MANILA, Philippines — Nearly two years into the Marcos presidency, former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez minced no words in confirming that First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos had met with an executive of Smartmatic prior to the May 2022 national elections.
The Marcos camp, who once filed criminal charges against four Smartmatic personnel in 2016 for allegedly making unauthorized changes to the script in the transparency server of the poll body, now finds themselves allegedly participating in secret meetings with the Smartmatic camp leading to the May 2022 national elections.
In 2023, allegations surfaced suggesting that Araneta-Marcos had meetings with Smartmatic President Roger Piñate in the weeks leading up to the May 9, 2022 elections, according to former Biliran Representative and lawyer Glenn Chong.
“[To be] honest and truthful, ‘yung meeting na ‘yan [with Smartmatic] naganap ‘yan, ‘yung sinasabi ni Atty. Glenn Chong, naganap ‘yan, Rodriguez told Orion Post during a sit-down interview after the launch of his book titled “Kingmaker: The Hardcopy” last week.
“I am validating ‘yung statement ni Atty. Glenn Chong. I should know because I am the one handling the campaign,” he added.
‘Meeting improper’
Rodriguez claimed that while he knew about the meeting with Smartmatic, he was not there and had no idea what the first lady and the Smartmatic executive were talking about.
“Yung nangyaring meeting na ‘yun, did it lead to any addition in the number of votes for Bongbong Marcos or reduction in the number of votes for any of his rivals, I would not know, wala kong personal knowledge,” he said.
For his part, the former Marcos general campaign manager and Cabinet member noted that what transpired between the Araneta-Marcos and Smartmatic meeting was “improper.”
“As to the meeting, na in-arrange at naganap, that is improper. That’s why I was not there, that’s why I did not go,” Rodriguez said.
During the 2022 Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls, Smartmatic was the voting technology provider of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In that election, Marcos emerged as the declared winner by a significant margin over his formidable rival, then-Vice President Leni Robredo.
As of now, none of Marcos’ rivals have stepped forward to challenge the results of the 2022 polls.
A highway called Osmeña
Rodriguez did not provide the exact place where Araneta-Marcos and Piñate met but he said “the meeting happened along Osmeña Highway.”
Chong had accused Smartmatic of violating its contract with the election commission by reportedly meeting with a representative of a presidential candidate.
The Comelec, meanwhile, said it would investigate the allegations. As of now, there has been no confirmation regarding whether the first lady indeed met with Smartmatic or its decision about the alleged violation of contract following the meeting between the voting system provider and Araneta-Marcos. However, the election commission has upheld its stance that the recent election is the “cleanest” and “fastest” in Philippine history since adopting the automated election system in 2010.
But in November 2023, Comelec banned Smartmatic Philippines Inc. from participating in any future public bids related to elections. This decision follows the company’s implication in a bribery case involving former Comelec Chair Andres Bautista, as charged by US authorities.
Smartmatic has been the partner of the election commission in the past six Philippine elections: the 2008 automated polls in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the national elections in 2010, 2016, and 2022, and the midterm elections in 2013 and 2019.
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