Inihayag ng Commission on Elections nitong Miyerkules na inalis na nito ang Smartmatic sa lahat ng procurements.
Ayon kay Comelec chairperson George Garcia, hindi na makakasali ang Smartmatic sa bidding ng procurement.
“We disqualified Smartmatic to participate in all Comelec procurement,” sabi ni Garcia matapos ang isinagawang en banc session ng poll body.
Kung matatandaan, ang petisyon laban sa Smartmatic ay inihain ni dating Department of Information and Communications Technology chief Eliseo Mijares Rio Jr., Augusto Cadelina Lagman, Franklin Fayloga Ysaac, at Leonardo Olivera Odono noong Hunyo 15.
Inihayag nila na ang Smartmatic ay “hindi nakasunod sa ilang minimum system requirements na nagresulta sa malubha at malubhang iregularidad sa paghahatid at pagtanggap ng election return” noong 2022 polls.
Ayon sa resolusyon ng en banc sa petisyon laban sa Smartmatic, nadiskwalipika ang service provider dahil sa mga alegasyon ng panunuhol laban kay dating Comelec chairperson Juan Andres “Andy” Bautista “kapalit ng paggawad ng kontrata para sa election machines sa Smartmatic Corp.”
“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 in the integrity of the electoral process,” sabi ng en banc resolution.
Binanggit rin ng Comelec en banc ang bigat ng mga alegasyon na may kaugnayan sa panunuhol at mga kompromiso na proseso ng pagkuha at kinilala ang “napipintong banta sa lakas at integridad ng ating mga demokratikong proseso.”
“The Comelec (En Banc) cannot overlook the serious, unresolved allegations against Smartmatic related to previous elections. Although these allegations stemming from incidents potentially spanning at least three election cycles, have not been conclusively proven their gravity and potential to damage public trust warrant the Commission (En Banc’s) proactive measures to safeguard the integrity of elections and democratic institutions,” sabi ng resolusyon.
