LP Slams PPRCV Chief Over Alleged Novotel VCMs Issue.
Alleged Novotel VCMs. The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) earlier received report that vote-counting machines (VCMs) were held at the Novotel Hotel in Cubao, Quezon City.
And the Liberal Party (LP) scored the PPCRV Ambassador Henrietta de Villa for claiming.
Akabayan Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez, spokesperson for the LP-led coalition, said that there is no truth to the rumor that there are VCMs in the hotel.
“First of all, the Comelec has fully accounted for all VCMs, each of which has a unique ID that allows the Comelec to know where it is. This means it is impossible for anyone to misplace these machines,” Gutierrez said.
She claimed that the basis of statement of De Villa is mere rumor to which Gutierrez referred to as “bereft of basis and substance.”
De Villa earlier publicly announced that she personally received information of the VCMs kept in the rooms of the Novotel, a hotel in the Araneta Center which is owned by the family of LP standard bearer Mar Roxas.
However, Gutierrez said that the party will support any possible investigation to clarify the issue of the held VCMs.
“We expect Ms. De Villa to give the precinct numbers of the alleged VCMs. Should she fail to do so, we expect Ms. De Villa to issue an apology and attestation of the truth with the same enthusiasm and alacrity she displayed in repeating this rumor,” Gutierrez said.
Guttierrez said that they, the LP, support the honest and credible elections but won’t tolerate the spreading of baseless and unsubstantiated rumors to which he indicted as irresponsible and illegal as it undermines the credibility of the electoral process.
Before noon, Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista himself went to the Novotel to check the reported VCMs and warned the public not to create stories that could degrade the reputation of the Comelec.
On the issue of the malfunctioning VCMs, the Comelec said that they are open in extending the hours of voting depending on the circumstances.
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