Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia and Miru Systems president Chung Jin Bok during the P 18-billion contract signing last month for the lease of an automated election system to be used in the 2025 midterm elections. INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines—Former Caloocan City congressman Edgar Erice on Thursday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the Commission on Elections from implementing its P17.9 billion Automated Election System (AES) contract with South Korea’s Miru Systems Co. Ltd. and their partners for the 2025 national and local elections.
Erice said the contract violates the provisions of Republic Act 7369, or the Automated Election Law, specifically the provisions on bidding procedures and the use of prototype machines during elections.
“We will become guinea pigs. It is against the law,” said Erice.
Aside from the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or a writ of preliminary injunction, Erice is urging the SC to nullify Comelec’s en banc resolution dated February 21, 2024, which awarded the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) contract to MIRU and its partners, St. Timothy Construction Corp. and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies.
He said the contract is highly disadvantageous to the government, describing it as a “robbery in progress.”
“I think the government stands to lose around P10 billion because of this contract,” Erice stressed.
Erice added that so far, next year’s automated election is by far the most expensive.
“It’s the first time we will be spending P18 billion,” he noted.
The petition was filed a day after the SC ruled that Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic-TIM Corporation from participating in the bidding for the P17.9 billion Automated Election System (AES) contract.
Erice said Smartmatic has nothing to do with his petition.
“They have their own fight, too,” he said, adding that he had been preparing for his petition three weeks ago.