Members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday warned that if the attacks on the propriety of the P18-billion automated election contract of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with Korean firm Miru Systems continue, the country may revert to the stone age of manual vote counting, a press release from the House of Representatives said.
“‘Why are we going to go back to stone age? We are already at this point of time that we are following what the global community is doing in terms of elections,” said Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin.
1RIDER Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said he is alarmed about the timing of those who wish to impugn irregularities on the award of the contract to Miru by Comelec, especially that the 2025 midterm elections is very near.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong shared the concerns of Gutierrez on reverting back to manual counting of the votes.
Former Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice recently filed an anti-graft and corruption practice complaint against Comelec Chair George Garcia with the Office of the Ombudsman over the P18 billion contract with Miru.
Earlier, SAGIP Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta questioned Comelec’s awarding of the contract following the alleged existence of 49 offshore bank accounts that received money from South Korean banks.
Adiong said it is up to the courts to decide on the propriety and legality of the award.
Garin agreed with the two lawmakers, saying that reverting to manual counting of votes will taint the outcome of the midterm elections.*
