LP wants 'acceptable' account of poll 'irregularities' from Comelec

The Liberal Party on Saturday asked the Commission on Elections to give an "acceptable" explanation on all the alleged irregularities during the May 13 midterm polls.

LP president Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan in a statement said the poll body must have a "clear and acceptable explanation" to voters' questions, adding that "Lawyers and IT experts have met to prepare for a deeper understanding of what happened in the automated election system."

"Asking what happened and to insist on an explanation from Comelec is the right thing to do. Comelec needs to answer a lot of questions. We are gathering all the reports and complaints from different areas regarding our election process," he said. 

Likewise, Pangilinan pointed out that all the "irregularities" happened amid allegations and reports of the administration’s use of the entire government machinery to influence, if not terrorize, local officials and voters to choose its candidates.

But he insisted, "We should not let extreme emotions or anger get the better of us, although we need to remain vigilant."

In a manifestation with Comelec last Friday, May 17,  the LP called on the poll body undertake an independent probe into the seven-hour "technical glitch" in the transmission of the May 13 poll results to the Comelec's Transparency Server.

The LP particularly requested for the full technical report of the seven-hour “technical glitch” and "an independent investigation into the matter. "

Also, the party has asked the Comelec to release significant details and information on the 961 defective vote counting machines (VCMs), and the 1,655 corrupted SD (Secure Digital) cards as to how many votes, which precinct or municipality or city or province, and what is the status of the memory cards.

Likewise, it asked for an audit and systems log of the Comelec's Transparency Server.

"All these pieces of information are important in determining the entire process of the elections and if these are acceptable or not," Pangilinan said

According to him, "The fight is not over even after the elections. In fact, because of the results and the process of the elections, it is clear that we have a lot of things to do, we need more actions for the struggles we need to pursue. The advocacy and issues we fought for during the campaign are still there waiting for action.

"Sinasabing sa ating pakikibaka para sa mas magandang bukas para sa ating mga anak, walang pagkabigo, meron lang pagpapaliban. Tuloy ang pagpupursigi. Di tayo patitinag. Mananatili tayong matatag. Kayod lang."

He vowed that the party would continue to monitor the canvassing of votes by the Comelec sitting as National Board of Canvassers.

"Our representatives are still there to scrutinize the results," he said. —LBG, GMA News