BONG REVILLA FURIOUS OVER SMARTMATIC MESS-UP

Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. today vehemently denounced the mess-up caused by poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM after its precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines malfunctiuoned during the mock polls held early this week.

According to the reelectionist senator, there is a brewing public anxiety over the credibility of next week's election because of the negligence committed by Smartmatic in ensuring their machines are working properly.

He is referring to the acknowledgment of the mistake by Smartnatic when its PCOS machines failed to correctly read votes. An official of the company said they failed to properly configure compact flash disks of the PCOS machines to properly count the votes for the local races due to the dissimilarity in the layouts of the national and local ballots. "Whether it is because of the changed lay-out of the ballot or human error, Smartmatic must be held liable. Their admission of their mistake is not enough ," Bong Revilla said.

The lawmaker reminded Smartmatic that the future of the nation depends on the outcome of the May 10 elections so its results must not be tainted by doubt from the general public..

He further explained there was enough time for Smartmatic to test the efficiency of the PCOS machines and changing of the ballot design cannot be a valid excuse for its gross negligence. "They should have anticipated these scenarios. Automation of the elections is useless if there is no public trust and confidence in its outcome.."

Bong Revilla urged Smartmatic to ensure that that there will be no more blunder after it already reconfigures the compact flash disks that will be used in the PCOS machines. "We can not afford another error. Time is running out," he said."With barely five days left, something as big as this, which was preventable through due diligence, comes out and is now threatening the holding of the elections."