Brillantes doubts fraud in 2016 polls, credibility of Sotto’s source

A former chair of the Commission of Elections (Comelec) has expressed doubts on the alleged irregularities in the 2016 elections, saying he has yet to see actual evidence of tampering with the automated election system.

Sixto Brillantes, however, said that it was up to Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, not the Comelec, to prove his allegations of poll fraud.

In a forum at Manila Hotel on Monday, Brillantes said Sotto’s source could be someone who had also doubted the automated system in the past.

Rehashed allegations

“I am surprised with the statements of the senator. I cannot comprehend it. Who is his source? I am worried that I know who it is, and, I think, the source should not be believed,” the former poll chief said.

Brillantes said it was possible that the source may just be rehashing allegations raised after the country’s first automated elections in 2010.

Transmission irregularities

“Once we know who is this source, we may know if this is true or false, or is this the same person talking about fraud in automation since 2010,” he added.

Sotto had alleged in a privilaged speech that the 2016 poll results might have been altered due to irregularities, such as the transmission of votes a day before the actual counting of ballots.

“We had three automated elections. I have yet to see any single evidence of cheating or manipulation of results,” he said.

Citing an “impeccably reliable source,” Sotto said the election servers were also accessed by a foreign entity before, during, and after the elections.