Article by:
Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – An official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said they are ready to participate in proposed investigations into the supposed breach of its systems.
In a virtual press briefing Wednesday, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez added that they welcome the calls for the conduct of probes on the alleged hacking incident.
“We are working hard to validate these allegations because we understand how important it is. Malacañang expressed concern, it isn't the only one. Many quarters have in fact called for investigations. Comelec welcomes these investigations. We are eager to participate in these investigations,” he added.
He said they are also in coordination with authorities such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
“We are reaching out to the NBI and DICT. We are also preparing to appear before the NPC (National Privacy Commission),” he added.
On Wednesday, the Commission has ordered Comelec and officials of the Manila Bulletin, which reported the supposed hacking and data breach to appear for a clarificatory meeting via teleconference on January 25.
According to Jimenez, their investigation is looking at different scenarios.
“Some financial reward, for example, there is a theory of such that is floating around. Right now, we can't narrow down which one is actually the real thing. But again it is part of the investigation. We are looking at all different scenarios, there are so many. It is the election season and one thing we can assume is whoever did this must have known that this would have a negative effect on the credibility of the elections. Because of that, we are very intent on finding out who is behind this. We have to defend the integrity of the elections,” he added.
On the other hand, he assured the public that their systems are secured.
“We have confidence in the security of our systems and the procedures we have undertaken since 2016 to ensure our data is hardened and cannot be unlawfully accessed,” Jimenez said.
“...So it is important that Comelec addresses it squarely, to show to everyone that our system is secured and make sure that our data is protected,” he added.
Lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives are also looking to conduct separate inquiries on the incident. (PNA)
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