Comelec extends probe of ballot folder controversy

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to extend the investigation of the botched P690-million ballot secrecy folder contract until the end of the month. The body’s law department head Ferdinand Rafanan, who heads the investigation team, asked for the extension to investigate the controversy, Comelec Chairman Jose Melo told reporters on Tuesday. He added that he did not ask Rafanan about the reason for the extension. "I dont want to inquire what's going on... he's independent," he said. The three-member panel headed by Rafanan is expected to look into the recommendation of the Comelec Bids and Awards Committee to award the ballot secrecy folder contract to supplier One Time Carbon (OTC) Paper Supply. Worth P690 million, the contract covers supply and delivery of 1.815 million pieces of 25-inch long ballot secrecy folders priced at P380 each. The poll body scrapped the contract because it was supposedly "extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the Commission." It also said that the number of folders to be purchased exceeded the total number that may actually be used during the elections. In a separate interview, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that two weeks is not enough to "go deeply" into the matter. "I don't think delay is the intent.. (It was) not designed to make you guys forget," he said. He likewise said that the investigation is taking some "surprising turns, in terms of where the investigation is headed." The poll body official said it was discovered that OTC had been a supplier of the Comelec for quite some time now and that some "connections" have become "more apparent" during the investigation. However, he refused to elaborate. "I don't want to say anything because I don't want to preempt the en banc," he said. "The commission wants to get to the bottom of this. We want to be backed up by data, by hard fact, and by hard evidence.. it's a question of doing it right." - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV