PCOS reconfigure part of poll rigging By Gerry Baldo 05/25/2010

Nograles: 256M registered voters recorded in canvassing machines in House PCOS reconfigure part of poll rigging By Gerry Baldo 05/25/2010 The reprogramming of the PCOS machines a few days before the elections was part of a widespread effort to rig the election, former Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers said yesterday. At the same time, outgoing Speaker Prospero Nograles disclosed that the number of voters as recorded in the canvassing machines of Smartmatic in the Lower House listed 256 million registered voters, higher than the earlier recording of 153 million registered voters, which was already incredible in itself. According to Nograles, he has asked the Commission on Elections ( Comelec) and Smartmatic to explain how the canvassing machines arrived at such a huge number of registered voters. “Perhaps even the voters of Indonesia were registered,” Nograles said in a press conference called yesterday to talk about the canvassing. Nograles said that he has asked some information technology experts in the House to look into the canvassing machines which have received all the electronically transmitted Certificates of Canvass from the provinces. The non-electronic copy has been transmitted to the Senate. Yesterday the poll watchdog Center for People Empowerment and Governance said Smartmatic had registered 153 million voters in its machines at the National Canvassing Center. Barbers, who testified at the House congressional panel on suffrage and Electoral Reforms, said what finally happened during the election was earlier revealed to him by a man offering his “services” for a hefty price of P50 million to rig the elections in his province in his favor in November 2009. Barbers ran for governor in Surigao del Sur. He lost. “He told me he is a member of a group going around the entire country soliciting ‘clients,’ politicians who may want to engage them in rigging the elections,” Barbers testified before the panel in the presence of Smartmatic and Comelec officials headed by Chairman Jose Melo. Barbers also quoted the man as telling him that his group can manipulate the PCOS machines and that all the PCOS machines will be reprogrammed before the elections to accommodate the politicians who may want to engage them. “If I subscribe, the victories of myself, my vice-governor, congressmen, and all my mayors will be guaranteed. The price was P50-million. The terms, 35 percent down by February, 35 percent March at the start of the campaign, and the balance upon proclamation,” he said referring to the offer. He said he refused the offer, but true to the man’s offer, he and all of his partymates in Surigao del Norte lost in the elections. He did not engage the services of the “man.” He said that the man had told him that they will offer their services to his opponents.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100525hed1.html

HEADLINES PCOS reconfigure part of poll rigging Chavez sues Marcelo, et al. for libel Erap camp: Show yourself, Koala Boy 9 senators complete cast for canvass body SC asked to stop Comelec’s manual audit EU role in Mindanao pure civilan operation — envoy