Following a “no show” in a House hearing, lawmakers on Wednesday raised concerns about unanswered questions on the speedy award of an P18-billion automated vote-counting deal despite raging controversies surrounding winning bidder Miru Systems Co. Ltd., a South Korean firm.
Rizal Rep. Dino Tanjuatco and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez expressed dismay over the “extreme haste” with which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) signed the P18-billion automated vote-counting contract with controversial firm Miru.
The lawmakers slammed the Comelec for its failure to verify a flurry of reports concerning Miru’s incompetence to run automated elections in other countries.
Tanjuatco criticized the lack of investigation into the issues, particularly the submission of a prototype, which, he said, is against the law.
During the oversight hearing, Comelec Chairman George Garcia and representatives from Miru were absent, leaving committee members without the expected demonstration of the new automated voting system intended for use in the 2025 midterm elections.
“Members of this committee wanted to ask questions to Miru, the systems provider. I wonder why there is no sense of urgency for the contractor to attend this meeting. The expectation of the committee was that there would be a demonstration to ensure the integrity and truthfulness of counting machines to be used in next year’s election,” Tanjuatco said.
Rodriguez noted that none of the 14 invited Miru officials attended the hearing, leaving committee members without the opportunity to address questions directly to the service provider.
Rodriguez earlier flagged the possibility of a failure of the 2025 midterm polls and a revert to the “dark ages” of manual counting if the many issues hounding Miru’s performance in elections it had handled in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Iraq, among others, are not properly and immediately addressed.
Mountain Province Lone District Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr., who chairs the suffrage committee, expressed frustration at Miru’s unexplained absence, and Tanjuatco added that it displayed a lack of respect toward the House committee.
Tanjuatco likewise expressed regret that Garcia has failed to keep his personal assurances that the contract would not be awarded to Miru any time soon, considering the many controversies that should be addressed beforehand.
He pointed to the lack of transparency in the procurement process and cautioned the Comelec of the dire consequences resulting from the rushed signing of the deal.
“During the February 21 demo that I attended, I raised with Chairman Garcia numerous concerns regarding the Miru machine and the procurement process. He personally assured me that the Comelec would not be awarding the contract to Miru just yet and that there would be time to address these mounting concerns. To my utter surprise and disappointment, the Comelec awarded the contract the very next day,” Tanjuatco said.
In particular, Tanjuatco questioned the integrity of vote counting as he personally saw that Miru’s machine read crumpled, marked, and torn sample ballots during last month’s demo.
Other lawmakers, including Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-List Rep. France Castro and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, expressed disappointment over Miru’s absence, citing concerns about local joint venture partners and potential security lapses based on Miru’s track record in other countries.
“We’ve heard that Comelec’s bidding process may have been tailor-fit for Miru as the chosen bidder,” Castro disclosed.
Castro also flagged alleged security lapses as well as corruption in elections handled by Miru in Argentina and Kyrgyzstan, respectively.
As such, Manuel sought the presence of Miru’s joint venture partners in the next meeting scheduled for March 19.
Meanwhile, Dalog said, “Because Chairman Garcia and Miru weren’t here, our concerns were not addressed.”
Dalog requested Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo to conduct the much-delayed demo before the committee before this week ends or next week, ahead of legislators’ Holy Week break.
However, Casquejo could not commit an exact date to the committee, prolonging legislators’ worries and uncertainty about Miru’s capabilities.
During the hearing, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) defended Comelec and Miru from criticisms of the hastily awarded contract.