(NI NOEL ABUEL)

BAGO matapos ang buwan ng Hunyo ay ilalabas na ng Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) ang gagamiting poll system sa darating na 2022 national elections.

Sa gitna ng Joint Congressional Oversight Committee-Automated Elections System sa Senado, sinabi ni DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio na bago matapos ang kasalukuyang buwan ay ipaaaalam sa Commission on Elections (Comelec) at sa publiko ang gagamitin sa eleksiyon.

Aniya, ito umano ang naging direktibang inilabas ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte habang nasa Tokyo, Japan.

“The President directed DICT to come up with options that can be used in future elections and of course we all know that, wag na ‘yung Smartmatic,” sabi nito.

Idinagdag pa nito na sa kabila ng ang Comelec bilang independent body na may obligasyon sa eleksiyon ay maaari namang magrekomenda ang DICT na nasa ilalim naman ng Office of the President.

“We are going to come up with options for the consideration of Comelec so that it may be able to reach the next election. We will have options to be presented to the Comelec, this committee, and the people of the Philippines as a whole, maybe as early as before the end of this month,” aniya pa.

Samantala, sinabi ni Senador Aquilino Pimentel III, co-chair ng JCOC-AES, panahon nang maamyendahan ang Republic Act 9369 o ang Automated Elections System law.

“The DICT can only recommend so sabi ko nga for those espousing hybrid system, they have to amend the law so Comelec can also consider hybrid,” sabi nito.