Poll advocacy group expresses concerns over withdrawal of third party in Comelec joint venture

The Manila Times

Poll advocacy group expresses concerns over withdrawal of third party in Comelec joint venture   'Right to know, right now coalition (R2KRN) ,' a non partisan, election advocacy group holds a press conference on Oct. 15, 2024 in a bid to protect the integrity of the 2025 midterm elections. (L-R) Jenina Joy Malaluan, Malou Mangahas, and Nepomuceno Malaluan voiced concerns over the withdrawal of St. Timothy Construction Corp. from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) joint venture that included a P17.99-billion contract with South Korean-based Miru Systems Ltd.  for the automated election system. They urged Comelec to address the legal, contractual, and ethical issues promptly and transparently.   VIDEO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE   Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital  Sign up to our newsletters: https://tmt.ph/newsletters    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein    #themanilatimes  #tmtnews  #comelec  #philippines

Transcript

00:00The COMELEC should still hold the STCC for any account outstanding liabilities related to the contract, and STCC must publicly explain how it plans to meet its obligations despite its withdrawal.

00:16Does that mean it's okay? Let's just leave it at that.

00:20There's an issue with the fund. Has it been divided?

00:24Okay. And then, we think addressing the conflicts of interest like this is critical to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.

00:33But it's not a simple conflict of interest according to the COMELEC because we want to address broader public accountability concerns, both of the COMELEC and the Joint Venture.

00:47Our reason, in our opinion, is that there should be a high level of supervision for public contracts of this magnitude and importance.

00:57When a private entity enters into a contract with the government, especially for a project as critical as the automated election system, it voluntarily submits to a higher standard of accountability compared with that of purely private companies.

01:12Our opinion is that the private party should comply with public laws beyond mere commercial obligations.

01:20The COMELEC has violated its responsibility in the Constitution of the MIRU-JV.

01:26Even more important, this is a governmental role affected by a possibly injured party, 68 million registered voters who will vote,

01:38and tens of thousands of candidates who would win or take over, if they win, over 18,000 elective positions at stake in May 2025.

01:51Truth be told, we believe the MIRU-JV partners are obliged under the contract with COMELEC to act on behalf of the state.

02:01They should deliver clean, honest, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections.

02:08COMELEC and the MIRU-JV should be open to full disclosure on all these details, so that whatever happens, the people will know.

02:20Where will it be supplied? Who is responsible for the supply? And why should we know?

02:31Thank you for watching!

Category

Transcript

Recommended