Miro Quimbo (left) and Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo (Facebook)

Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo was so impressed by the 2025 automated election system (AES) of Miru Systems that it reminder her of her handsome husband, whose name sounds just like the poll contractor's. 

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia was asked by Rep. Quimbo on Tuesday night, Sept 3 about what makes Miru's AES different from the one used during the previous 2022 elections. 

The lady solon is senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, which conducted the budget hearing attended by Garcia and other Comelec officials. 

Garcia--known or having the gift of gab as well as for his intellectt--gave a five-minute, uninterrupted answer wherein he highlighted the advantages of South Korean contractor's hybrid Optical Mark Reader (OMR) and Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) system. 

"Sige sir, pahingao muna kayo. Pero ang dami palang features, so ang daming features, at the same time mas mabilis. So, OK," Rep. Quimbo, an economist, said. 

(OK sir, you can rest a bit. But there are a lot of features, so there are a lot of features and at the same time, it's faster. So, OK.) 

She then quipped: "Bat naman kasi ako nag-doubt pa eh kasing-pangalan naman ng asawa ko to. Pogi naman pala ng makina na to no? Kasing-pogi ng asawa ko, di ba." 

(Why did I even doubt it ,it's my husband's namesake. Isn't this a handsome machine? It's as handsome as my husband, right?) 

The congresswoman was referring to Miro Quimbo, himself a former Marikina representative. 

Rep. Quimbo couldn't help but praise Garcia as well, since he practically took on by himself all questions from the House members during the six-hour budget hearing. 

"Isa po ako sa manghang-mangha sa inyong galing, kabisadong kabisado niyo ang bawat sulok ng Comelec at Election law. So, ang galing niyo po," she told the poll chief. 

Garcia told the appropriations panel that OMR and DRE would be used in the upcoming 2015 mid-term elections. 

OMR will be used locally and is practically the same, design-wise, as the previous machines, Garcia said. It reads shaded ballots. 

"Ang difference lang po madam chair, inupgrade namin features ng machine. Yun nga po yung mali na sinasabi na nagbago kami completely ng system. Wala pong binagong system madam chair, yung machine lang po inimprove namin," he explained. 

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https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/15/garcia-diverting-from-offshore-bank-accounts-issue-says-marcoleta

(The only difference madam chair is that we upgraded the features the machine. That's where critics got it wrong, that we changed the system completely. We didn't change any system madam chair, we just improved the machine.) 

He says the machine's screen has been enlarged to 14 inches and can now be tilted. 

"Number two po, yung bills. Dati po, 70 millimeters per second; ngayon po 200 millimeters per second. Pag hinulog po yung balota natin, in three seconds po ay pumapasok na agad yung balota," noted Garcia. 

(Number two is the improved speed. Before it's 70 millimeters per second; now it's 200 millimeters per second. Once you drop in the ballot, it will only take three seconds for it to get inserted.) 

Meanwhile, he says the DRE will be used by Filipinos abroad particularly in areas where only offline voting is permitted by the host country.        

Miru's contract is worth P18 billion, the biggest contract ever given by the Philippine government for an AES.