Liberal Party hits ‘biased’ Comelec

The Liberal Party (LP) on Wednesday accused the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of being "biased" against it, saying it just shows how fearful the present government is to the ascendancy of the Aquino administration. "If there is somebody who should fear the ascendancy of the Aquino administration, it should be this administration," said LP campaign manager Florencio “Butch" Abad at a press conference in Intramuros, Manila. During the press briefing, LP officials raised all their issues against the Comelec, all of which were denied by a poll body official in a separate interview. The LP is fielding Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III as its standard-bearer for the May 10 elections. The only son of the late President Corazon “Cory" Aquino and slain Senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr. had vowed to pursue cases against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the event he wins the presidency in May. “Vendetta politics" LP officials said the bias is manifested in some Comelec decisions affecting LP local officials. Former Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, Jr., who heads LP's vote protection team, cited the unseating of governors Grace Padaca of Isabela, Ed Panlilio of Pampanga, and Joselito Mendoza of Bulacan right before the elections. LP had earlier said that this was a clear case of vendetta politics against the three governors. The poll body has denied the accusation. Cruz and Abad were former members of the Arroyo Cabinet who quit in 2005 over allegations that she rigged the results of the 2004 elections to favor her and her allies. Cruz also noted the disqualification of local LP bets Richard Gomez and Palawan Rep. Abraham Khalil Mitra due to residency issues. Cruz said the Comelec also pulled out and replaced the police directors in 27 areas where there are incumbent LP officials running in the coming elections. “Bakit sila pinalitan? (Why were they replaced?)," he said, noting the crucial role of the police during elections. Acosta LP legal counsel Sixto Brillantes likewise chided the poll body for its decision to let the name of disqualified presidential bet Vetellano Acosta of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan to remain on the ballot. The lawyer asserted that Acosta was only running to dislodge Aquino from his original position as first in the name order of candidates for president to be printed on the ballots. He also said that the arrangement allowed the name of Aquino’s closest rival, Nacionalista Party’s Sen. Manny Villar Jr., to gain an upperhand because his name is the only one printed on the last column of the ballot. “Nagsosolo si Villar, si Noynoy number two, di ba ang ganda para kay Villar (Villar is there solo, Noynoy is just number two, isn't that great for Villar)?" he said. Dominant minority party In addition, Abad said that LP is worried that even the right of becoming the dominant minority party would be taken away from them. LP, NP-Nationalist People’s Coalition (NP-NPC Coalition), and the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) led by former President Joseph Estrada are all vying for the poll body’s nod to become the dominant minority party, which is entitled to the sixth copy of the election returns (ERs) and a server showing the election results as they are transmitted. LP is opposing the NP-NPC application, saying it was only formed to meet the poll body’s requirement that the dominant minority party should field the most number of candidates in the national and local elections. “Ang direksyon ng hearing patungo sa hindi nila kami ia-accredit (The hearings seem to indicate that we will not be accredited by the Comelec)," Abad said. Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, who heads the poll body steering committee on automation, said they have already answered these claims by LP. He said they have always ruled electoral protests and disqualification cases based on their merits. On the other hand, he said the votes for Acosta will just be considered as stray votes because removing his name and reprinting the ballots would mean having to redo the source code for the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) and canvassing system, which he said could delay the elections by months. Regarding the matter of the dominant minority party, Larrazabal said it is still pending with the Comelec en banc. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV