SC REPUTATION AT RISK IN BONGBONG PROTEST!

Nov. 1, 2016

SC REPUTATION AT RISK IN BONGBONG PROTEST!

I sincerely hope that the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (P.E.T), is not forgetting that its reputation is at risk in the protest filed by Bongbong Marcos against Leni Robredo.  Unless they start QUESTIONING THE COMELEC AND SMARTMATIC, and resolving the protest immediately, they should not be surprised or offended if people really start perceiving them as biased in favor of Robredo.

HIGHLY-SUSPICIOUS ACTIONS of both the Comelec and Smartmatic CONTINUE to pile up but there has been NO REPORTED ACTION whatsoever by the SC. Bongbong has submitted some 20,000 pages of ewvidence and all other requirements. Robredo was LATE in submitting her reply and other papers. But the SC still accepted it.

Supposedly unused vote counting machines (VCM) were returned by the Comelec to Smartmatic without any approval by the SC. Bongbong filed an opposition to the return before both the Comelec and the SC but it was ignored. News reports said the SD cards of as many as 117 of the returned VCMs were already loaded with data. But the Comelec HAS NOT EXPLAINED THIS and the SC HAS NOT DIRECTED THEM to do so.

Smartmatic made an UNAUTHORIZED ALTERATION in the transparency server script of the Comelec on the night of the elections. But the Comelec NEVER PENALIZED Smartmatic. Almost immediately after the polls, Bongbong asked for a technical audit of the script by private sector experts. But the Comelec ignored, and continues to ignore, him.

A Smartmatic engineer included in an electoral fraud case filed by Bongbong’s camp before the Manila Prosecutor’s Office has fled to his home country. But again, the Comelec did not sanction or take any action against Smartmatic. There have been no reports either that the Comelec is doing anything to bring the engineer back or has requested a hold-departure order for the rest of the Smartmatic accused to prevent their escape.  All these, along with other issues, are in the evidence submitted by Bongbong to the SC. But no sign up to now as to when will the trial begin.

The SC’s public relations people had better remind Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that their continued inaction On Bongbong’s protest, and everything that has happened in relation to it, is doing the tribunal MORE HARM THAN GOOD. They surely would not want to lose the people’s trust.30