Hinikayat ng Malacañang ang Commission on Elections (COMELEC) na gawin ang kanilang constitutional duty na tiyakin ang integridad ng mga balota sa darating na May 13 elections.
Sinabi ni Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, anumang uri ng pandarayang kasasangkutan ng tauhan ng COMELEC o ng contractor na Smartmatic ay hindi papayagan o kokonsintihin ng administrasyon.
Ayon kay Sec. Panelo, hindi maaaring malapastangan ang sagradong karapatan ng mga mamamayan, mayaman man o mahirap na makaboto ng malaya at mabilang ang kanyang boto.
Iginiit ni Sec. Panelo na may nakalatag na measures si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte para madetermina kung may mangyayaring dayaan sa eleksyon kaya mahigpit ang kanilang babala sa mga nagbabalak sagkaan ang kagustuhan ng mga mamamayan.
Tiniyak ni Sec. Panelo na sinumang lalabag sa mga batas sa halalan ay mapaparusahan, anuman ang kanilang political affiliation o estado sa buhay.
“The practice of the sacred right of suffrage is the strongest form of action an individual can perform in a democratic society. This is the only time that the rich and poor alike as well as the powerful and the weak will have equal value in the weighing scale as regards their vote. Any hindrance or manipulation of the right to vote is a lethal attack against the very heart of our country’s democracy,” ani Sec. Panelo.
“Concerns and apprehensions have been raised by various quarters relative to the conduct of the coming elections. The President has put in place measures designed to determine if cheating has been committed in the polls. We are thus issuing a stern warning to those who have sinister plans and evil machinations of thwarting the will of the electorate to abandon them.”
