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Smartmatic-TIM: Control of P7B triggered rift

From Malaya:

‘Mr. X’ wanted piece of the action

Final control by Smartmatic Corp., the foreign partner in the election computerization project of the Commission on Elections, of how the contracted P7.2 billion cost of the project will be spent is the reason Total Information Management, the Filipino partner, decided to dump the partnership.

TIM rejected the proposal of Smartmatic, saying this was contrary to the nature of a joint venture and “would expose it to possible violations of Philippine laws.”

TIM’s fear of exposure to “possible violation of Philippine laws,” sources familiar with the deal said, was prompted by the entry of a person with the highest political connections into the deal as a “carried” partner.”

A “carried partner,” the sources said, means one who wants to get a piece of the action without contributing a single centavo.

The fear of TIM president Jose Mari Antunez that he and his company might get entangled with the law was triggered when an associate saw the “powerful person” huddled with a Smartmatic principal and a member of a prominent business family from Cebu at the coffee shop of a Makati hotel last week, a source said.

Days later, Antunez got a call from the Cebu businessman warning that TIM should cooperate or else “offend very powerful people,” the source said.

Rep. Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. (PDP-Laban), however, had a different take on the “irreconcilable differences” that sank the Smartmatic-TIM partnership.

He said Antunez demanded P500 million when he met with Smartmatic lawyers at a Makati hotel a few days ago.

“This caused Smartmatic to pull out,” he said. “The demand was ridiculous and the lawyers thought it was tantamount to extortion.”

Locsin, chair of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, said Smartmatic had repeatedly bent over backwards to accommodate TIM as the 60 percent partner.

Locsin said TIM and Smartmatic could not agree on the exercise of “unilateral power” on when and how money would be spent, but did not elaborate.

An exchange of letters between Antunez and Armando Yanes, the highest Filipino official as chief financial officer of the Barbados-registered Smartmatic, provides a background for the rift.

In a letter dated June 25, Antunez said: “We are likewise ready, willing and able to form the JVC (joint venture corporation) with you under the express terms of our Joint Venture Agreement of April 23, 2009 and the discussion we had at our meeting last night. In this connection, we cannot agree that the Chairman be given authority to sign checks singly in case of issues or disagreements. This is contrary to the nature of a joint venture and would expose us to possible liabilities for violations of existing Philippine laws. We hope we have made our position clear on this matter.”

On the following day, Yanes wrote Antunez back, threatening to sue TIM for its alleged failure to comply with contractual obligations under the April 23 JVA.

In the letter, Yanes did not mention Antunez’ allegation that Smartmatic wanted “unilateral power” to spend. There was also no reference to alleged demand from Antunez for money.

‘Not giving up’

Despite the breakup of the TIM-Smartmatic joint venture, the Commission on Elections is not about to give up on automating the 2010 elections.

Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said the Comelec decided to adopt a pro-active stance to salvage the automated election by inviting representatives of Smartmatic and TIM to a dialogue yesterday for the two parties to thresh out their differences.

“They (Smartmatic and TIM) are given until July 3… So why not between today and July 3, make the most of it?” he said.

TIM legal counsel Boy de Borja confirmed their decision to pull out stemmed from differences with Smartmatic over decision-making.

He said the move was not a total surprise.

De Borja said they will not allow themselves to be “dominated” by their foreign partner.

Locsin said the Comelec should not be blamed for the fiasco since it fought for automation.

Locsin lambasted senators questioning the automation deal, particularly Francis Escudero who he said tried to block the deal by launching an investigation. He said this makes it appear that the senator “wants cheating to continue in 2010.”

“He’s a hypocrite,” Locsin said. “Please don’t add insult to injury by making it appear that you are unhappy that we’re going back to manual counting.”

Also a culprit

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said Smartmatic will also be sued even if it was TIM that backed out of the contract.

“It’s got to be the entire consortium, because I’m sure the award (of the project) was given to the entire consortium, not just to the Filipino company. The backing out of the Filipino partner cannot be made as an excuse by the consortium,” she told reporters.

Devanadera declined comment on the suggestion of Comelec chairman Jose Melo that the poll body undertake the automation project with Smartmatic, similar to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ agreement with a foreign-owned company in the manufacture of machine-readable passports.

Sen. Richard Gordon will convene the Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate the withdrawal of TIM either Friday or Monday.

Gordon said the committee can hold a joint hearing with Escudero’s committee on constitutional amendments, which initiated an investigation into the awarding of the poll project to Smartmatic-TIM. – Gerard Naval, Wendell Vigilia, Jocelyn Montemayor, Evangeline de Vera and JP Lopez

Related Inquirer stories:

P500 M demand did it

TM- Smartmatic has too much power

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Published inelections2010

116 Comments

  1. Mike Mike

    Tsk, tsk. “Onli in d Pilipins”” do these things happen. But I doubt if it’s purely greed for money that started the trouble. I smell something fishy. Hmmmm….

  2. Rose Rose

    Masaya ito..hindi ata maluluto ang putahe na gusto para sa pagdaya mukhang kulang sa recado…

  3. chi chi

    Big letter “Mr.X” wanted piece of the action. So predictable!

    Nakakahiya sa mga foreign investors/partners. Onli in da Pilipins! Si Juan nahihiya pero ang mga balasubas na Gloria at Mike ay walang hiya!

  4. roger roger

    after evilbitch visit to barbados,, then this things happen,,coincidence??? so obious naman..1+1= 2

  5. mukat mukat

    Sabi nga ni Glorya “weder weder lang”. Yan ang nakatanim sa small coconut niya … panahon nila ngayon kaya nila sinasamantala lahat. Sabi pa ng gaga … inggit lang kayo.

  6. parasabayan parasabayan

    Bantay sarado si pandak ni fat pig. Everytime I see the fat guy with the pandak, one thing only comes to mind, “monkey business”. This fat pig wants his hands on everything. Nakakahiya sila sa ibang bansa talaga. Foreigners do not even want to invest in the Philippines anymore. They like to employ our laborers for a third (or even less) of what they usually pay their own but to invest, never! The pandak changes the rule of the game once the fat pig comes into the picture.

  7. jocjoc jocjoc

    Wala na silang satisfaction. Hindi enough ang tongpats, gusto ng maging partner, ng walang share sa capital, how thick.

