Poll exec wants Smartmatic to pay for UV lamps

An official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday said that poll machine supplier Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM), not the poll body, should pay for the ultraviolet (UV) lamps that will be used to verify ballots on election day. Comelec Law Department head Ferdinand Rafanan hinted that Smartmatic-TIM should pay for the cost of the UV lamps because it was the supplier firm’s fault that the poll body had to disable the UV scanner on the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and to find a substitute UV device to be used in ballot verification. "Kung hindi naman kasalanan ng Comelec, bakit Comelec ang mananagot diyan (If it's not the Comelec's fault, why should the Comelec take responsibility)," he told reporters in an interview. Rafanan said that the PCOS machine should be able to read the UV ink as required in the contract with Smartmatic. "We have principles of law [that] when you cannot perform your obligation, you are liable for it," he said. The poll body official added that they were not consulted on who was to shoulder the payment for the lamps. Earlier, the Comelec said that it will be using hand-held UV lamps to verify the ballots’ authenticity, after the high-speed printing of the ballots caused the UV marks on the ballot paper to misalign, making it hard for the PCOS machine to read the security feature properly. (See: Ultraviolet lamps will be used to check ballots’ authenticity) But political analyst Ramon Casiple, a member of the Comelec Advisory Council, disclosed that the voting machines could not read the security features because Smartmatic-TIM actually failed to supply the correct type of ink for the UV marks. (See: ‘Wrong’ ink used in printing ballots’ UV security markings) Smartmatic spokesman Gene Gregorio, however, denied the accusation and said that they were not aware of the use of any "wrong ink." He likewise told GMANews.TV in a text message that the decision to deactivate the UV scanner of the PCOS came from the Comelec. Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that they are in the process of bidding out the order for 77,000 UV lamps for the 76,340 clustered precincts in the May polls. He said that the poll body has allotted P30 million for the purchase. —JV, GMANews.TV