HEADLINES: Election tech firm vows easier polls | Apr. 25, 2024

Good day. Here are the stories for The Manila Times for Thursday, April 25, 2024.

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Election tech firm vows easier polls

THE South Korean technology provider that bagged the 17.9 billion peso contract to supply voting machines for the 2025 midterm elections promises Filipino voters an easier and faster voting experience. In an interview on Wednesday with the streaming program «PrimeTimes,» Ken Cho, Miru Systems Company Ltd. Overseas sales department vice president, said they have added «new user-friendly features» to the voting machines that will be used in next year's elections. These include a keypad for the vision-impaired that allows the blind to vote, he said. The machine is a «dual system» that scans paper ballots at a high speed and uses touch screen technology. The voting machine has a screen display of 12 inches diagonal and a minimum screen resolution of 1920x1080, with a privacy screen feature.

Comelec says case vs Bautista justifies Smartmatic disqualification

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will include the money laundering case filed in the United States against its former chief Andres Bautista, when it files a motion for reconsideration of the Supreme Court ruling that it had committed a grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic from bidding for all automated election systems. Comelec chairman George Garcia said the case against Bautista, which alleged he had accepted bribes from a voting machine vendor, would prove that their decision to disqualify Smartmatic from participating in poll automation projects was justified.

Former senator, human rights advocate Saguisag dies at 84

FORMER senator and veteran human rights lawyer Rene Saguisag has died, his family announced on Wednesday. The announcement was made through the Facebook page of Saguisag's son, Rebo. The Liberal Party of the Philippines also paid tribute to Saguisag in a statement on Wednesday, calling him a «symbol of promoting democracy, human rights, and social justice.»

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