  8. parasabayan parasabayan

    Dati may kasama silang mga amuyong like Abalos and the like. Ngayon solo flight na lang yung dalawa. They can not trust anyone. Oo nga at kasama ang mga aso nila kaya lang yung mga aso eh nasa kanya kanyang mga lungga. Habang itong dalawang ganid na ito eh may niluluto, yung mga aso nila ay nagpapasarap sa first class room nila sa mga first class na hotel.

  9. Take note, the day before the supposed first aborted contract signing on June 25, it was announced that Arroyo’s crony firm, 2GO of the Cebu-based Aboitiz Group, was being taken into the consortium as its logistics partner.

    (2GO was only waiting for any winning bidder and did not have to join any particular consortium during the pre-bid because they are confident that Comelec will recommend them to any winning bidder. Puhunang-laway as we call it.)

    But Gloria “secretly” side-tripped to Colombia on the 27th (Saturday) that on the same day, Comelec rescheduled the signing on the 29th (Monday) it was all systems go. The Cartagena trip was supposedly to see the inauguration of ICTSI’s new terminal. Endika Aboitiz also sits in the board of ICTSI.

    Until TIM announced its withdrawal.

    Nangangamoy mafia na naman ito.

  10. parasabayan parasabayan

    Tongue, I trust your instincts! Truly amazing how these two can con the country again and again!

  11. parasabayan parasabayan

    Smells like another ZTE-NBN deal to me. The only difference is, this time silang dalawa na lang ang nakasawsaw.

  12. Enrique Razon is part of the deal then, Tongue?

  13. PSB* Bantay sarado si pandak ni fat pig. Everytime I see the fat guy with the pandak, one thing only comes to mind, “monkey business”.
    *****

    Totoo ang sinabi mo, PSB. During their last visit to Japan, the Dorobo had a meeting with the Toyota people here together with the Fatso. They were talking likewise to some business group here kunyari investment for Filipinos pero as usual facade lang iyong mga kasama nilang mga sipsip, including the 58 tongressmen with their spouses, relatives and even maids!

    Tnagnanay nila, gusto nilang swapangin lahat. Wala nang tinira sa mga ginugutom nilang mga kababayan nila. Pati patrimonies ng Pilipinas dinispatsa na ng animal na kahit nga si Marcos di tinangkang ibenta. Sarap murahin talaga ng mga hayop!

    Pero bilib ka sa mga pilipino na nakipag-bongga pa sa mga animal, never realizing that it was their blood money that the Dorobo was spending on her globetrotting escapades.

  14. neonate neonate

    The Basques of Spain made ETA notorious with bloody bombings, and were the conquistadores in colonizing Filipinas. Their descendants still dominate Pinoys today. Some names come to mind: Aboitiz, Ayala, Razon.

  15. totingmulto totingmulto

    That is why we need concrete and tangible steps/acts to oust these ganid animals, walang paki, kapal talaga kahit anong sabihin mo sa internet. We have to organize. LIHOK na mga kaigsoonan!

  16. Golberg Golberg

    Si Mr.X ang naka-usap ng TIM. 7B iyang proyektong iyan, hhhhmmmm, mas masarap namnamin kaysa sa 7M lang. Yung piece lang ng 7B, magkano kaya iyon?

  17. mukat mukat

    Sino ba itong Rep. Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr. na sumasali sa gusot ng Snartmatic at TIM. Di ba ito yong isang Tongressman na tumanggap din ng milyones sa Fertilizer scam na pilit niyang dine-deny? Doble Cara ba itong taong ito?

  18. Investor Investor

    husband: sugarbabes hanap ka investors para sa atin negosyo este sa atin bayan !!!
    sugarbabes: cge honey bukas punta tayo sa Europe, US and China para invite mga investors sa atin !!!
    Investors: kami punta dito, para negosyo sa inyo bayan, dala kami marami pera !!!
    husband: wala kayo negosyo kung hinde bigay akin pera, ako me-ari ng Pinas, lahat negosyo daan akin bulsa. Ako bahala sa inyo bilisan nyo kasi retire na misis ko nextyear!!!

  19. totingmulto totingmulto

    Para sa mga bisaya ilabi na sa mga Cebuano:

    Hangtud kanus-a ang inyong pagpakabuta ug pagpakabungol sa mga abuso nga gihimo ni unano gloria ug iyang pamilya? Mosugot ka lang ba diay nga kawaton ug iwaldas ang salapi sa nasod samtang ang uban sa atong kabos nga mga igsoon wala ganiy gikaon? Mosugot ka lang ba diay nga ang bakak ug limbong maoy maghari sa atong nasud? Kalimtan na lang ba nato ang mga abuso ni gloria human kita ulog ulogan ug talo taloan? Naunsa na man atong mga pari ug obispo nga natuis na man human sangsangi ug salapi ang mga baba? Daghan sa atong mga igsoon ang mga matarong apan dili kini igo kung walay kitay buhaton aron pagbatok sa kadautan ni gloria! Daku ang akong respeto sa mga cebuano ilabina niadtong panahon ni marcos nga nakigbisog apan asa na man sila? Human ulog ulogan sa mga Garcia nga galamay ni gloria ang mga cebuano naamang ug nabuta!
    Mga igsoon pagmata na kay basin ulahi na ang tanan ug ang maayong kaugmaon sa imong mga anak ug kaliwatan mahanaw tungod sa wala natoy pagpakabana ug naunsa na ang atong nasod. Ang katawhan nga mapasagaron kapildihan ang kapaingnan!

  20. Golberg Golberg

    Di nga ba mayroon magsisiwalat ng pakiki-pagusap ng baboy sa mga opisyal ng naturang korporasyon. At isisiwalat daw ito sa tamang oras. Bakit di kaya ngayon na lang?
    Mga taga SmartMatik yata yung nakausap nung baboy? O mga taga TIM?
    Isisiwalat daw yun eh. Pero sana ngayon na kasi mainit na ang usapin. Kaya lang, kung may magsiwalat man, may malilintikan ba?

  21. Golberg Golberg

    Private person daw yung baboy. Kaya siguro puro private corporations ang mga kausap niya. At gagapangin na lang sa government sector kapag ayos na ang usapan sa mga private individuals. Tapos chedeeeeeng, nakawan na! Babuyan at swapangan.

  22. Golberg Golberg

    Tapos itatago ang mga nakaw para hindi halata. Eh halatang halata naman ang mga kumag. Kaya yung tae sa palasyo puro trip dito at doon para maitago yung mga nakaw na di maisisiwalat sa publiko kasi masyadong dedicated ang mga tao sa mga bangko nila tungkol sa privacy ng mga depositors at deposits nila. Iyun na rin siguro ang ginagamit nila para sa mga kahilingan nung mga talagang matataas sa mga lodges. Para hindi nga naman sila bumagsak. Pakain dito at pakain doon.

  23. Golberg Golberg

    May trip sila sa Columbia?
    Naginvest na siguro sila doon para sa marketing ng cocaine. 1gram niyan may $25k o $50k ka na. Eh yung 1kilo? Luma na nga yata yung presyo ko eh. Nung early 80’s pa yung presyo na iyun.
    Syempre pag may loot dapat protektahan at dapat din pagyamanin. Para sa ganun kung kailangan ng pangtustos sa mga buwaya nilang alaga mayroon sila ibibigay.

  24. What has been said about Aboitiz’ 2Go (Newsbreak):

    From the central warehouse located in Bulacan, the counting machines would be taken to and stored in the hubs before they are transported to 80,000 polling precincts in various parts of the Philippines.

    When asked for their criteria in identifying the hubs, however, Tolentino said that job was left to 2GO, an Aboitiz-owned nationwide freight company tapped by Smartmatic-TIM to map the drop-off points.

    Tolentino said that 2GO, which has the commercial experience for delivering goods nationwide, has studied and calculated that the PCOS machines would be transferred “29 percent via land and 55 percent via sea” from the Bulacan central warehouse to the hubs.

    From the hubs, the equipment would be taken “56 percent via land and 15 percent via sea then land” to the clustered precincts.

  25. parasabayan parasabayan

    Ang pinakakain nila sa mga buwaya at aso nila eh “return on investment” o interest lang! Yung principal eh buo pa rin at yun ang nasa Bahamas, sa Europa, Hongkong at iba’t ibang bansa. Kaya panay ang “secret” trip nila para itago ang kanilang nakaw na yaman!

  26. GMA crony 2GO suffers no liabilities for poll snafu
    The Daily Tribune

    6/25/09

    The alleged Palace crony being tapped in the distribution of the automated counting machines (ACMs) to be provided by Smartmatic-TIM, under the arrangement to be entered into by two parties, will be free of any liablity should things go awry in the May 10, 2010 national elections.

    Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero said this yesterday in noting the participation of Aboitiz group’s 2GO company which will be in full charge of the distribution of the ACMs in the so-called 38 “hubs” and 11 “sub-hubs,” the drop off points prior to the machines’ deployment on election day in the contract bagged by Smartmatic-TIM.

    “The one that came up with the plan on how to roll out the machines is 2GO,” said to be owned by the Aboitiz group, owned by the Aboitizes, a known Arroyo crony, “which is why we said ‘to follow’ seems to be the plan here because they are contracting 2GO still,” the senator said, apparently insinuating the known standing in the financial circles of the firm with the present administration.

  27. Ang mga ayaw ko na pilipino ay ang mga buwaya,asal-aso na kurakot,mga white worshipers at wannabe spanish itong mga ito ang nagpapahirap sa atin.

  28. chi chi

    “…2GO, an Aboitiz-owned nationwide freight company tapped by Smartmatic-TIM to map the drop-off points.”

    Ayos na!

  29. Liwayway-Gawgaw Liwayway-Gawgaw

    “……Nangangamoy mafia na naman ito.’ – Tongue.

    Hindi nangangamoy mafia kundi nangangamoy BABOY.

    Kita na nga ang buntot, eh!

  30. Liwayway-Gawgaw Liwayway-Gawgaw

    May garapata pa nga ‘yung buntot!

  31. roger roger

    eto kaya ang senario>???
    after tim got the project with a little help from baboy… now baboy want all… so ask tim to back out,, but tim feeeling lugi,,, want to get some action from deal before backing out,, so ask smartmatic for half a billion before exit..para di sayang trinabaho

  32. RomyMan RomyMan

    mukhang lutong macao ang 2010 election. who is the one really pulling the strings in smartmatic? big boy kaya he he he !. kung ako tim demand talaga ako ng pera dahil barya barya ang ambun nila from big boy.

  33. norpil norpil

    in a non banana republic, aboitiz group can only sell bananas.

  34. saxnviolins saxnviolins

    You think it’s about the money? The smokescreen is working.

    The contract is worth about $150 Million (7,000 Million pesos divided by 47) at the current exchange rate. Smartmatic is in 22 states of the US. There are 28 more, and elections are held every two years. You think they would want to lose all that potential business for the paltry $150 Million from the Philippines?

    Even the Europeans were impressed by Smartmatic in the Venezuela referendum. Think of all the emerging democracies in Eastern Europe. You think Smartmatic wouldn’t want that business? Were I the CEO, I would even run the Philippine elections at a loss just to impress the world and get the business in the US and Europe.

    What about the Pinoys? 500 Million pesos is $10.6 Million at the current exchange rate. ICTSI/Razon just invested $180 Million in Buenaventura, Colombia. This is a dog bone compared to the $200 Million tongpats of the ZTE/NBN.

    The issue is technical control. The Pinoys want to cheat; that is a death knell to the Smartmatic brand, and their future business prospects in other parts of the world.

    Bedol and Garci must be snickering. Tuloy ang ligaya.

  35. bayong bayong

    ano ba magagawa natin. Walang paki-alam ang mga Pinoy sa nangyayari.

  36. norpil norpil

    agree that its not a question of money in the immediate future. even european companies have money for corrupt counterparts which shows in their accounting presented in their general assemblies.what more with the americans who are the teachers of all that is good and evil in business.pinoys on the other hand are great manipulators.

  37. chi chi

    atty sax,

    That’s a comprehensive post, I agree.

  38. chi chi

    “Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita denied reports that someone connected with Malacañang was behind TIM’s withdrawal from the project, saying “some smart people, not necessarily aligned with the administration, are already making up all scenarios.” -Malaya

    ___

    Oooppss, pumutak na si tandang Edong. What more can we say? Kapag ganyan na nasa defensive mood si Ermita ay yun na!

  39. Ang nakakaduda dito, 2GO dictates the flow of the machines from their Bulacan main hub/warehouse to the various distribution points. Absolutely out of control of the Comelec. A logistics provider works on a plan submitted by a client, uses its resources and contacts in their industry to ensure that the client’s requirements are met.

    In this case, Comelec does not have the logistical roadmap, it relied fully on 2GO’s proposal devoid of any knowledge of the intricacies of conducting election material distribution.

    The intriguing possibility of the main hub being bombed as soon as all the machines are in remains strong, what with bombs exploding and deing discovered almost twice a week. You can also suspect that there is a “centralizing” of the physical control over the machines, with possibility of tweaking the software right in the main hub. Smartmatic cannot be faulted afterwards since the software alteration occurred after their delivery. Do they have the capability? Aboitiz Equity Ventures has software companies that can handle the job. All it takes is for a technician to pluck out the machine’s main brain, the EEPROM, from its socket, plug it into it to a handheld program reader/writer and voila!

    Connect all the actions and declarations of the Arroyo think tank – ConAss, holdover president, revolutionary gov’t, caretaker junta, coup me – words not coming just from the opposition conspiracy theorists but from Gloria’s top agents themselves, and the move to control the handling of the machines, it isn’t easy to suspect something’s terribly wrong, ain’t it?

    The tongpats is the easy part. It’s SOP in any major purchase under Gloria.

  40. chi,
    Reading between the lines, “not necessarily aligned with the administration” only means bata nila yung nagkakalat ng balita. A freudian slip.

  41. chi chi

    Tongue,

    Ikaw talaga, ang laki ng microscope at radar. I have to be more careful about EK’s “slips”. Na-swak mo naman sila in their own game!

  42. Kaya ayaw niya ng automation for that manalo yung isa sa pinaka mataas sa eleksyon na pabor sa kanila.

    Gusto kasi ni Gloria kasi Asuhan tulad ng kapwa niyang dugong aso tulad ni Villar at Angara,I don’t know how this filth lasted allot(if not majority) of kapampangans changed their language to tagalog during the spanish era in fact Balagtas who has a cabalen background promoted tagalog language via poems but nobody can blame them for doing that but changing their language did not stop some people to have a treacherous heart.

    Bisaya too are collaborators with the spanish too and benifited allot from the spanish.

  43. Remember how they changed the election returns being kept at the batasan with fake one they manufactured? With Aboitiz’ 2Go in control of the bodegas,it’s open field for Gloria Arroyo’s geniuses to manufacture results of the 2010 elections.

    We will have Gilbert Teodoro as president. Walang paki-alam sila kung hindi binoto ng tuambayan.

    Here’s the ER switching story I did for Verafiles:

    http://www.verafiles.org/index.php/focus/100-saf-commandos-confirm-2004-poll-fraud-coverup

    http://www.verafiles.org/index.php/focus/101-complicity-in-poll-fraud-coverup-taints-saf-record

  44. Diego K. Guerrero Diego K. Guerrero

    Re: Aboitiz 2GO- From the central warehouse located in Bulacan, the counting machines would be taken to and stored in the hubs before they are transported to 80,000 polling precincts in various parts of the Philippines.

    Something is wrong here. At the warehouse, high-tech Garci-Bedol clones will do their magic. Tapos na ang election.

  45. chi chi

    Wow! That was a hell of a story, Ellen. Lahat ng pinakinabangan ni Gloria Arroyo sa dayaan ay promoted at naka-kandado na ang mga bunganga.

    Gloria Arroyo is a genius, genius in manipulating the results of anything that could perpetuate her fake rule. Kung ganyan ay magiging presidente nga si Gibo.

    The “freudian slip” Tongue mentioned backs up the scenario of Gibo as the next president of pinas by hook or by crook. EK is conditioning the pinoys of what to come. Ano na ang gagawin ng pinoy kapag nagkatotoo ang senaryong ito?

  46. chi chi

    Ellen is again very very tired yata. Nalimutan na buksan yung pinto sa pinakaunahan.

  47. Rose Rose

    Chi: “ano ang gagawin ng mga pinoy?” mamundok na lang..magtanim ng camote at pa utotan si putot ng tunay na bala! gigiba ang buto buto niya pagnangyari ito…

  48. saxnviolins saxnviolins

    Under the contract, the Comelec would have paid the providers P7.19 billion for the lease of goods and purchase of services. Inquirer 7/2/2009

    See what I mean? Sabi nag-dive daw ang Smartmatic. The truth is, the other bidders overpriced, so that Smartmatic would win. The contract is not so expensive because the machines will only be leased. The Pig thought he could inveigle Smartmatic to cheat, so he chose that company as the winner.

    The software is already prepared, because Smartmatic already had one for the Venezuela referendum. It only takes a few lines of programming code to change yes or no in the Venezuela referendum software to Teodoro, Estrada, Escudero, Charlie Chaplin, or any number of other Pinoy candidates. Tubong lugaw ito para sa Smartmatic. Similarly, tubong lugaw din if they are hired in the other states of the US and/or other countries.

    The Philippine elections will pay for the machines. Even if the Smartmatic makes no profit on the Philippine elections, the income from elections in other countries will be pure profit (since the Philippine elections already paid for the machines).

    So Smartmatic has all the motive to keep the elections clean. As earlier mentioned, the Pinoys have all the motive to achieve a clean sweep – so that the strumpet gets elected, and the people who will elect her as Speaker also get elected.

  49. Rose Rose

    hindi ba may kasabihan..Money is a curse.. this is a curse for Ganid Macapalgal Arroyo…ito ang magdadala sa kanla sa impierno..dapat mag isip isip na sila..her end is near!

  50. Rose Rose

    bakit “close for comments” sa kabilang topic?

  51. Rose Rose

    Nasa Asian Hosp. ata si putot..dapat ikulong na lang siya doon…hindi ba malapit sa Fort Bonifacio ang hospital? Kaya nabinta na ata noong araw ang Fort Bonifacio..it was sold via FVR?

