SC asked to stop destruction of defective CF cards

Three unsuccessful presidential candidates who are contesting the results of the recent elections have asked the Supreme Court to stop the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from destroying thousands of compact flash (CF) cards that were found defective. The candidates were Sen. Jamby Madrigal, Nicanor Perlas, and JC de los Reyes, who filed an 11-page petition through lawyer Jose Aspiras with the Supreme Court on Monday. In their petition, the three asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction against the implementation of Comelec Resolution 8914, which seeks to destroy the 76,000 CF cards and delete the final testing and sealing (FTS) data from the canvassing laptops used during the country’s first nationwide automated polls. “Comelec’s justification for destroying the CF cards – that they may fall into the wrong hands – and for deleting the FTS data – the [Board of Election Inspectors] may just inadvertently transmit them as election results – does not outweigh the greater and more primordial right of the Filipino people to know if the P7-billion automated election system funded by their taxes really works or not," the petitioners said. The assailed Comelec Resolution, promulgated on May 12, “require the Board of Canvassers to bring the [Consolidation and Canvassing System] laptop of the affected C/MBOC to Manila, and validate the correct election result for inclusion in the consolidation, deleting the FTS result from said C/MBOC, as well as in the Central, Backup and KBP servers." The next day, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body has ordered the destruction of the CF cards that malfunctioned fear that these might get “into the wrong hands." The petitioners, who questioned the alleged “indecent haste" with which the Comelec wants to destroy the CF cards and delete the FTS data, also asked the high court to direct the poll body to turn over custody said items to Congress in accordance with the automation law. Petitioners further said that destroying the data in the CF cards and FTS would suppress vital evidence that the Congress oversight committee on poll automation would need if it were to carry out its mandate to review and assess the automated polls. - KBK, GMANews.TV