PPCRV: Comelec should consider bidders with ‘global experience’

An official of poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) on Wednesday said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) should consider election suppliers with "global experience."

"I think that they should open it to all bidders that have global experiences," PPCRV chair Myla Villanueva said when asked if she shares the view of Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who earlier said “it's about time we stop using Smartmatic," the supplier of vote-counting machines.

Villanueva told reporters that she thinks it's "better" if more technology experts are part of the bidding process.

According to the Comelec, 961 of 85,769 VCMs used on Monday's elections were reported defective, while 1,665 out of the same number SD cards encountered issues.

The Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System (JCOC-AES) has set a June 4 probe into the glitches and other problems that marred the polls.

Meanwhile, the PPCRV's Villanueva said the Comelec should consider possible better systems for elections, more bidding options, and the public's preference. 

But when asked about a suggestion for manual vote counting, she said: "We also have a lot of new millennials... we have people who are so used to their... It's moving back, it's not solving the problem. It's moving backward in time instead of forward in time, looking for better solutions." — BM, GMA News