Poll chief urges SC to rule on purchase of PCOS machines soon

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — Commissions of Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. called on the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, to speed up the resolution of a case questioning the poll body’s purchase of the controversial Precinct Count Optical Scan machines for the 2013 midterm elections.

Brillantes said with the high court’s membership reduced to 14 following the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona, even a “tie vote” could win the case for Comelec.

“If the voting is 7-7, I’m OK with it since we will be the winner; the petitioners have to get eight votes,” the Comelec chairman told reporters in an interview.

Brillantes said that a speedy resolution of the case would also speed up the Comelec’s preparations.

“Our entire lives are devoted to automated elections. If we lose the case, it’s over. If we win, we’ll have smooth sailing (process) and our preparations would be underway. I hope that we will win,” he added.

On Monday, acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio said the PCOS case would be among the first to be tackled by the Court en banc in its session on Wednesday.

Last April 24, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order, which barred the Comelec from exercising its option to purchase some 80,000 PCOS machines worth P1.8 billion from the poll body’s 2010 automation service provider, Smartmatic Corp.

Election watchdogs, information technology groups and other civil society leaders challenged the Comelec’s decision before the Supreme Court. They claimed the option-to-purchase provision under the old Comelec-Smartmatic contract had already expired. They also questioned the reliability of the machines, which, they said, was riddled by glitches and errors during the 2010 polls.

The Supreme Court held oral arguments for the case in May. The tribunal, however, did not lift the TRO.

Brillantes said he and the Comelec commissioners have been hoping for a Supreme Court resolution on the matter so that the poll body would not suffer time constraints in preparing for the 2013 midterm elections.