Comelec dismisses Bedol for 'hiding' 2007 poll materials

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed a Maguindanao official for failing to submit election paraphernalia used in the 2007 polls. Besides getting the axe, Maguindanao elections supervisor Lintang Bedol is also barred from re-employment in other government agencies, the Comelec en banc said in a 12-page resolution promulgated February 9. The resolution effectively cancels his civil service eligibility and forfeits his retirement benefits and earned leave credits. Bedol failed to “live up to the norms of conduct required of a public officer to exercise the highest degree of professionalism and commitment to public service" when he failed to submit several election paraphernalia used in the 2007 polls, the Comelec said. “His unabashed infraction of his duties and cavalier demeanor make him notoriously undesirable," the resolution added. “His misconduct, misfeasance, malfeasance has a direct relation to and connected with the performance of official duties amounting either to mal-administration or willful, intentional neglect and failure to discharge duties of the office; thus, warranting his dismissal from the service." Investigation undertaken by the poll body revealed that Bedol was the one who instructed election officers in Maguindanao in 2007 to submit to him all copies of the municipal certificate of canvass (MCOC), election returns (ER), statement of votes (SOV) and summary statement of votes (SSOV) in the province of Maguindanao during the May 2007 election. "Tinago niya yung election paraphernalia, hindi na makita (He hid the election paraphernalia, they could not be found)," Comelec Comissioner Lucenito Tagle told GMANews.TV in an interview. Bedol accused of favoring admin bets in 2007 polls The Genuine Opposition (GO) in 2007 accused Bedol of manipulating the provincial poll results in favor of Team Unity bets. In particular, the GO accused him of shaving the votes for senatorial candidate Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III in favor of administration candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri. The Comelec found Bedol guilty of indirect contempt after he defied summonses to appear in investigations on his province's voting in the May 2007 midterm elections. In 2008, Bedol petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify a Comelec ruling that found him guilty of indirect contempt. The court also gave the Comelec 30 days to submit its own memorandum so that it could finally rule on Bedol's petition. In the end, the court sentenced the poll official to six months imprisonment and fined him P1,000. However, authorities failed to locate him. But Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer hinted that he might be in hiding somewhere in Maguindanao. "We were informed that he was being kept out of view in a certain farm of a certain top family in Maguindanao. I think you would know who this family is," he said. Bedol was the provincial elections supervisor in Maguindanao when known Governor Andal Ampatuan was elected. Tagle, for his part, quickly noted that these reports have yet to be confirmed. "Those are just rumors," he said. Poll body memo recommends charges vs. Garci boys Last July 2009, the poll body’s Law Department submitted a memorandum to the Comelec en banc recommending the filing of charges against 13 election officers known as the "Garci boys" who were supposedly involved in the irregularities in the 2007 elections. The “Garci boys" are Comelec executives who were linked to former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano who allegedly participated in the widespread cheating that marred the 2004 presidential elections. The alleged cheating was revealed after a tape of a supposed controversial conversation between then presidential candidate Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Garcillano about rigging the May 2004 presidential elections in favor of the President against her closest rival, the late Fernando Poe Jr. surfaced. The recorded conversation is popularly known as “Hello Garci." A number of military, police, and Comelec officials were mentioned in the conversations. Both Arroyo and Garcillano denied taking part in a scheme to rig the May 2004 polls. The alleged irregularities prompted Comelec to hold special elections in two ARMM provinces, namely Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao. Among the election officers recommended to be filed with charges were Bedol and Atty. Ray Sumalipao. Sumalipao was named Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regional election director while Bedol was named provincial election supervisor in Maguindanao. The poll body later found Sumalipao guilty of “insubordination and misconduct" in August 2008 while Bedol was accused of "failure to account for election documents, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, and gross insubordination," among others. Meanwhile, two provincial election supervisors, Atty. Yasb Nasin (Lanao Del Sur) and Atty. Hamilton Cuevas (Lanao Del Norte), were both charged with “insubordination." Provincial election supervisors Atty. Yogie Martirizar (North Cotabato) and Atty. Lilian Suan-Radam (South Cotabato), on the other hand, were charged for “electoral sabotage." Five election officers in Lanao Del Sur and North Cotabato and two election assistants in Lanao Del Sur were likewise charged with violations ranging from “unauthorized registration, illegal deletion and transfer of votes, grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, dishonesty, and simple neglect of duty." On Tuesday, the Comelec said that it will be reshuffling some 50 election to ensure that the results of the May 10 automated elections will not be rigged. Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said that these include personnel who have been linked to the alleged Garci tapes, those who are related to candidates running in the 2010 polls in their area, and those who have served for more than four years in the area. - GMANews.TV