Junio Says Smartmatic Is Not Vulnerable To Election Stupidity

Jan. 30,2010
Junio Says Smartmatic Is Not Vulnerable To Election Stupidity
By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-Is the common allegation, among some losing candidates during elections that fraud and cheating were allegedly committed, can totally be erased with the change in the voting system to computerization or automation? Can the claim Manila-programmed and configured computers that are going to be used in the upcoming national elections be tampered for re-programming and re-configuring by the computer experts in different places where elections are to be held under the alleged connivance in favor of any high ranking government officials who seek for re-elections?
Provincial assistance COMELEC officer Reuel Junio explained that the Smartmatic company has an independent connections not connected to any person or group with vested interest. “The computerization voting is not vulnerable to fraud and cheating since the computers to be used cannot be re-programmed or re-configured by just anybody who is skilled in computer operations”, he said.”Smartmatic will not gamble any kind of stupidity that will damage its reputation. The company whose main base is in Argentina has branches in Europe, Latin America, and USA that earns billions of dollars. It will not swap its good image to connive in committing fraud or cheating in the upcoming elections on May 10, 2010 by any re-electionist high ranking government official who has the clot with the current administration.”
He implied any aspiring candidate in the coming national elections either for president, senator, congressman or mayor should not imagine for themselves in fear or apprehension that fraud and cheating would be committed during the first ever held computer automation elections this coming May 10, 2010.
On the other hand, he said that the total number of voters in Maasin City alone at present, old and new, is 50,095 including new registrants.
He informed that the filing of certificates of candidacies has started November 20 and will end on Dec.1, 2009 at midnight.
He urged interesting and aspiring candidates for any government positions to file his/her certificate of candidacy as soon as possible. “They should not wait for the deadline when potential candidates would be crowding inside the COMELC offices”, he said.
Junio clarified that next year’s national elections cannot be postponed by any Congressional degree or resolution because the date itself in holding the scheduled elections is a constitutional mandate. “Only an amendment of the 1987 Constitution can change its schedule”, he said.
However, he pointed out that barangay elections are statutory and that its schedule can be changed if there’s a need for the postponement.
He further informed that next year’s national elections will involve the Presidency and its Vice, Senators, Congressmen, municipal and city Mayors.Barangay elections, on the other hand, has no schedule yet and its election schedule can be changed,Junio reiterated.
When asked about the total number of voters including the new registrants, he said that at present his office is still gathering some data send by election officers in different municipalities of the province. They are still in the process of consolidating all the data sent to them with only 2 municipalities that have not yet send their total voters list.
He said that most probably, the 2 municipalities which he did not mention its names will send theirs the following day or the next and that in less than 2 weeks time any media entity can get the total number of voters provincewide.”We have to re-check the data sent to us before releasing it to the media”, the assistant COMELEC officer said.
He added that COMELEC shall be sending its election results on May 10,2010 thru the telecom companies like Globe, Smart, Sun and the talk and text messages.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)