Glenn Chong testimony eyed vs Smartmatic in US court

NEW YORK - Lawyer Glenn Chong has been placed under a declaration to serve as a witness for a US media organization in its legal battle against election technology company Smartmatic, he told GMA Integrated News in a telephone interview.

Smartmatic initiated a defamation lawsuit against One America News Network (OANN), alleging that incidents of fraud marred the 2020 US presidential election.

Chong said that over a span of six hours, seven lawyers from a major law firm in Houston, Texas, examined his declaration. 

The OANN legal team intends to leverage Chong's testimony to challenge the credibility of Smartmatic, seeking to demonstrate that election results can be manipulated using Smartmatic's machines.

He outlined irregularities in Smartmatic's vote counting machines (VCMs) and transactions with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the Philippines.

In the declaration, Chong highlighted that OANN's lawyers plan to utilize his testimony in the case of former Comelec chairperson Andres Bautista.

The former poll body chief is currently facing a money laundering case in the Southern District Court of Florida. He is accused of accepting bribes from Smartmatic in exchange for awarding contracts.

Chong said that OANN's lawyers have submitted his declaration to the US District Court in Washington, D.C. in response to Smartmatic's defamation lawsuit.

"I felt really vindicated that a group of topnotch lawyers in the US are willing to listen and are, in fact, convinced of the evidence I presented before them about the irregularities and anomalies we have documented concerning the automated elections in the Philippines, which were all conducted by Smartmatic since 2008," Chong said in a text message to GMA Integrated News.

Chong, a former Biliran representative, claimed in 2019 that VCMs did not count votes cast for him in his failed senatorial bid.

Emphasizing that his testimony against Smartmatic is voluntary, Chong expressed his willingness to testify in Bautista's case if the US government so desires.

He added, "This gives a real big boost in our fight, stretching nearly 14 years, to truly cleanse our election system for the benefit of our people. It is unfortunate that Philippine authorities are not willing or unable to act on these pieces of evidence. But it gives us much hope that US authorities give us a window to show to the world what stuff Smartmatic is truly made of."

Sought for comment regarding Chong's testimony, Smartmatic told GMA News Online in a text message that: "Per legal advice, we are restricted from making any statements pertaining to any of the ongoing cases we filed in the US."

Regarding Chong's earlier claims that his votes were not counted by VCMs, Smartmatic said that, "As evidenced by the Random Manual Audits conducted in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2022, the VCM has consistently demonstrated unerring accuracy. Any claim to the contrary is baseless and self-serving." — Dave Llavanes Jr. with Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VDV, GMA Integrated News