Reluya: Set aside PCOS authentication

CEBU, Philippines - In order to save time and avoid delays in the resolution of her election protest, outgoing San Fernando Mayor Lakambini Reluya is asking the Revision Committee of the Regional Trial Court to dispense with the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines authentication in the 47 duly secured and uncompromised ballot boxes.

Reluya, through her lawyers, moved for the immediate continuation of the manual recounting of the ballots in the 47 ballot boxes.

She further prayed that should a party challenges the authenticity of a particular ballot during the recounting the latter should have the burden to present evidence to the contrary.

Reluya likewise prayed that the court hearing her election protest should already make the necessary representation with the Commission on Elections in Manila for the re-acquisition of the PCOS machines used during the elections in San Fernando.

Reluya explained that this is to save time in the event that a party would insist on assailing the authenticity of any particular ballot. According to them, it would not be easy to re-acquire the PCOS machines since it was already in the warehouse of Smartmatic.

RTC Judge Ramon Daomilas who chairs the Revision Committee said that the PCOS machines were merely rented by the Comelec during the elections and are now deposited in the Smartmatic warehouse in Laguna.

It would require another lease contract between the COMELEC and the Smartmatic to enable the Revision Committee to get hold of the PCOS machines.

Considering that the PCOS machines used in San Fernando, Cebu have specific serial numbers, it would likely take many months for Smartmatic to sort out the PCOS assigned at San Fernando, out of the 76,000 PCOS used throughout the Philippines now in storage.

None of the parties in the instant case however has challenged the authenticity of the ballots contained in the secure boxes.

The Revision Committee noted during their examination that the integrity of the 47 ballot boxes has been preserved and no proof of having been tampered.

Reluya filed an election protest against Mayor-elect Antonio Canoy after she discovered alleged irregularities in six precincts. Reluya lost to Canoy during the May 10 elections by over 1,000 votes.   (FREEMAN NEWS)