Why the rush, bishops ask poll execs on PCOS

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) have urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to revoke its “holiday rush” resolution awarding a P300-million contract to Smartmatic for the diagnostics of 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

In a letter to the Comelec following the CBCP plenary assembly last week, 25 bishops also called on the election body to defer any action on the matter until after the retirement of Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. and Commissioners Elias Yusoph and Lucenito Tagle next month.

“Lack of time is no excuse for such undue haste. Past election timetables were even shorter. Besides this ‘lack of time’ is due to the Comelec itself not acting promptly as they were warned much earlier,” the bishops said.

The bishops were referring to Comelec Resolution No. 9922 issued on Dec. 23, which directly awarded to Smartmatic the diagnostic project, the first phase in the refurbishment of the 82,000 PCOS machines to be used in the 2016 elections.

“The haste lacks prudence and the amount is far too high just to diagnose the machines,” noted the prelates.

“As leaders of the Catholic Church acting in support of the advocacy for clean elections…we call on the Comelec to heed the demand to rescind [the resolution] and that any decision to this effect be deferred until after the retirement of three outgoing officials… and the appointment of their replacements,” they said.

At a forum in Manila on Monday, CBCP public affairs chair Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the letter was crafted and signed during the CBCP plenary assembly at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila last week. The letter was delivered to the Comelec on Jan. 21.

But he clarified that the issue was not part of their agenda and the CBCP did not have time to tackle it during the assembly.

Pabillo said more bishops might have signed the letter if they were not pressed to submit it in time for the Comelec en banc meeting. “We were not able to circulate it longer during the assembly,” the prelate told reporters.