Smartmatic’s defense: Comelec knew about tweak in script

An official of Smartmatic clarified on Friday that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has been informed about the changes they made in the script of the transparency server.

The changing of the hash code in the transparency server triggered speculations from the camp of Senator Bongbong Marcos that there were irregularities in the unofficial counting of votes for vice presidential candidates. Leading the race with more than 200,000 votes is Liberal Party’s Leni Robredo.

“We cannot operate the platform without having the other half of the password which is with the Comelec. A Comelec representative typed their password in when the change was made,” Marlon Garcia, Smartmatic’s technical support team leader, told the media on Friday.

READ: Namfrel: Smartmatic personnel violated protocol, should be reprimanded

Garcia also emphasized anew that the changes did not affect the vote count results as these are merely cosmetic and not critical.

During the press conference at the Comelec’s canvassing center in Pasay City, Garcia demonstrated in front of Comelec officials and the media how he changed the “?” in the names of candidates into “ñ.”

Before encoding the changes in the transparency script, Garcia said both Smartmatic and Comelec representatives entered the password to access the system.

“There was Comelec authority to access the system. The change in the script was announced to political parties present. You may ask them that their attention was called (before the encoding). The process in particular was transparent,” Garcia said.

To prove that Comelec gave consent to Smartmatic before effecting the changes, Garcia said there are footages of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at the command center of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) the Comelec could review.

But Comelec commissioner Rowena Guanzon, after Garcia’s demonstration, hit Smartmatic for breaking the protocol and failing to seek the consent of the Comelec en banc.

READ: Guanzon: Smartmatic broke protocol, should be held accountable

Garcia said they did not raise the issue to the en banc because the changes that had to be made did not require any financial disbursements. He said: “There are just certain matters that need to be escalated to en banc.”

Guanzon lambasted Garcia for this statement and said: “That’s his interpretation. He’s not the client. We intepret the contract in favor of the government. Their lawyers know that, that’s why we asked them to bring lawyers. It’s not for Smartmatic to tell us how to interpret the contract.” CDG/rga