Solicitor General Jose Calida has urged officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to be vigilant towards Smartmatic Inc. amid a possible commission of electoral fraud.
Citing the Office of the Solicitor General , the report said Calida conveyed his message through a letter to Comelec chairman Saidamen Pangarunan and Commissioners Socorro Inting, Marlon Casquejo, Aimee Ferolino, Rey Bulay, George Garcia, Aimee Torrefranca-Neri.
“Solicitor General Calida found it imperative to inform the Comelec that its act of barring witnesses during the printing of the ballots and the configuration of SD cards as well as the lack of actual review of the source codes by the accredited interested participants violates the 1987 Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code, and other related laws,” the OSG said.
The OSG also expressed concern regarding the alleged security breach involving a former Smartmatic employee, saying it might threaten the integrity of the May 9 elections.“Serious allegations of violations and indiscretion of Comelec providers will be stringently addressed by this Commission,” he said.
“Although we maintain that the Comelec has not fallen victim to any attacks that will amount to a security breach, we will not take these allegations sitting down,” Pangarungan added. Smartmatic, meanwhile, has previously said that it was not a victim of hacking. It also said that the data downloaded by its former employer was not sensitive.