Comelec mulls appealing SC decision on Smartmatic disqualification

Residents cast their votes at the Mines Elementary School in Brgy. Vasra, Project 6, Quezon City on May 9, 2022. Alec Corpuz, ABS-CBN News/File 

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said that it is studying the possibility of appealing the Supreme Court’s decision that found the poll body erring in the disqualification of Smartmatic in bidding procedures for the upcoming midterm elections.

The SC said Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic before the company had submitted any bid.

“Ito po ay tinatanggap ng Comelec at kinakapulutan ng aral… Lagi naman po ito na kami ay tumatalima at sumusunod,” Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudianco told state television PTV.

“Inaaral na rin po namin na baka sakali pong kami ay magfile ng motion for reconsideration para linawin ang ilang bagay dito,” he said, without giving further details regarding the motion for reconsideration.

(The Comelec accepts the decision and learns from it… We have always heeded and abided by these. We are still studying if we will file a motion for reconsideration to clarify several things here.)

READ: SC finds abuse of discretion in Comelec ban on Smartmatic

READ: Smartmatic disqualified from Comelec procurements: Garcia

 Despite the ruling, Comelec is still grateful to the high court for not nullifying the results of its bidding, which awarded a contract to South Korean company Miru Systems, the spokesperson said.

“Lubos po ang pasasalamat ng Comelec sa Supreme Court dahil malinaw din po sa desisyon na hindi pinapahinto ang aming paghahanda sa 2025 elections,” he said.

“Kinilala ng Supreme Court na kung ngayon ay ipapaulit sa amin ang public bidding ay napakalaki pong tiyansa na baka majeopardize ang aming paghahanda sa 2025 elections at makaapekto ito ng lubos mismo sa pagsasagawa ng halalan,” he said.

(The Comelec thanks the Supreme Court because it clarified in its decision that it will not halt our preparations for the 2025 elections. The Supreme Court recognizes that if we repeat the public bidding, there will be a big chance that our preparations for the 2025 elections will be jeopardized, which might affect the actual conduct of elections.)

Two months since voter registration began, some 2.2 million people have registered with the Comelec, Laudiangco said.

The agency is expecting to hit its target of having 3 million newly registered voters by September, he said.

Meantime, Laudiangco said that the Comelec is also looking into the possibility of forming a committee to evaluate if it should file in local courts money laundering and conspiracy cases against former Comelec Chairperson Andres Bautista.

Bautista is facing similar cases in the United States after his estranged wife Patricia Bautista flagged his P1 billion wealth, allegedly linked to anomalous transactions during his stint as head of the Philippines poll body.