Queries

Three days ago we posted an open invitation to several camps mentioned in a convo we shared between two PCOS operators and in a later post by Atty. Glenn Chong hoping to get their side before we publish part 2 of our exposé.

For the record, we have not gotten any response except from Atty. Chong himself, who never replies to our private messages but instead posts his replies in the comments thread. Atty. Glenn wants us to send him advanced questions rather than engage in an open, more transparent Q & A.

Following are our questions for Atty. Chong:

1. In your statement you mentioned meeting with Suarez some time in April 2016 with a couple of IT experts you claim to be aligned with Duterte and Marcos. Was this the first time you met with Mr. Suarez? Who were these two IT guys? Who is this "friend" you mentioned who referred you to Mr. Suarez? And why would this "friend" refer someone like Mr. Suarez to you in the first place?

2. You confirmed that the meeting took place in Shangri La Hotel in BGC wherein you asked Mr. Suarez for a "proof of concept" and demonstration. Why were you asking him to demonstrate? You also mentioned a couple of senators who were waiting for you to report in another building in BGC. Care to identify who these senators were? Who exactly were you representing during the meeting? You mentioned Duterte and Marcos (through the 2 IT guys), and now these two senators? Are they your clients? Under whose authority and in what capacity were you even meeting with a guy like Suarez?

3. You specifically stated that Suarez brought with him an IBM ThinkPad which contained illegal copies of the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS). In other words, Mr. Suarez was peddling his services to you hence this demonstration? You said that upon hearing that Suarez's asking price was 200 million and upon evaluating that his "concept" was logistically problematic that you were not convinced? So Suarez WAS offering you a deal was he not? You even said that what Suarez was offering was a means to "protect" your clients from cheating which you admitted was practically a form of cheating in itself. Cheating is zero-sum Atty. Chong. One's gain is the loss of another. Which basically means that what Suarez was offering was not really protection but cheating itself. Suarez KNEW there was bound to be cheating. He had illegal copies of the CCS which can only come from Smartmatic. And he offered a demonstration on how this cheating was to be done. Would it not have been more appropriate to have Suarez arrested instead?

4. You mentioned that people like Suarez were "independent contractors" who offered "protection" while the COMELEC-Smartmatic Syndicate had their own "authorized dealers" who officially handled the cheating. But Suarez did work for Smartmatic-TIM. And that copy of the CCS he brought with him could not have come from anywhere else but from Smartmatic itself. Which only means one thing. Despite claims on the contrary, logic and evidence dictates that Suarez IS an authorized dealer of Smartmatic and not an independent operator. How could he have access to the CCS and the entire system if he wasn't representing the Smartmatic syndicate?

5. You also mentioned that when COMELEC-Smartmatic got wind of 'independent contractors' like Suarez they decided to replace 100 CCS operators nationwide three days before election day. Is this even logistically possible? Were there trained alternate operators waiting on standby? Is this part of their protocol? Can COMELEC simply do this 3 days prior to election day? And why is it that no one reacted? Not even yourself? Except for Senator Grace Poe as you originally mentioned. Please do enlighten us.

6. Following your narrative, after the elections you claim to have had another meeting with Suarez in a mall near BBM's headquarters along EDSA. Which mall was this? There are around 3 along that area. You claim you were supposed to meet with a "witness" who in your surprise turned out to be Suarez again. Who arranged for this second meeting? How many times did you meet with him? Was this the second, third or fourth one? Please clarify. And who exactly were you representing this time? Is it Mr. Marcos? Are you officially lawyering for Mr. Marcos? Those two senators which you have yet to name? Why does Suarez keep targeting you? First as a contractor, now as a witness? And you claim Suarez showed you proof of how cheating was done in his home turf in Quezon Province (Suarez's uncle is Congressman in Quezon while his cousin is Governor there) with no affidavits and witnesses aside from another woman who also claims to be a CCS operator herself? And Suarez according to your statement was asking for Php 50 million this time in exchange for his witness testimony? And that you ignored him after concluding it was a waste of time?

8. If Suarez already did a presentation earlier, you already knew there was bound to be cheating. Why was there no report made to the authorities? The cheating could have been prevented if you exposed Suarez in time. We are seriously grappling with your statements here Atty. Chong. We're trying to make sense of statements and details which do not seem to add up.

9. If you knew that Suarez was involved, and he was even busy extorting you for money, why did you not have him arrested the second time? Why in God's name did you let him go? The illegal copies of the CCS he had with him would have been enough proof to establish Suarez's complicity. He could have been entrapped during that 'demonstration.'

10. Juan Miguel Suarez III tells a different version in his convo with our source. He claims it was you who approached him through a "third party." And that after your "third" meeting, he was pursued in Naga which resulted in the alleged "deaths" of two of his companions. Whether or not there is truth to any of these claims can easily be established in a later investigation. Deaths and disappearances can be verified and fact-checked. You claim however to have no knowledge of these allegations and even dismissed Suarez's claims as a "tall-tale" and as a "bargaining chip" to boost his market value as he was allegedly extorting you for money. We all know that Suarez is an extortionist. He even swindles his own friends and relatives. But why did he singularly mention you several times in that convo? What could be the real nature of your relationship and involvement with Mr. Suarez?

11. You claim that there are two sides competing with each other when it comes to rigging votes: the independent contractors like Suarez and the authorized dealers of Smartmatic itself. What proof can you offer that they are competing with each other rather than belonging to a single entity? You mentioned some are even PPCRV volunteers who brought with them actual PCOS machines during their client demonstrations. Where would these actual machines come from if not from COMELEC-Smartmatic itself? You likewise mentioned that the Syndicate refused to go after these independent contractors because doing so will compromise their own authorized dealers. This just doesn't add up. Unless they all belong to one organization and the alleged "competition" between two separate groups is a mere ploy. A setup to justify why some clients ended up losing despite paying money to the syndicate. If the client wins, thanks to the authorized dealers. If the client loses, they'll blame the so-called independent contractors who happen to be their assets just the same. Is this the setup and strategy you described as "good business sense" coming from the syndicate?

Please enlighten us with specifics Atty. Chong. We were just as surprised to find that your name was mentioned by these operators in the course of our investigation. This is the reason why we have been trying to reach you for comment prior to publishing. But you have not replied to any of our messages, and it behooves us to ask these questions in the open in the interest of fairness and transparency. This matter is of grave importance to us as the integrity of the electoral process has now been tainted. Much of these questions were triggered by the statements you made sir. Forgive us for being forthright, but we're quite sure you'd be asking yourself the same questions if you were in our shoes.

We await your response.

With sincerest regards,

TEAM COLLECTIVE