Poll lawyer wants Comelec chief, commissioners to quit

MANILA, Philippines - An election lawyer on Friday dared Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Jose Melo and several commissioners to resign over an alleged faulty decision on an election case in Camarines Norte province. In a telephone interview with GMANews.TV, lawyer Romulo Macalintal said four poll commissioners' ruling earlier this month against his client, Camarines Norte Governor Jesus Pypoco, was based on "fake" election documents. "Hinahamon ko si Chairman Melo saka ibang commissioners na magpunta kami sa records division, tignan natin ang sinabi ko kung tama o mali. At kapag mali ang sinasabi ko hindi na ko magpa-practice ng election law [I challenge Chairman Melo and other commissioners, let's go to the records division and see whether I'm right or wrong. If I'm wrong I will no longer practice election law]," Macalintal said. "Pero pag totoo ang sinasabi ko ay dapat mag-resign si Melo at ibang pumirma ng resolution na yon. Kelangan palitan ang buong Commission [But if I am proven right, Melo should resign, along with others who signed that resolution. The whole Commission must be changed]," he said. Macalintal said the country "has no future" if the Comelec maintains its current commissioners. He, however, spared from his call for resignation Commissioner Rene Sarmiento who opposed the ruling. Those who decided against Pypoco were Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Leonardo Leonida, Lucenito Tagle, and Armando Velasco. Melo, meanwhile, took "no part" in the decision. "Itong Comelec na ito hindi nila alam ang pagtingin kung ano ang genuine at fake [This Comelec does not know how to distinguish genuine documents from fake ones]," Macalintal said. He said Pypoco won by 4,453 votes against opponent Edgardo Tallado in the last elections, but Tallado questioned the victory, saying there was miscalculation of votes in the municipality of Labo. Four Comelec commissioners eventually ruled that Tallado won in the province by 65 votes because of the supposed miscalculation in Labo, Macalintal said. But Macalintal questioned the decision, saying even the municipal election official of Labo testified in a sworn affidavit that the statement of votes on which the Comelec decision was based were fake. "Kahit hitsura at papel na ginamit talagang ibang-iba sa genuine [Even the documents' appearance and the paper used were very different from the genuine]," Macalintal said. He said he will take the case to the Supreme Court, adding that the commissioners who ruled in favor of Tallado should resign if the Supreme Court reverses their ruling. Melo, however, said Macalintal went out of bounds in calling for their resignation. In a telephone interview with GMANews.TV, the former Supreme Court Associate Justice said Macalintal should just bring the case to the high court and not over-react by calling for a virtual overhaul of the poll body. "I think he's out of bounds. Natalo lang siya [He just lost], he's calling for the resignation of the people who ruled against him," Melo said. "That's not the way a professional lawyer behaves," Melo added. Macalintal, who had served as election lawyer of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, made his allegations amid strong efforts by the Comelec to push for the automation of the 2010 elections. The proposed P11.3-billion supplementary budget for the purchase of voting machines has not been approved by Congress, with the Senate pushing for full automation while the House of Representatives is proposing a so-called "hybrid" system wherein only the voting for national elections will be automated, while counting of votes for the local polls will be done manually. - GMANews.TV