DAVAO CITY – Dozens of what appeared to be Commission on Elections paraphernalia were discovered in a private residence on Santol St., Purok Santo Niño, Dumanlas, Buhangin, this city, on Saturday, April 5. 

COMELEC paraphernalia were stored in a private residence in Davao City on April 5. (Keith Bacongco)  

The Davao City Police Office  has deployed personnel in the area pending verification to be conducted by the Comelec-Davao region. 

Police said contents of the boxes were allegedly solar panels and Wi-Fi transmission equipment from Comelec Manila intended for distribution to various barangays in the Davao region. 

The election equipment arrived in the residential area on March 30, according to some residents.

'Nothing irregular'

The Comelec on Saturday said it found "no irregularity" with the decision of its transmission service provider for the May 12 polls to temporarily stock paraphernalia, particularly Starlink satellite transmission devices and solar panels, in the house.

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the move was solely decided by the service provider, iOne Resources Joint Venture with Ardent Networks Inc. (iOne JV).

“Accordingly, these duties remain solely with iOne V and it is their obligation, through whatever means is most efficient, to forward deploy such equipment, including the decision whether to temporarily store it in a staging area near the OEOs (Offices of Election Officer) and to proceed, prior to the election, to the voting and canvassing centers,” he said in a statement.

He said iOne JV confirmed that the area is one of their staging hubs, where their own equipment is temporarily stored before its final delivery to the OEOs in neighboring towns and cities as well as throughout the province.

However, for added security and transparency, the Field Operations Group ordered iOne JV to remove the Starlink devices and solar panels from their current location here and bring them directly to the respective OEOs, under the supervision of Comelec employees and Philippine National Police. 

Based on the submitted list, only 10 sets of Starlink devices, solar panels, and batteries were involved.

“Upon completion of their placement in the said Comelec offices, an inventory shall be immediately conducted and a report shall be prepared,” Laudiangco said.

The private company informed Comelec that the use of the area is only temporary, as they will start installing them in voting and canvassing centers throughout Davao region starting April 15, based on the schedule of deployment and installation for the national and local midterm elections.  

“We want to clarify that the Starlink devices and solar panels are for transmission only and have nothing to do with the machines and programs for reading ballots and counting votes, and they will only be used to transmit election returns and certificates of canvass,” Laudiangco said. 

He noted that no election program or software could affect the use of automated counting machines and Consolidation and Canvassing Systems, as well as the entire Election Management System. 

Election officers and provincial election supervisors nationwide have been directed to inspect all hubs, warehouses, and storage areas of iOne V located in their respective jurisdictions and strictly implement audit and security protocols, Laudiangco said.

"They are expected to report to the Field Operations Group as soon as possible,” he added.