Comelec to review contract with Smartmatic over ‘security breach’

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will review its contract with Smartmatic, the provider of the vote counting machines for the May 2022 polls, due to a “very serious” security breach.

Comelec chairperson Saidamen Pangarungan said in a statement that the poll body’s en banc directed its law department to review the contract with Smartmatic and “advise the courses of action to be taken by the Commission.”

Comelec executive director Bartolome Sinocruz Jr. was also directed to coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and demand Smartmatic to submit a report on its internal investigation.

“Although we maintain that the Comelec has not fallen victim to any attacks that will amount to a security breach, we will not take these allegations sitting down. Serious allegations of violations and indiscretion of Comelec providers will be stringently addressed by this Commission,” Pangarungan said.

The Comelec’s deputy executive director for operations and the Information Technology Department were also ordered to give a detailed plan to prevent the occurrence of a similar or related issue.

“I would like to reiterate that these measures are just a few of the measures that the Comelec has been instituting in performing our mandate in protecting the sanctity of the vote since my appointment. The public can expect that the Comelec will continue to provide more safeguards and policies that will uphold our democratic exercise,” Pangarungan said.

He also reiterated the poll body’s commitment to a full and complete transparency of the entire election process.

“We already opened for public viewing the Sta. Rosa Comelec warehouse in Laguna where the SD cards are being configured and National Printing Office where the official ballots are being printed to different stakeholders including but not limited to political parties and the media.”

Senators earlier claimed that an employee of Smartmatic let a certain group of individuals copy information from the technology firm, resulting in the breach.

The information was made available to lawmakers after a closed-door meeting with concerned agencies.

“We have to admit that a very serious breach occurred. It may not be technically hacking. However, we feel that it compromises the processes and operations of Smartmatic in very serious ways,” said Sen. Imee Marcos, who heads the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation.

A broadsheet also claimed that Comelec’s servers had been hacked, resulting in the downloading of sensitive information that could affect the 2022 elections, which the poll body refuted.