Arroyo lawyer quits, insists on need to defer May 10 polls

(Updated 11:56 p.m.) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s election lawyer and legal counsel resigned his post Wednesday night, citing a conflict between Malacañang’s position and his “firm" stand to postpone the May 10 elections. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Romulo Macalintal said his resignation was mainly due to conflict between him and the President, who believes the elections should push through on May 10 despite problems surrounding the automation. “Conflict ang posisyon namin ni Presidente. Sabi ko, dapat i-postpone ang elections (My position and the President’s position are in conflict. I said the elections should be postponed). The President doesn’t believe (that)," Macalintal said. He said he conferred with the President on their differing position on whether or not to hold the elections at a later date. He added he asked Arroyo that he be allowed to resign since they do not share the same belief. The President has accepted his resignation, Macalintal confirmed. Macalintal earlier asked the Commission on Elections to postpone the May 10 automated elections for at least 15 days following widespread glitches that occurred in the testing of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines, the technology that will be used for the polls. (See: Postponing elections 'the only remedy,’ Arroyo lawyer says) ‘Comelec is ill-prepared’ Macalintal said he personally explained to the President why he had to resign in light of their conflicting position on the postponement of the country’s first nationwide automated polls. “Sabi ko sa kanya, baka maapektuhan siya ng opinyon ko. Hindi ko naman pwedeng bawiin ang posisyon ko. So dahil ayoko namang mag-away kami, o lumabas na nagkokontrahan sa mga press release, baka pwedeng mag-resign na lang ako," he said. (I told her, she might be affected by my opinions. And I can’t take back my position. Since I don’t want us to quarrel, or appear to contradict each other in press releases, maybe i ought to just resign.) Macalintal insisted the Comelec is ill-prepared for automating the elections. “Hindi handa ang Comelec. Naghahabol sila. Pinipilit lang nila na matuloy para hindi mapahiya, kahit hindi maisabay ang botohan sa ibang lugar," he said. (The Comelec is not prepared. They are scrambling to catch up. They are insisting on pushing through with the elections just to avoid embarrassment, even if voting in other places may not be conducted simultaneously.) On Tuesday, the Comelec canceled the testing and sealing of PCOS machines after some failed to read votes accurately in some Metro Manila areas and various provinces. (See: Glitches prompt Comelec to stop testing of poll machines) 'Comelec may be held liable' Macalintal explained the Comelec may be held liable for abuse of discretion and violation of the Constitution if the poll body insists on pushing through with the May 10 schedule while voting in other places, which may have problems with the machines or ballots, will have to be stalled. “According to the Constitution, the elections must be synchronized. What the Comelec wants, which is to postpone the elections in some places, is a violation of the Constitution," Macalintal said. He added postponing the elections only in select areas may result in “chaos". “For example, if elections were postponed in Noynoy's (Aquino) bailiwick but not postponed in Manny's (Villar), that will be risky. The Comelec may be also be accused of trending, or that there is a grand design to favor a candidate over the others," Macalintal explained. Individual crusade Following his resignation, Macalintal said he will continue calling for the deferment of polls. “Yes, we will continue calling for the postponement of elections. I wouldn’t have resigned if I won’t do that," he explained. Macalintal said he will continue his individual crusade to call for the deferment of the elections, adding that he does not plan to join forces with other individuals or groups having the same position. “I will stand on my own. If a person or a group wants to join me, that is alright," he said. Malacañang will support Comelec For his part, deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar said the President amicably accepted Macalintal’s resignation. “I think Atty. Macalintal wanted to be able to express himself more freely without having to inform the President first, especially about the elections which is his expertise," Olivar said in a separate interview. He added that Arroyo remains supportive of whatever the Comelec decides to do—whether to hold the elections as scheduled or to order its postponement. Earlier on Wednesday, the Comelec assured the public that elections will proceed as scheduled and that the poll body “has not voted on any postponement." (See: Automated polls to proceed as scheduled, Comelec assures) “We are aware of the concerns being raised by the public. We hope that the Comelec will be able to address these concerns," Olivar said.—JV, GMANews.TV