  52. parasabayan parasabayan

    I do not buy the “money issue” as a reason for the fall out. The money involved here is not even a fraction of what the pigs eat up everyday via corruption. “Control” is the main issue. Smartmatic has a reputation to protect. It can not afford to sacrifice its record of clean elections otherwise the first world countries will never use them again. Maybe it was the US and the EU who pushed for their getting into the Philippines in an effort to have credible elections.

    But as usual, the “babuyan” business comes in and those who think that they have the “right” to have a piece of the pie by illegitimately putting themselves in power are in “business as usual”. Talagang garapalan na talaga! If the computers are going to be altered, which the villains can do in a matter of minutes, it is better to just continue with the old manual system but this time, we have to field in more people to guard our votes in every precinct. Kailangang bantayan natin and bawat boto so Garci, Bedol, Esperon(or his annointed) and the other cheats can no longer cheat for their “queen” of cheats. Magmanman tayo.

  53. parasabayan parasabayan

    I wish someone at the Asian Hospital will do a “heroic” act! Bakit hindi siya sa St Luke’s Hospital nagpa-confine?Takot na ba siya dun?

  54. chi chi

    Palagay ko ay hinihintay lang ng EK na mag-withdraw ang Smartmatic para balik sa Gloria matik-matik!

  55. chi chi

    Nasa Asian Hospital ba si Unana ngayon? Yun na ba ang kanilang “war room”, ayaw na sa St. Luke’s?

  56. parasabayan parasabayan

    Payag na ako na tahimik lang ang mga sundalo ngayon basta sa elections eh magbantay sila para sa atin. If they do this, I forgive them for their past sins of “not doing anything” for our country.

  57. saxnviolins saxnviolins

    bakit “close for comments” sa kabilang topic?

    Same issue as this thread. Buti yung centralized ang discussion.

  58. chi chi

    Baka nalimutan lang ni Ellen dahil sa pagod ay nakatulog.

  59. Madali lang sundan ang pinaguusapan ngayon kung ano at sino ang puno’t dulo.

    No doubt, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a very smart and systematic panggulo ng Pinas when it comes to corrupt and corruption. Pagsamahin ang smart at systematic, Ang resulta, wala nang iba, Smartmatic !!!

  60. chi chi

    “…The Pig thought he could inveigle Smartmatic to cheat, so he chose that company as the winner.” -saxnviolins

    TIM was definitely forced to withdraw by someone big when he realized that he can’t ‘corrupt’ Smartmatic who might eventually withdraw to preserve its dignity.

    I’m following your posts on this, atty.

  61. The other bidders’ submitted prices were over the budget. But that doesn’t mean that theirs was the costliest. We are practically RENTING these Smartmatic machines for P7.2B while the others are SELLING whole systems, some with hightech wireless transmission thrown in.

    The Smartmatic offer appears CHEAP but not sure if it’s the most ECONOMICAL one.

    As for the motive for Smartmatic to keep the integrity of its machines, so are the other suppliers’. Who would want to sell a lemon knowing the range of possibilities for future business? Just as TIM would not risk its pristine record of providing critical software for our banking systems. Conniving with cheats is a sure way to lose all their client banks.

    Not many companies are into this kind of products and opportunities like this are rare. I’m almost sure not one of the bidders joined only to deliberately lose out in the end. But Melo’s threat of a future ban silenced them.

    I find it strange though that a company such as Smartmatic has a “confidential” board of directors.

    As far as I’m concerned, this deal is nothing but tongpats and cheating altogether.

  62. xman xman

    Ang bidding ay niluto talaga ng Comelec dahil gusto talaga ni pandak at baboy na manalo ang Smartmatic. Paano niluto ng Comelec ang bidding?

    Sinabihan ng Comelec ang bidders na mag bid sila para sa buong precincts sa buong Pinas kaya matataas ang bidding ng lahat ng bidders puwera lang ang Smartmatic? Bakit? Sinabihan ng Comelec na mag bid ang Smartmatic good for 80,000 precincts lang imbis na 250,000 precincts sa buong kapuluan. Kaya pinakamababa ang bid ng Smartmatic.

  63. chi chi

    Tongue,

    Tingnan mo ang konek na ito sabi ni Teddy Casino:

    “We have to look into how TIM entered into the picture and who brokered their joint venture with Smartmatic especially since the brother of TIM’s Antunez, Julio is married into the Aboitiz who are known to be close to FG and First Family.” (source: Abante)

  64. Vendors
    Why do we have to settle for a few bidders when in the US alone, there are already several suppliers.

    This list includes suppliers of postal, remote electronic and electronic machine voting solutions. (US pa lang ito)

    Association of Electronic Voting Systems
    Avante
    Diebold Election Systems
    Diversified Dynamics
    Election.com
    Election Systems & Software
    Electoral Reform Services
    Evote.ca/The Online Assessment Company
    Guardian Voting Systems
    Hart Intercivic
    iBallot.com
    Integrity Voting Systems
    MicroVote
    MTI
    Reply Systems
    SafeVote
    Sequoia Voting Systems
    SureVote
    The Voting Group
    TrueBallot
    UniLect
    VoteHere
    Voting Technologies International

  65. parasabayan parasabayan

    The Fat Pig na naman! Talagang walang kabusugan itong ganid na ito! Somebody do something to stop this monster!

  66. chi,
    Talaga, kapatid niya si Julio Antunez? Julio is a top executive of Aboitiz, VP yata. If they are from Iloilo, kamag-anak nila ang mga Araneta, despuez (Espanyol yan!) kamag-anak din ni First Gentlepig! Pati na ni Ninez Cacho ng Tribune. OMG!

    Obvious na lutong-makaw nga ito!

  67. Yung mga Kastilaloy-Basque sa Iloilo halos magkakamag-anak yan, sila Aboitiz, Araneta, Antunez, Ugarte, Arroyo, Cacho, Dela Rama na dumagsa sa Pinas bago ang mga Kano. Yung ibang tisoy sumunod sa mga Intsik na napadpad sa Negros at naging mga hacienderos doon.

