SC votes in favor of P7.2-B poll automation contract

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the legality of the government's P7.2-billion contract for the automation of next year's national elections - a ruling that was leaked earlier this week. In a 49-page en banc ruling penned by Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr., the court said it did not find grave abuse of discretion when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) awarded the contract to the partnership of Smartmatic and Total Information Management (TIM). The court said the petitioners - the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) - were unable to present "factual basis" for the arguments they raised in their July 9 petition seeking to nullify the deal. It said the petitioners, led by University of the Philippines Prof. Harry Roque, failed to prove that the joint venture agreement between Smartmatic and TIM is not valid and that the consortium did not qualify to be granted the award of the automation contract. The high court noted that the joint venture remained an unincorporated entity during the bid-opening and evaluation stages, and that its non-incorporation was without a vitiating effect on the validity of the tender offers. “Petitioners’ beef against the TIM-Smartmatic JVA is untenable. First, the Comelec knows the very entities they are dealing with, which it can hold solidarily liable under the automation contract, should there be a violation," the court said. Secondly, it said, there is nothing under RA 8436 or the 1997 Poll Automated Election System law that says all suppliers, manufacturers or distributors involved in the transaction should be part of the joint venture. It said there is no abdication of the Comelec’s mandate and responsibility, contrary to the petitioners' fears, as there is nothing in the contract that says Smartmatic should be charge of the technical aspect of the counting. In its petition, the CCM also questioned the reliability of the precinct count optical system (PCOS) machines that would be used for the elections, noting its high margin of error. The Supreme Court, however, said the machines passed the technical requirements for the computerization of the 2010 polls. It also said that pilot tests on the machines, which were requested by CCM, were unnecessary as this was not a Comelec requirement. Voting with the majority decision were Chief Justice Reynato Puno, and Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Renato Corona, Minita Chico-Nazario, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Mariano del Castillo and Roberto Abad. Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales and Arturo Brion dissented. Puno came up with a separate opinion saying fears that the automation program would fail should not be overwhelming since the Comelec has placed safeguards. “Full automation will not completely cleanse the dirt in our electoral system. But it is a big forward step which can lead us to the gateway of real democracy where the vote of the people is sacred and supreme," Puno said. SC spokesperson Midas Marquez told GMA News that the CCM was given 15 days to file a motion for reconsideration. Even as it ruled against the CCM petition, the tribunal said it was up to the Comelec to ensure that an automated election would work. “Neither will it guarantee, as it cannot guarantee, the effectiveness of the voting machines and the integrity of the counting and consolidation software embedded in them. That task belongs at the first instance to the Comelec as part of its mandate to ensure clean and peaceful elections," the court said. Leak Hours before the SC ruling came out, the CCM asked the court to investigate the supposed leaking of the same decision two days ago. Information on the ruling prematurely came out after Comelec chairman Jose Melo reacted positively on Tuesday about the high court's decision. [See: Comelec welcomes reported SC vote in favor of 2010 poll automation] CCM lawyer Roque said Melo’s action constitutes an improper conduct that tends to directly or indirectly impede, obstruct or degrade the administration of justice. “If public respondent Melo can flaunt his commission or illegal acts in obtaining confidential proceedings of the Supreme Court, then, how can he be trusted with the sanctity of the electoral process," petitioners said. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said they got the information from “sources who had been monitoring the progress of the case." With the ruling, Melo said there is no stopping the Comelec from acquiring the PCOS machines that will be supplied by the consortium of Smartmatic and TIM, which the poll body declared as the winning bidder last July 10. Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the new petition would be tackled during the tribunal’s regular en banc session on Tuesday, next week. . - GMANews.TV