THE Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday ordered the filing of criminal charges against officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Smartmatic for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act in connection with the alleged massive electoral cheating in the vice presidential race in last year’s election.
The case stemmed from the unauthorized alteration of the script of the transparency server during the canvassing of votes during the May 9, 2016 national and local elections.
In a 41-page resolution, Justice Undersecretary Deo L. Marco approved the filing of charges against Smartmatic personnel Marlon Garcia, Head of the Technical Support Team and his subordinates Neil Baniqued and Mauricio Herrera as well as Comelec Information Technology experts Rouie Peñalba, Nelson Herrera and Frances Mae Gonzales with violation of Sections 4(a)(1), (3) and (4) of R.A. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Section 4 (a)(1) of R.A. 10175 penalizes the access of a computer system without any authority while Section 3 penalizes the intentional and reckless altering of computer data. Section 4, on the other hand, penalizes the act of hindering or interfering with the functions of a computer and computer network by inputting, deleting and altering computer data and programs, without any right or authority.
“Wherefore, premises considered, the Petition for Review is hereby partially granted and the Resolution dated September 28, 2016 of the City Prosecutor of Manila is Modified. The Office of the City Prosecutor of Manila is directed to file the necessary Information for violations of Sec. 4(a)(1), (3) and (4) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act against respondents before the appropriate court/s and to report the action taken within ten (10) days from receipt, hereof…,” the DOJ resolution read.
A complaint for cyber crime has been filed against them in June last year, accusing them of “intentionally altering the election data without any right or authority.”
It was revealed that shortly after the unauthorized alteration of the script of the transparency server, the lead of Vice Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. over his closest rival started to taper at a uniform rate, which experts said was statistically impossible. This went on until the wee hours of the morning, until Marcos’ lead of over 1 million votes was eventually overtaken.
The Manila Prosecutors Office (MPO), however, dismissed the Complaint, prompting the complainant to elevate the case to the DOJ through a Petition for Review.
In reversing the MPO’s findings, the Justice department ruled that the respondents failed to secure the required authorization from the Comelec en banc before changing the script in the transparency server. This was not only against protocol but was patently illegal.
The resolution further stated there was enough evidence to indict them for the unauthorized change in the system of the transparency server since Marlon Garcia himself admitted that he made the change in the script as advised by Herrera.
“Marlon Garcia, himself, admitted that he made the change in the script of the transparency server as advised by Mauricio Herrera. Notably, it was (Comelec Information Technology expert) Rouie Peñalba who notified the Smartmatic personnel,” it stated.
The DOJ resolution further said that Peñalba could not absolve himself of the crime charged because of his inconsistent statements: at first he admitted that he instructed Garcia to change the system and then he changed his tune and claimed that Smartmatic was authorized to access the system.