Reyes storms Comelec, incurs TeddyBoy's ire

Former Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes stormed into the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, condemning poll machines for failure to recognize and count votes cast in favor of his son — a congressional reelectionist — during Monday’s field test. "I am here as a private citizen, and I denounce what is happening in this election.. The people have become suspicious of the electoral process. They don't trust the Comelec anymore," said Reyes, who arrived in middle of a briefing with Comelec and Smartmatic officials regarding glitches recorded during Monday's field tests.

In an earlier separate briefing near the Comelec office, Reyes' camp decried the failure of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to tally the votes for incumbent second district Rep. Angelito 'Jett' Reyes during the field tests on Monday. "I [am not here to give a] solution; I am demanding an exhaustive investigation to know [who is culpable]. What they (Comelec) will do is up to them.. This is not acceptable. People responsible must be hanged," Reyes said. Among those who attended the Comelec briefing were Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chair Henrietta De Villa and Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin, a member of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC). Chiding Reyes, Locsin retorted that "[t]hey will be hanged, together with those people responsible for the power outages." Locsin’s potshot was obviously directed at Reyes, whose term at the energy department was marked by scheduled one to two-hour brownouts in Metro Manila and 14-hour long power outages in Mindanao. After Reyes and his camp walked out of the Comelec Session Hall, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal also said: "Also as a citizen, it is also our duty to listen. [We already] explained the root cause." Earlier, the Comelec said that Compact Flash cards were not configured to consider the double spaces in the rear part of the ballot, which contains the names of the local candidates. [See:http://www.gmanews.tv/story/190018/glitches-prompt-comelec-to-stop-testing-of-poll-machines] PCOS not reading 'Reyes' Reyes’ camp said the erroneous tallying of the PCOS machines was discovered when they pushed for a manual count after the field tests. Jett Reyes, along with his brother Marc, who is running for councilor, received zero votes in at least five precincts identified by their camp. In one precinct at the Diosdado Macapagal High School, the election return (ER) from the PCOS machine showed zero votes Angelito Reyes and two for rival Freddie Tinga. But in the manual count of the same precinct, Reyes received seven votes. Tinga’s votes, as in the other three sample precinct results provided by the Reyes camp, were consistent. “The Board of Election Inspectors deliberately prevented watchers during the actual testing and sealing of the PCOS," Angelito Reyes told reporters on Tuesday. Similarly, Marc Reyes did not get any vote in the same precinct, but the manual count showed he got six. The Reyes camp also cited the same precinct ER as counting votes for certain candidates which, after the manual count, was found out not to have received any votes. Candidate for councilor Eric Salonga and Leo Aguilar got six and seven votes from the PCOS ER, respectively. In the manual count, however, Salonga and Aguilar did not have any votes. Another candidate, Lenlen Fortuno, received four votes in the PCOS ER, but only one in the manual count. “If the PCOS was tampered and told not to read the name Reyes, then this calls for a failure of elections. If the defects in the PCOS machines are not remedied, we would call for a failure of elections," Lingkod Taguig’s Atty. Edgar Borje said, adding that the Comelec must provide a special election date for Taguig before June 30, when terms of all incumbents would expire. As of posting time, however, Borje said they are yet to formally submit a written complaint to the Comelec. “We are still preparing the documents to that effect," Borje said. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV