which is after the closure of voting and printing of the first eight election returns (ERs), assuring everyone that the digital results cannot be altered in any way.
"Everyone at the precinct practically is already in possession of the printed ERs, which can be readily used to verify the transmitted ERs real time at the election results website which we will put up on Election Day, add to the fact of the multiple data centers and servers which will simultaneously receive transmissions from the ACM (send to all)," explained Laudiangco.
He also pointed out that the ACM is only enabled to transmit digital election results and made intentionally to have "no reception" capability, further reducing points of vulnerability.
"All these measures, which will similarly be implemented in the Transmission Services and the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS, Internet Voting), all add to the resilience and robustness of the whole Automated Elections System," added Laudiangco.
The FASTrACT is an upgraded optical mark reader paper-based automated elections system with direct recording electronic (DRE) capabilities.
Under the approved TOR, the FASTrAC system shall have the following features: precinct-based upgraded paper-based AES but with DRE capabilities, which still utilize a paper ballot; election results shall be sent immediately and directly from the ACM to the KBP dominant majority party, dominant minority party and citizens arm serves, and the ballot box shall include a separate box for the voter verifiable paper audit trail or voter's receipts.
