Romualdez bares glitch in overseas polls

Martin Romualdez INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / ELOISA LOPEZ

SENATORIAL candidate Martin Romualdez is asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to look into reports that votes for certain candidates were not accurately reflected on the receipts at the ongoing Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV).

The Leyte representative said the Comelec and Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp. should explain reports that votes made in his favor were being credited to another senatorial candidate, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares.

“We should address this soon because it might happen again in the absentee voting in other countries and during the May 9 elections in many parts of the country,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez cited a complaint by a certain overseas voter, Andreas Amba, who claimed that he voted for Romualdez but his ballot receipt showed the vote was credited to Colmenares.

The Inquirer tried but failed to get a comment from Comelec officials as of press time.

The government has opened Philippine embassies, consulates and other posts to the estimated 1.36 million registered overseas voters for the OAV, which will run from April 9 to May 9.

Colmenares, for his part, said he was “intrigued and puzzled” by Amba’s report.

“This may be a case of both fraud and black propaganda and we are writing the Comelec to inquire on the matter. We want to know all the circumstances regarding that incident and we want the said ballot retrieved,” he said.

Colmenares said he had no capacity to order Comelec or Smartmatic to cheat for him because he had been critical of the two.

“I think that there is an effort to discredit me through black propaganda. Historically speaking we are the ones who are always the victims of harassment and attacks during elections,” he added.