News of Smartmatic threatening the Comelec and Liberal Party to come out with the ‘truth’ if they do not pay P2 billion has been circulating the web through Facebook groups such as “Duterte News Media,” “Kilusang Bagong Lipunan,” and more pages.
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The article, sourced from Okd2, revealed that Smartmatic is threatening the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Liberal Party for their refusal to pay an additional P2 billion for the machines and “special service” handed to them.
In an alleged statement, Smartmatic warned the two parties of “unimaginable circumstances” if they do not uphold their agreement.
However, Okd2 is known for having made several fake articles before; so with a ton of doubt and a bit of research, we were able to discover that Okd2 fabricated the part about Smartmatic threatening LP to pay for the “special services” they requested.
Comparing an article released by GMA News on December 11 with that of Okd2’s, we were able to confirm that the issue between Smartmatic and Comelec is due to the delayed return of the VCMs.
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This delay, according to Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon, was caused by the protest filed by Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who lost in the vice presidential race against Vice President-elect Leni Robredo.
Due to the delay, Smartmatic claims that the machines are “good as sold” based on the “options to purchase” provision on their contract.
It is also true that Guanzon refused to attend a meeting with Smartmatic because this might send wrong signals to the public; hence, her suggestion to have an en banc meeting without Smartmatic as an alternative.
However, there was no news whatsoever backing up the claim of Okd2 of Smartmatic spokesman Julian Garcia stating that the Liberal Party asked for a “special service” to help LP candidates win in the elections then, failing to pay the company.
There is no truth to Garcia’s statement: “We agreed that they will pay us after the Elections and they did not keep their promise. There will be an “unimaginable circumstances” if they ignore our request. We have all the evidence to pin them down legally.” This was nothing but fabrication on Okd2’s part.
Therefore, the issue is solely between Comelec and Smartmatic as the problem started due to the precautionary protection order (PPO) set by PET and SET as a consequence of the cases filed by Marcos and Tolentino.
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Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista now questions the PET and SET’s late response to their letters wherein both tribunals only told them to return the machines by November.
Bautista is looking to ask for some leeway from Smartmatic in their dialog although they are yet to confirm their attendance.
Sources: (gmanetwork.com)
Be Informed. Beat the Trolls, Share the Truth!
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