House opposition mulls filing of impeachment case against Abalos

Opposition lawmakers at the House of Representatives are planning to file an impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. and two others for the purchase of automated counting machines (ACMs) allegedly overpriced by P500 million.

House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, United Opposition secretary general, said they had agreed that San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora would head the team set to determine the possible liability of Comelec officials.

"We designated a team led by Congressman Zamora to look into it, study and prepare the necessary papers," he said.

Commissioners Florentino Tuason and Resurreccion Borra may be included in the impeachment complaint, he added.

However, Zamora said they were not yet filing a complaint since they still needed to consolidate all the documents and consult with lawyers on the basis of the complaint.

"We are going to consult lawyers about the papers and documents concerning the controversy," he said. "But we are not yet building a case now, we are at the stage of examining the papers."

Last week, Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo accused Abalos, his successor as Comelec chairman, of benefiting in the contract his office had struck with Mega Pacific to purchase the ACMs.

The 2,000 purchased automated counting machines — costing the government P1.3 billion — were overpriced by P500 million, he added.

Abalos has denied the allegations.

He said it was "very unfair" of Benipayo to accuse him of the irregularity when the agency had complied with all the rules on the bidding.

"There’s no overprice," he said. "I will be forced to file a libel case against Benipayo if he will not rectify it. The institution (Comelec) is the one that is losing."

Speaking to reporters at a forum at Serye Restaurant in Quezon City, Abalos said he lamented that the conclusions made by the Supreme Court justices were based on "assumptions."

"The SC is not a trier of facts," he said. "The agency estimates were arrived at by technological experts. There is nothing in there that suggests overpricing. And the counting machines were 100 percent accurate, according to the DST (Department of Science and Technology)."

Last week, House secretary-general Roberto Nazareno rejected the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Oliver Lozano against Abalos because it failed to comply with the rules requiring a House endorser.

Meanwhile, the Senate has inserted a provision in this year’s proposed P3.3-billion Comelec budget that P1.6 billion intended for the purchase of machines, devices, equipment and software for the automation of elections may not be touched while present officials of the poll body are still in office.

Introduced by Sen. Joker Arroyo, the proviso states that the procurement has to be consistent with the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Information Technology Foundation, et al vs Comelec issued last year, as well as the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

During the Senate hearing, Abalos said the proposed P1.3 billion allocated for the procurement of ballot-counting equipment presumes that the Comelec would not be able to use the machines purchased earlier through the Mega Pacific deal as ruled by the Supreme Court.

"Because if the Modernization Act that we now have could be amended giving us more elbow room for using appropriate technology, not necessarily the modern technology or most modern technology, but the appropriate technology, Your Honor, we may be able to save on that," he said.

The P1.3 billion of the P1.6 billion budget would be used for capital outlay or the purchase of equipment needed for automated counting of votes, Abalos said.

In its ruling, the SC declared void the contract between the Comelec and Mega Pacific eSolution Inc., and ordered the Comelec to refrain from implementing any other contract or agreement regarding the project.

It also found that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion due to irregularities and violations of its own bidding rules and procedures.

Arroyo, Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman, which investigated the alleged scam, said no automation procedures should be implemented as long as Abalos and the other officials involved in the Mega Pacific deal remained at the Comelec. — With reports from Marvin Sy, Mayen Jaymalin