Manila prosecutor’s office hears Marcos’ complaint vs. Smartmatic, Comelec anew

Photo: Bongbong Marcos/Facebook

MANILA—The camp of Smartmatic on Thursday volunteered to make a presentation before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office (MPO) to explain the technical aspect of the Automated Elections System (AES).

The presentation was volunteered by Smartmatic during the preliminary investigation before the MPO in connection with the complaint for violation of Section 4-a of Republic Act No. 10175, or the “Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012”, filed by former Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan Dela Cruz, the campaign adviser of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., against the officials of Smartmatic and information technology (IT) experts of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The complaint involves the alleged “alteration” made by Marlon Garcia, of Smartmatic, in the “hash code” in the transparency server of the Comelec at the height of the transmission of votes during the May 9, 2016 elections.

Atty. Adrian Aumentado, the legal counsel of the complainant, attempted to block the presentation, arguing that, based on the rules, only the prosecutor can order the “clarification”.

However, Prosecutor Rector Macapagal allowed the presentation, but it did not push through because the camp of Marcos argued that they have no sufficient time for such a presentation.

The camp of Marcos also asked for ample time for the submission of clarificatory questions on Smartmatic and Comelec.

This prompted the MPO to defer the hearing of the case and reset again the same on July 21, 2016.