Statements

Lacson: Ensuring Integrity of May Polls is Top Priority Amid Reported Comelec ‘Hacking’

While the Commission on Elections and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) are still investigating the veracity of claims that the Comelec’s servers were hacked, all stakeholders must make sure that the integrity of the May 9 polls will not be compromised.

Senator and Partido Reporma Chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson emphasized this as he said the elections are the strongest and clearest manifestation of democracy in the Philippines where the people’s will is supreme.

“Ang eleksyon ang pinakamalapit at pinakamalakas na representation ng demokrasya sa Pilipinas, kasi isang araw lang yan na hari ang tao (Elections are the strongest representation of democracy in the Philippines, because for one day, the people are clearly the rulers),” Lacson said in an interview on DZAR radio Tuesday afternoon.

He said the first step for those investigating the supposed hack, including his camp’s cybersecurity team, is to await the authors of the report of the alleged hacking to substantiate their claims. This will facilitate the investigation in establishing the identities of the supposed hackers and their motive.

Drawing from his training as an investigator guided by the three factors in solving a crime – motive, opportunity and means or weapon – Lacson said he instructed his cyber-security team to also determine the extent of the risk to the integrity of the elections.

He also said no stone must be left unturned and all possibilities – no matter how unlikely – must be considered, including an inside job, a “No-Elections” scenario, or a profit motive on the part of the alleged hackers.

“Ayaw natin paniwalaan yan pero in the realm of possibilities dapat lahat matingnan natin (As much as we don’t want to believe them, they are still in the realm of possibilities so we should still look into them),” he said.

Lacson added the Senate and House of Representatives can exercise their joint oversight powers to look into the incident, if needed.

“Kung kinakailangan, may joint oversight committee, anytime yan, hindi kailangan ang resolution (If needed, Congress has a joint oversight committee that can convene anytime, without need for a resolution),” he said.

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