Complaint filed vs Brillantes, 7 other Comelec officials

MANILA, Philippines - Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr., two commissioners and five officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were accused before the Office of the Ombudsman of violating the Automated Elections Law.

Automated Elections System (AES) Watch is asking Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to conduct an investigation for the possible impeachment of Brillantes and Commissioners Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph.

In the complaint, AEAS Watch seeks to hold accountable Brillantes, Tagle, Yusoph, executive director Jose Marundan Tolentino Jr.; deputy executive directors Bartolome Javillonar Sinocruz and Helen Aguila Flores, special bid and awards committee chairman Ester Lomaad Villaflor Roxas, and director Eduardo Dulay Mejos “for their abysmal failure to protect the sanctity of the ballot in their conduct of the May 13, 2013 elections.”

The five Comelec officials will eventually be charged before the Sandiganbayan.

Brillantes and the election officials are accused of allowing the use of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in last month’s midterm elections despite system flaws and problems.

AEAS Watch said: “It is indeed a wonder why, despite the problems encountered by Comelec in the use of the PCOS technology, the respondents... insisted on using it for the May 13, 2013 mid-term elections.”

The complaint said despite the recommendations of the Comelec Advisory Council on June 30, 2010, or a little more than one month after the May 20, 2010 elections, that the PCOS technology may not be used again in any elections, Brillantes and his officials proceeded and even purchased the old PCOS machines that suffered malfunctions and glitches during the testing period.