The Supreme Court has affirmed with finality the legality of the Commission on Elections’ P1.8-billion deal for the purchase from Smartmatic-TIM of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to automate next year’s polls.

At an en banc session on Tuesday, majority of the justices voted to sustain their June 13 decision and dismiss the motion for reconsideration filed by the Automated Election System Watch led by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr.

Three other justices who had joined the majority opinion in this case in the earlier ruling – Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Mariano del Castillo and Jose Perez—were not present in the deliberation.

A highly placed source confirmed the full court’s action, but the SC’s Public Information Office declined to confirm it pending official word from the Office of Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

In ruling against the motion for reconsideration, the SC reiterated that the contract for the purchase of some 82,000 machines used in the 2010 polls was legal since it was forged when the earlier contract between Comelec and Smartmatic for the 2010 polls was still valid.

They dismissed the claim of petitioners that the period of the option to purchase under the AES contract had already lapsed on December 31, 2010, which made the new deed of sale executed by Smartmatic and Comelec illegal.

The majority stressed that Comelec has not yet returned in full the P360-million performance security bond it had collected from Smartmatic, which is a proof that the contract remains valid.

They were also not convinced by petitioners’ argument that the ruling would be tantamount to giving the Smartmatic-TIM a benefit that was not known and available to all bidders during the bidding of the 2010 polls when its contract was extended after supposed expiration.

Lastly, they cited failure of petitioners to “give a plausible alternative to ensure the conduct of a successful 2013 automated elections, in the event that the Court nullifies the Deed of Sale.”

Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta penned the ruling and was joined by Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Lucas Bersamin, Roberto Abad, Jose Mendoza, Lourdes Sereno and Bienvenido Reyes.

Justice Martin Villarama dissented and was joined by Justices Arturo Brion and Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

AES Watch was joined by the Solidarity for Sovereignty (S4S) led by Ma. Linda Montayre and another group of concerned citizens led by Davao City Archbishop Fernando Capalla in questioning the deal before the SC.

Source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/10/24/comelec-cleared-to-buy-smartmatic-machines/