In Comelec we trust, says Tito Sotto amid poll meddling, espionage

Former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III (Elison Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon–Former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III have a huge vote of confidence to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, May 2, amid persistent reports of espionage and Chinese interference in the mid-term polls later this month.

“At this point, I do not have any reason to doubt the Comelec. At this point,” Sotto said during a press conference of the administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate here at the provincial capitol.

“In the absence of any such worry, then we will have to rely on the integrity of the Commission on Elections headed by Chairman George Garcia,” added Sotto, the most seasoned among the Alyansa bets.

The elections will take place on May 12. In the weeks prior, there have been continues reports of spy presence in the country, punctuated by the arrest of a Chinese national with suspicious electronic equipment near the Comelec office in Manila.

This has raised concerns about the electoral process or the electorate itself being compromised, but Sotto says there’s nothing to worry about as of now.

Abalos, Lacson chime in on alleged poll meddling

Other Alyansa bets former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Benhur Abalos and former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson suggested preemptive actions that the poll body and other government agencies can take.

For Abalos, it’s the trolls on social media that must be looked into by Comelec in tandem with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

“Sampung araw na lang tayo o less than ten days, eleksyon na. What do we do right now? It’s up for Comelec and DICT. Tingnan na nila ‘yong mga troll account na ‘to. Ang dami nitong nagiimpluwensya. Mailagay ka lang dito sabihin ito ganito, ito ganiyan tapos makita mo libu-libo sumusuporta. Iisipin ng tao this is the mindset of the majority of Filipinos,” he said.

Benhur Abalos (left), Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

(We have only 10 days left—less than 10 days—before the elections. What do we do right now? It’s up to Comelec and DICT. They should look into these troll accounts because they’re influencing a lot of people. Just placing certain narratives out there—saying this or that—and suddenly, you see thousands showing support. It makes people think this is the mindset of the majority of Filipinos.)

“Siguro dapat isa-isahin ito, magpatulong sa ibang ahensya kung paano gawin ito. At dapat ipaliwanag sa mga mamamayan na huwag silang magpadala ng ganiyan dahil mayroong isyung ganito,” noted Abalos.

(Maybe this should be tackled one by one, and seek the help of other agencies on how to address it. And it should be explained to the people so they don’t fall for it, because there is an issue here.)

Lacson expressed hope that when Filipino voters choose their leaders on May 12, they will be smart enough not to be affected by China’s “meddling”.

“We are hopeful Filipino voters are smart,” said the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.

But Lacson also said that it was high time for the country to “update” and “toughen” its anti-espionage laws

Lacson says the current anti-espionage law–Commonwealth Act 616 of 1941–is badly outdated in terms of the technologies it covers, as well as the penalties it contains. In contrast, he said China had updated its anti-espionage law to include harsh penalties such as life imprisonment and execution.

“Commonwealth Act 616 was passed in 1941. You can just imagine. It’s about time we amend or repeal this very old legislation to be attuned to the times. At the time it was passed, there was no social media or modern information technology,” he said.