Published on Tuesday, 18 June 2013 20:07
Written by Joel R. San Juan
THE Automated Election System (AES) Watch, an election watchdog, on Tuesday filed a second complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman seeking the investigation of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. and other poll commissioners for an alleged impeachable offense they committed in the purchase of 80,000 poll machines.
AES Watch, through former Vice President Teofisto T. Guingona Jr., asked the Ombudsman to investigate Brillantes, together with Commissioners Lucenito N. Tagle and Elias R. Yusoph on their culpability that may result in their impeachment in accordance with Section 22 of the Ombudsman Act.
The group accused the three incumbent election officials of committing “supreme betrayal of public trust” by conspiring with Smartmatic executives for the purchase of “highly problematic” 80,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan machines.
It added that the commissioners knew about the highly-questionable performance of the Smartmatic-supplied automated election system (AES) in the 2010 elections and that the Venezuelan company, being a non-owner of the technology, could not correct the program errors in preparation for the 2013 midterm elections.
“Conspiring with one another, the respondents removed the safeguards provided by law in implementing the AES to the extreme prejudice of the electorate,” the group said.
Aside from the three elections commissioners, the group also named Smartmatic executives, led by Cesar Torres, a Venezuelan salesman and Comelec Executive Director Jose M. Tolentino Jr., as respondents in the complaint.
Lawyer Rommel Bagares, volunteer lawyer of AES Watch, said while the incumbent election commissioners may not be sued in a criminal proceeding because of their constitutional immunity from suit, they may be subjected to an investigation by Ombudsman for purposes of an impeachment proceeding under Section 22 of the Ombudsman Act.
Bagares also said the proceedings may also later be turned into a criminal investigation, once the Comelec officials retire, resign, or are removed from office.
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