Marcos: ‘Smartmatic sold a system of cheating’

Former Senator Ferdinand “Bong bong” Marcos entertains questions from the media during a news forum.

Former Senator Bongbong Marcos has asked the government to adopt a “hybrid” system for the upcoming elections, after he alleged that Smartmatic, which automated Philippine elections, had allowed cheating to happen.

“They (Smartmatic) are not here to sell an election system, they are here to give a system of cheating,” Marcos said in a forum in Quezon City on Friday.

Marcos claimed that even the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking into the possibility of electoral fraud as it is exploring a hybrid automated-manual counting system for the next elections.

“Maliwanag na maliwanag na in 2010, 2013, and 2016, marami nang instances na na-prove na talagang meron silang (Smartmatic) ginagawa na hindi sumusunod para baguhin ang resulta,” he alleged.

“Even Comelec has admitted that, because in the subsequent hearing on the exposes of Atty. Glenn Chong, sabi nila we will study the possibility of a hybrid system,” he added.

In the 2016 presidential elections, Marcos, the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos, ran as vice president. He lost to now Vice President Leni Robredo.

He contested the election results and filed an electoral protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET). /muf

READ: Bongbong Marcos hopes to speed up probe on vote recount