Election lawyer cautions Senate against plan to probe poll glitches

MANILA, Philippines — A veteran election lawyer cautioned the Senate against its plan to conduct an inquiry on the faulty vote counting machines (VCMs) during the May 13 elections.

Lawyer Romulo Macalintal said a public hearing could negatively affect the credibility of the election results.

He said the losing candidates could also use the investigation to prove their claim that the election was rigged.

“Siguro mag usap yung oversight committee pero di na kailangan ng public hearing baka akala ng taong bayan kung ano nangyari sa ating eleksyon,” Macalintal said during the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.

[Perhaps the oversight committee should just talk. There is no need for a public hearing because the public might think that something happened in our election.]

“I would suggest executive session na lang. Just make a press release on what happened. Kung magkakaron ng public hearing, anjan na naman mga lawmakers mag grandstanding at the expense of the Comelec, at the expense of the electoral public. Dapat iwasan yan,” he added.

(If there is a public hearing, the lawmakers will be grandstanding at the expense of the Comelec, at the expense of the electoral public. It should be avoided.)

“If you conduct a joint public hearing now, the losing candidates can use it in saying that they were cheated,” said Macalintal.

A total of 961 VCMs and 1,665 SD cards suffered glitches during Monday’s midterm polls, Comelec said Tuesday.

But the poll body said the SD cards have been replaced. (Editor: Eden Estopace)