  68. chi chi

    Tongue,

    Na-shocked ako sa expose na konek ni Casino, pero mas shocked ako sa konek mo! I knew you can easily made the konek-konek nila. Isang circle lang ang kanilang iniikutan, ang nasa gitna ay si Pidal!

    OMG talaga. Now we know!

  69. chi chi

    …make the konek..

    Naku naman, tumataas ang dugo ko sa inis!

  70. I forgot to say that Arroyo means “dried river” in spanish.

  71. mukat mukat

    Tongue,

    Konektado rin ba yong pamilya nila Mar Araneta Roxas sa mga binanggit mo?

  72. chi chi

    How is Judy Araneta related to Greggy A? Di ba from Iloilo sina Mar? Malamang, galing sila sa isang ancestor. Paktaylo na si Juan!

  73. parasabayan parasabayan

    Mumbaki, angkop na angkop and pangalan kay pandak, fat pig at yung mga horsies at siyempre naman kay ostritch! Mukha nga silang “dried” lahat. Ang bumubuhay lang sa kanila eh pera at kapangyarihan. Tanggalin mo ang lahat ng ito at mistula silang mga zoo occupants!

  74. chi chi

    Ooppss…

    Mukat, sori ha. Your question was addressed to Tongue pala.

  75. Cong Biazon posted something about this in his Facebook page on 30 June… He said he was suspicious and asked why?

    I posted the following comment re his post:

    I suspect they decided the asking price for pay-offs was much too high. Seen it happen a few times when I was working in the Philippines — too many “ganids”. Absolutely anarchic. In Malaysia, there is a ceiling for “backshish” but in the Philippines, there is absolutely no ceiling; every one that knows someone who knows someone who is related to someone “important” peddles influence, wants a piece of the backshish action and demands, demands, demands cash privileges, i.e., upfront money. Just is bloody difficult doing business with RP.

    And when you think the project is a go after all the hassles, some member of Congress threatens to take the floor and use his/her privilege speech period “to denounce” the contract (because he/she’s been forgotten”. You try to make sense of the entire situation but whoa, your travails aren’t over. Somebody else “blows” the whistle …. At the end of the day, not worth it… Might as well take your investment, your technology elsewhere.

    Of course, after reading a bit more on the issue, I reckon, they were told to back off, similar scenario I’ve witnessed happen a couple of times.

    Another one of RP’s endless important national projects that’s gone bad when the going was almost good. As Tongue Ferrum said in the same comment, “doesn’t make business sense”.

    But I’m not surprised. The whole thing is consistent with how you do business with the Philippines.

    RP will find it more and more difficult to attract foreign investors, joint venture proponents, technology transfer proponents, etc… This last business fiasco only reinforces international belief that the Philippines is one of those horrible countries you avoid if you want to do legit business.

  76. Unreliability, greed, crab mentality, extreme corruption, etc., these are the hurdles international business need to overcome or to face if they want to do legit business with RP.

    The only way to reap “profit” from a legit deal with RP is if you do straightforward sales but with a caveat: you accept to top your offer with an incredible amount of “backshish” to to sign the deal.

    Aquino’s govt was good at that… When her govt sold missiles, it was “cash and carry”, that was a fabulous deal — it worked because it was a “straightforward” deal.

  77. Ooops, “When her govt BOUGHT missiles, it was “cash and carry”. That was one fabulous deal — it worked because it was a “straightforward” deal!

  78. Rose Rose

    Ang lolo ni Mar Roxas ay si dating President Manuel Acuna
    Roxas of Capiz (now Roxas City).. Aklan used to be part of Capiz…ang naalaala kong mga apelyido na kastilaloy sa Iloilo ay Caram, Lopez, Zulueta, and because of marriages..nagkabuholbuhol na ang mga relationships..sila sila ang nag-asawahay..Ledesmas, Montilla, Montelibano, mga lahi ito ng kastila…

  79. Rose Rose

    Maiba ako..ang mga kastilaloys na ito..do they consider themselves Filipinos or Spanish?..or do they have dual citizenship..Fhil./Spanish..ang paglaa;am ko kung ma trace mo ang lineage mo sa Spain..and hable Expanol ka it will not be difficult to obtain Spanish citizenship…marami sa kanila ata nag-aral sa Madrid…

  80. saxnviolins saxnviolins

    So there were three serious bidders – Smartmatic, Sequoia, and HartCivic, based on this report.

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20090518-205729/Smartmatic-has-lowest-automated-polls-bid

    Turns out, HartCivic’s system is hackable, according to this study by the University of California in Berkeley (ang UP ng Tate – number one public University).

    That left Smartmatic and Sequoia. Smartmatic bought Sequoia, and later “divested” itself of its Sequoia shares. You believe that “divestment”?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_Voting_Systems

    HartCivic was disqualified, leaving the situation as a fight between the parent company and the company it bought – and later “unloaded”.

    Wrong choice Pig. You should have gone with the hackable HartCivic. You need not have dealt with them. You could have just hired UC Berkeley students to hack into the system to manufacture your results.

  81. parasabayan parasabayan

    Atty sax, the Pig is so attracted to the tongpats, nothing else!

  82. Re: “A “carried partner,” the sources said, means one who wants to get a piece of the action without contributing a single centavo.”

    But that “one” believes that the influence he is peddling/selling/putting in the kitty is worth 60% equity! I kid thee not…

    And can tell you that former law firm of Tony Carpio was specialist in that sort of JV.

  83. Well Gloria and Mike’s surname Arroyo means dry river,the rivers dry on draught and draught causes famine.

    Bago pa naging dugong aso ang mga kapampangan ang mga bisaya ang mas naunang nagtraydor kaya maraming kastilaloy na bisaya na prominente but there are Bisayang hindi traydor tulad ni Tamblot,LapuLapu at Papa Isio.

    Pedro Paterno and Diosdado Macapagal had been claiming that they are descendants of the Royalty of the Luzon Empire/Kingdom even if they are royal blood they don’t have the right to claim because they are traitors or dugong aso.

  84. Rose Rose

    Arroyo means dried river? dry na dry na nga ang kaban ng Filipins..ang baboy talaga ay walang kabusogan..
    ..decendants of royalty? mga aso seguro!

