Brillantes walks out of congressional hearing on poll automation

Former Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Sixto Brillantes on Tuesday walked out of a joint congressional hearing on the Automated Election System held at the Senate.

This was after stakeholders insisted to activate the feature of vote-counting machines to print receipts after the voting process.

Brillantes insisted that the Comelec rejected the said feature thrice—first during the stint of former chairman Jose Melo, the second on his term, and the latest by Chairman Andres Bautista.

In the three separate rejections, the Comelec en banc voted 7-0.

“Tatlong komisyon na ‘yan, tatlong eleksyon na—7-0 nung 2010, 7-0 nung 2013. Sinabi na kanina ni Chairman Bautista, 7-0 sila, ayaw nila ng resibo. Ibig sabihin, hindi kami nag-aaral lahat? ‘Yung pinagsasabi ni Chong doon… Pito kaming nag-aaral, nagde-deliberate. Ano ba namang klase ‘yan? ‘Yan pa rin ang pag-uusapan ngayon? Ang daming problemang iba,” Brillantes said.

(It had been three commissions, three elections–7-0 in 2010, 7-0 in 2013. Chairman Bautists has already said, they voted 7-0, they don’t want receipts. Does that mean that we are uneducated? What Chong has been saying there…It’s seven of us who are educated, who deliberated. What is all this? Are we still talking about this until now? There are many other problems.)

Brillantes called the group pushing for the printing of vote receipts as “detractors,” particularly alluding to the recommendation of lawyer Glen Chong. CDG/TVJ

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