Poll exec dismisses North Cotabato election fraud allegations

KIDAPAWAN CITY - The provincial election supervisor in North Cotabato has dismissed allegations that the automated elections on May 10 — where Vice-Governor Manny Piñol lost to his political rival in the gubernatorial race — were marred with irregularities. Atty. Duque Kadatuan, election supervisor in North Cotabato, said that he has not received any report that there was massive cheating in towns of Kabacan, Pikit, and Carmen in the province’s first district. Piñol, in his speech during the picket rallies he held in Midsayap and in Kidapawan City last week, has alleged that vote-padding took place in areas considered as the bailiwick of Governor-elect Lala Talinio-Mendoza. “I was told some 30,000 votes were given to my opponent in Carmen, Kabacan, and Pikit," said Pinol quoting a newly-elected mayor in a town in North Cotabato as his source. Mendoza won against Pinol by 37,634 votes, most of which came from those towns where there was alleged cheating. In Carmen town where Mendoza’s father, Roger Talinio, won as mayor, Piñol only got 2,087 as against Mendoza’s 17, 655. Meantime, Piñol’s younger brother Bernardo Piñol, Jr., also lost to Nancy Catamco by only 6,677 votes in the congressional race in North Cotabato’s second district. Patricio Piñol, the eldest among the Pinol brothers, also lost to incumbent Vice-Mayor Joseph Evangelista in the vice-mayoral race in Kidapawan City. Patricio got only 16,418 votes as against Evangelista who got 33,018 votes. Piñol said his camp had already gathered some 300 witnesses who would testify that padding, feeding of pre-marked ballots to poll machines, and vote-buying took place in those areas. But Duque said that Piñol has to present ‘solid’ evidences to prove his allegations. Duque said that there are only two bases in filing an electoral protest: first, if there were illegal proceedings in the transmission of election results, and, second, if there was an illegal composition of the board of canvassers. “As far as we’re concerned, the elections in North Cotabato were fair and just," said Duque. Governor-elect Mendoza, in an interview, has denied the accusations that she masterminded the massive cheating in North Cotabato. “If I won in Carmen, Pikit, and Kabacan towns, it was because my projects were visible in those areas. Where can they find Piñol’s projects there?" said Mendoza. While Mendoza does not question Piñol’s move to file electoral protest before the Comelec, she said her lawyers had already started to study possible legal actions they would take against Piñol. “I don’t question his (Pinol’s) filing of protests. That’s his right. But I just can’t take the malicious imputations he has done unto me and to my family," she said. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV