Instead of the online voting portal, opposition coalition 1Sambayan will hire the services of a pollster that will conduct a preferential survey on its presidential and vice-presidential nominees for the May 2022 polls.
In a statement, the pro-democracy group said the online portal for the public to vote for their preferred opposition bets will no longer push through after the hacking incident last month.
1Sambayan is supposed to open an online voting portal this July, but the coalition’s mobile campaign application, 1Sama Ako, was hacked on June 12, the same day when it released the list of names for president and vice president.
This data breach paved the way for the group to prioritize the “protection of the public” in the voting process.
READ: One big vulnerability in 1Sambayan app
“Personal information like email address and/or mobile phone number – were required to prevent multiple voting. But some forces that do not share 1Sambayan’s vision for good governance, will attempt to thwart every move,” 1Sambayan said.
“As such, 1Sambayan has instead decided to engage the services of a professional pollster to conduct a preferential survey on our presidential and vice-presidential nominees,” it added.
The coalition had already reported the data breach to the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and had the issue with the app for its supporters and volunteers patched. It also sought the services of an independent audit team to reassess their online security.
READ: 1Sambayan’s membership app goes offline after it was hacked
1Sambayan was formed by its lead convenors—retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario—to come up with a united opposition to go against the administration’s bets next year.
Of the six nominees, only Vice President Leni Robredo and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV did not reject the nomination by 1Sambayan.
Senator Grace Poe, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, House deputy speaker and evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva, and Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto all said they do not have plans to run for president.