  85. Hmmm… to be compared to dogs ain’t fair to dogs at all!

    My dog and the other dogs I’ve had during my lifetime would feel terribly insulted to be likened to these Malacanang pigs.

    Dogs have sense of honour and sense of what is right from wrong. Gloria and her pig consort don’t possess that doggy virtue at all.

  86. @Adebrux,kaya tinatawag na dugong aso because they worship foreigners,take advantage of their fellow pinoys and look down on their fellow pinoys,the dugong aso term is exclusively used on kapampangans(and can be used to people from central luzon in general) because of the betrayals done by the macabebe scouts who follow foreigners.

  87. Liwayway-Gawgaw Liwayway-Gawgaw

    Mr. X-tra Large’s hand is not only partly seen but clearly exposed in this undeniably well planned another step to gunano’s and her minions’ perpetuation.

    Hindi na maaaring mabuhay is Mr. X-tra Large kung walang tongpats, suhol, kotong, lagay at kurakot kaya lahat na ay ginagawa upang huwag silang mapaalis sa bahay na bato sa gilid ng itim na ilog.

    Ilang panahon pa kayang maghahari ang mga alagad ng lagim?

    Aba’y kung pababayaan ng taong bayan ang sila ay pagharian ng mga ganid ay wala na siguro tayong magagawa kundi itigil na lamang itong ating pagngawa.

    Kanya kanya na lang, tutal ayaw nilang makinig at tayo pa ang pinag-iisipan ng masama.

    Haaay, buhay! Parang life of alamang!

  88. patria adorada patria adorada

    mumbaki,na basa mo na ba ang tungkol sa “La leyenda negra”?

  89. norpil norpil

    agree with adebrux. in fact the comparison has to do with loyalty and not with the love of foreigners. dogs are loyal only to the hand that feeds them and a lot of people have this trait. kapampangans has no monopoly on this trait.

  90. totingmulto totingmulto

    It’s both… money and cheating.

  91. Ito ang matagal ko nang sinasabi. Kaya ayaw ko sa protest march ay dahil ang ConAss ay isang diversionary tactic lamang. It’s a ruse, actually. Ang dapat tutukan ay ito. MAKE SURE or FAILURE of elections. Kung ang una, si Gilbert Teoduro. Kung ang huli, si Evil. Pero kung ang failure lang ay ang automation at hindi ang eleksiyon, ay malamang na si Gibo. Nasaan na tayo ngayon?

  92. sax,
    Ang problema ng Sequoia, maraming nagreklamo dun sa kanilang printing ng ballots. In one instance, one state (Virgina yata, not sure) has inserted a referendum question where the voter blocks out either the “yes” or “no” space but their program switched the two that if you wanted to answer “no” you must shade “yes”, WTF? They had to snail mail each and every voter to explain that the answers must be switched to reflect the right vote. They also misprinted barcodes that election officers had to manually sort 65,000 ballots to get an index.

  93. Napunta tayo sa mga dugong-aso. And speaking of trayduran, let me share this:

    At the outbreak of the Philippine revolution, the Ayuntamiento (municipal council) of Jaro was the first to condemn, by way of a resolution, the revolution as “an unpatriotic act.” The Ilonggo alta sociedad also responded to the news of revolution with protestation and outrage and evoked pro-Spanish loyalty. The Ayuntamiento of Iloilo followed suit and organized the Iloilo Volunteer Battalion.

    The voluntarios, as members were called, were recruited from among the private population of Jaro and Iloilo and the adjoining prosperous towns of Molo, Arevalo, Oton and Sta. Barbara, and the more distant northern and eastern pueblos. They fought against the army of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Cavite and Pampanga. Illustrious personalities like Martin Delgado, Quintin Salas, Pedro Monteclaro and Adriano Hernandez were among the officers of the battalion. The biggest financial contributors to the Ilongo contingent were industrialist Don Eugenio Lopez and shipping magnate Don Felix dela Rama.

    In the battlefield of Cavite, the voluntarios helped the Spanish forces in the initial defeat of Aguinaldo’s forces in 1897. It was the most well-equipped and well-trained contingent on the side of Spain. They helped in the fall of Silang and Imus which led to the collapse of the revolutionaries’ defenses in Cavite after a fierce battle for Zapote bridge.

    Shocking ba?

  94. norpil norpil

    thanks tongue. quite interesting. if we shall read history in depth, we must have an open mind for we might find out that some of our heroes are not what we thought they are. but then again, who are we to judge them, we did not live their lives and their times. for me, the single most important event will be the throwing of the arroyos and their cohorts. and speaking of blood, there ought to be a project to find a definite pinoy dna strain if ever there exist.

  95. chi,
    The Aranetas are related. The more famous ones who married into the clan are Irene and Bongbong Marcos, Bongbong to Lisa Cacho Araneta of Negros branch (Ninez Cacho’s family owns Panay Electric in Negros) and Irene to Greggy Benitez Araneta of Iloilo branch. Roxas of Capiz via Judy Araneta of Cubao branch (Mar’s lola is an Araneta de Araneta). The Yulo-Aranetas form the Canlubang branch (Speaker Jose Yulo’s wife is an Araneta). Linggoy Alcuaz’ mom is also an Araneta.

    The shady ones come from the Araneta Lacson de Arroyo. Kilala mo na kung sinong mga yan. Yan yung pinagkakamalan ni Yuko na magkamag-anak daw si Ping at si Fatso.

    http://thearanetaclan.blogspot.com/2006/06/first-araneta-family-grand-reunion.html

  96. chi chi

    Tongue,

    Yup, I know the shady ones. Interesting link.

    Thanks for the remind. Nakalimutan ko for a while that siblings Irene and Bongbong are married to the Araneta clan.

  97. Further investigative research (a.k.a. “googling”) shows that the same connections are at work in this deal. Sabi ni Pat Mangubat, GSIS, through Cebuano Winston Garcia, had used TIM’s banking system software. Ano ba ang banko ng GSIS? Diba Union Bank ng mga Aboitiz? Yung hindi pinapangalanan sa mga newspapers na very influential man sa meeting ng Smartmatic at Aboitiz in a hotel, tinukoy na ni Pat na si Winston. Parang Meralco takeover na naman!

    Read it here: http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/2009/07/smartmatic-tim-scandal-and-arroyo.html#comment-form

  98. @norpil
    I forgot to say that the dialects or languages in the philippines with the exception of the bajau languages in sulu,capulenyo,sangil of saranggani and the chabakano languages are related to each other in the same way han chinese languages like Wu,Cantonese,Hokien and Mandarin are related ang mga tao na taga-gorontalo,sulawesi at orchid island ay pinoy pala according sa mga linguist.

  99. chi chi

    Tongue, si Winston na naman! So predictable na ang mga tao at gimik of criminals around the supreme criminals Gloria and Mike Arroyo.

  100. parasabayan parasabayan

    Maraming galamay si pandak at si fatso. Basta meron silang cut!

  101. neonate neonate

    Do I sense a bit of abhorrence by TT of the Basque mestizos? Mestizo, as in Tagalog, is mixed native and foreign ancestry. (The terms mulatto, quadroon, and octoroon originated with the racial policies of European colonizers in the Americas, especially the Spanish. Because civil rights and responsibilities were based directly on the degree of European blood that a person had, such classifications were highly elaborated, and minor distinctions in ancestry were carefully recorded. While these terms have highly precise definitions, in actual practice they were often used based on impressions of skin color rather than definite knowledge of ancestry.
    In the Philippine context, a half-breed mestizo had better rights than the pug nosed dark skin Indios, and is a free pass to movie stardom even without talent. That is to me a strong argument to shun mestizos or quadroons and octoroons in the 2010 elections, if ever it transpires. TIM reinforces that argument.

  102. Re: “That is to me a strong argument to shun mestizos or quadroons and octoroons in the 2010 elections”

    Good thing my Dad has no plans of running in the 2010 elections… Anyway, I’d be surprised if he did — I don’t think he’ll relish the idea of leaving Manila Memorial Park.

  103. Orly,
    Mestizo rin ako, both sides. But what I abhor is their treatment of the natives which to this day seem as their subjects. The minority Basques that fled Castillian-dominated España and settled in the Visayas and found them a niche there. Whatever frustrations they had in Spain they vented on the Pinoys. It still happens to this day.

    Marcos partially dismantled the Tisoy oligarchy but replaced them with his own cronies. Very soon after Marcos, they are back with a vengeance, their rent-seeking ways never as ambitious as in Gloria’s time, dictating this time not only on business matters but political as well.

    It’s about time we reclaim the Philippines for Filipinos!

  104. Isn’t it funny that we are now mere second class citizens to the Tisoys and Chinoys?

  105. Naku, hindi pala sa Manila Memorial Park ang Daddy ko — sa Loyola Memorial Park. (Gosh, nakalimutan ko na ah…)

  106. Tongue — yes, how ironic that true Pinoys (not mongrel Pinoys) have become virtual second class citizens in their own country.

    But one thing good about my Dad despite his being mestizo through and through is that he loved the Philippines and would not accept crap from anyone about the Pinas when he was alive.

    He fought for her, he breathed, lived, died Pinoy… his 1st wife and children died for her, his mother was murdered because he was fighting the Japs, his twin brother died for Pinas in the infamous Death March and boy, Dad was prepared to invade Sabah under Marcos and fight the Malaysians…

    I’m tempted to suggest that Pinas should truly have our own version of Bumiputra.

  107. Kopya ito ng opinion ni President Erap mula sa ABS-CBN News. Kung noon may Dagdag-Bawas sa manual counting, ngayon ay hi-tech na. Isang click lang puwede nang dayain. Isang tawag lang ng Malacanang sa Smartmatic agad may dagdag na one million votes. This is alarming.

    Former President Joseph Estrada thinks Filipino firm Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) was paid off or was given concessions to remain a partner of Dutch company Smartmatic in the automation of the 2010 elections.

    “Something is fishy there,” said Estrada in an interview Friday during his visit to Zamboanga del Sur as part of his Lakbay Pasasalamat.

    Early this week, TIM declared it was pulling out of the joint venture, but after a make-or-break meeting with Smarmatic and Commission on Election (Comelec) officials on Friday, it decided to stay on.

    Estrada said he has information that TIM wanted out of the partnership because there were anomalies in Smartmatic’s systems.

    He added that TIM’s decision to push through with the project came as a surprise to him.

    “I don’t know if there is some money or some consideration involved.. Everybody is surprised,” said Estrada.

    Estrada said Comelec should reveal details of the meeting, echoing fears the 2010 polls may be rigged.

  108. Sabi ni Erap Dutch Company itong Smartmatic. Merong nagsasabing Venezuelan, merong Argentinian, merong Barbados, merong ewan kung ano pa.

    Namfootah, kung shady ang background, tapos secret pa ang ownership, bakit pinayagan yang makasali sa bidding?

    Tangna ninyo, sige, subukan ninyo uling mandaya!

  109. Ang tanong: Credible ba ang Comelec? This Melo is another Malacanang appointee. It’s the same dog with different collar. Kasabwat ang Comelec. Kapag may dayaan sa election, tiyak na kasabwat ang Comelec.

  110. Tongue,

    Erap is right. Smartmatic is Dutch. We used the same technology in France during the last presidential election but most precincts had to do away with them half way during the voting.

  111. Gee, Anna, namemeligro ang botohan natin kung ganun!

  112. Matagal nang plantsado iyan. Automatic ang Smartmatic. Just one click…ayos na.

  113. neonate neonate

    Okay TT, apology accepted (for your being twice a mestizo) and because you are spurning public office, not chasing it. But, it’s only fair to warn you that if your name turns up in Comelec’s authentic list for senators, (you deserve no less) I may be tempted to change my mind about mestizos, persuaded also by the revelation that Anna de Brux is mestiza (bless her late dad).
    Smartmatic a flying Dutchman? Playing footsie with TIM and Aboitiz? The plot gets as complex as an Agatha Christy.

  114. Anong klaseng mestizo? May mestizong Puti, mestizong Egoy, mestizong Intsik, Mestizong Aeta.

    Dutch right. Tama si Erap, Dutch nga ang may-ari. Pero iyong isang Executive na Flores medyo Kastila.

  115. Wika nga ni Herman Tiu Laurel, garbage in garbage out ang Comelec dahil iyan ang kasabihan sa computer.

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