Comelec sets hearing vs. Smartmatic Oct. 17

The Commission on Elections has set an en banc hearing on a petition seeking to block Smartmatic from the procurement of new automated election system for the 2025 elections.

Comelec chairman George Garcia said the hearing will be on Oct. 17 at 10 a.m. at the poll body’s headquarters in Manila.

Smartmatic was also directed to comment on the petition filed by former Department of Information and Communications Technology chief Eliseo Rio, Augusto Lagman, Franklin Ysaac, and Leonardo Odono.

The petitioners sought the disqualification of Smartmatic due to alleged irregularities during the general elections last year.

“These material discrepancies, which remain unexplained to date, constitute a violation of the minimum system capabilities required by law and have created serious doubts on the integrity of the entire election process,” the petitioners said.