House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The congressman-members of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms could not hide their growing concerns over poll contractor Miru Systems Co. Ltd.'s ability to carry out the 2025 midterm elections. 

over the "extreme haste" with which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had signed the P18-billion automated vote-counting contract with South Korean firm 

This, as Rizal 2nd district Rep. Dino Tanjuatco slammed what he called the railroading of the signing of the P18-billion automated vote-counting contract despite mounting calls for Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate the controversies hounding Miru's bid. 

During an oversight hearing by the committee Tuesday, March, 12, Comelec Chairman George Garcia and Miru representatives did not show up, leaving committee members--who were looking forward to a demo of the new automated voting system to be used in the 2025 midterm elections--hanging and frustrated. 

"Members of this committee wanted to ask questions to Miru, the systems provider. I wonder why there is no sense of urgency for the contractor to attend this meeting. The expectation of the committee was there will be a demonstration to ensure the integrity and truthfulness of counting machines to be used in next year's election," Tanjuatco said. 

Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez noted that not one of the 14 Miru officials invited by the committee attended Tuesday's hearing. 

Mountain Province lone district Rep. Maximo Dalog Jr., who chairs the suffrage committee, frowned over the fact that Miru had no explanation for its representatives' absence. 

For Tanjuatco, Miru showed disrespect to the House committee. "We are talking about the next election, which must be transparent, truthful and with integrity. If Miru as the service provider does not provide importance to those three conditions, there's a problem." 

Tanjuatco likewise expressed regret that Garcia has failed to keep his personal assurances that the contract would not be awarded to Miru any time soon, considering the many controversies that should be addressed beforehand. 

He pointed to the lack of transparency in the procurement process and cautioned the Comelec of dire consequences resulting from the rushed signing of the deal. 

"During the Febr. 21 demo that I attended, I raised to Chairman Garcia numerous concerns regarding the Miru machine and the procurement process. He personally assured me that the Comelec would not be awarding the contract to Miru just yet, and that there would be time to address these mounting concerns. 

"To my utter surprise and disappointment, the Comelec awarded the contract the very next day," Tanjuatco said. 

In particular, Tanjuatco questioned the integrity of vote-counting as he personally saw that Miru's machine read crumpled, marked and torn sample ballots during last month's demo. 

ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. France Castro joined the disappointment caused by Miru's absence, as she wanted to ask about the similarly controversial local joint-venture (JV) partners of the South Korean company. 

"We've heard that the Comelec's bidding process may have been tailor-fit for Miru, as the chosen bidder," Castro said. 

The Makabayan solon also flagged alleged security lapses as well as corruption in elections handled by Miru in Argentina and Kyrgyzstan, respectively. 

For his part, Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel condemned Comelec's inaction on Miru's botched elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Iraq. He warned of "chaos" if the same were to happen here in the Philippines next year. 

As such, Manuel sought the presence of Miru's JV partners in the next meeting scheduled on March 19. 

Meanwhile, Dalog criticized the continued failure of Garcia to be present during the oversight hearings. He noted that Garcia had asked the committee to postpone the hearing twice, and even suggested rescheduling it to Tuesday, which he still did not attend, citing a busy schedule. 

"Because Chairman Garcia and Miru weren't here, our concerns were not addressed," Dalog lamented. 

Dalog requested Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo to conduct the much-delayed demo before the committee before this week ends or next week -- ahead of legislators' Holy Week break. 

However, Casquejo could not commit an exact date to the committee, prolonging legislators' worries and uncertainty about Miru's capabilities.