Colombia data found in Cotabato poll results

Instead of local election results, a compact flash (CF) card  used in one of the precincts in Pikit, North Cotabato yielded the results of the elections in Colombia.

This was one of the major poll irregularities uncovered by the camp of former North Cotabato Governor Manny Piñol in the 2010 elections.

Piñol has filed an electoral protest against former Representative Emmylou Talino-Santos who won the race for the governorship of North Cotabato by over 30,000 votes.

“This matter is very serious and must be brought to the attention of the 2nd (Comelec) Division immediately so that this could be given deeper investigation,” said Piñol’s lawyer Loreto C. Ata.

The data containing the results of Colombia’s election were found after the CF card was decrypted.

‘Shocking’

Ata said the “shocking and troubling” discovery could cast doubt on the credibility of the first computerized elections in the country.

Aside from the CF card, Piñol’s camp also found ballots which were smaller than the official Commission on Elections (Comelec) ballots and ballot boxes which contained ballots intended for different  precincts.

Ata said that he raised these initial findings to the Comelec Second Division in a manifestation filed last Thursday even before the revision and technical investigation of the election for governor of the province is completed.

In his “Omnibus Manifestation and Urgent Motion,” Ata also made the following observations:

1. Mislabeled ballot boxes where boxes purportedly containing ballots and documents for Clustered Precincts (CP) 14, 20 and 39 were found to contain ballots for CP 15, 19 and 36.

2. Ballots used in the initial precincts reviewed measured 8.5 inches in width and 25 inches in length which were shorter than the official ballot size of 26 inches.

3. Mixed ballots were found inside the box for CP 33 in Barangay (village) Salat, President Roxas. The half-torn ballots, rejected ballots, and minutes of voting (MOV) found inside pertained to CP 33 but 558 ballots which were supposed to be physically counted pertained to CP 21 in Barangay Simone, Kabacan which bore ballot ID 4713021.

Missing returns

4. Missing copies of Election Returns, Statement of Votes, and Minutes of Voting. No copies of ERs were found in the ballot boxes of 22 clustered precincts which is 39 percent of the total initial 56 precincts subjected to recount, no Statement of Votes were submitted for 14 CPs and no copies of MOVs were found inside the ballot boxes for 14 CPs.

“What is most shocking and troubling is the discovery of the CF that contained election results from Colombia, South America. What was it doing in the town of Pikit where I lost by almost 20,000 votes?” Piñol asked.

Piñol said his lawyers have moved for the decryption of all the CF cards within the next two weeks.

They also asked the Comelec to provide them with copies of the election data received on the day of the elections by the Comelec Central Computer server to determine whether these are consistent with the votes canvassed locally and the images stored in the CF cards.

Piñol had held the governorship of North Cotabato for nine years before he moved down as vice governor for three years.

Political observers described Piñol’s loss as one of the biggest upsets in the 2010 elections.

Unofficial surveys in North Cotabato had shown Piñol leading over his opponent.