Malacañang behind 'koala bear' gimmick, Teddy Boy says

(Updated 10:43 PM Makati City Rep. Teodoro “Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr. on Friday accused Malacanang of protecting “Koala Bear," the masked whistleblower who claimed fraud occurred during the May 10 polls. Locsin, who heads the House Committee on Electoral Reforms and Suffrage currently investigating poll fraud allegations, dared the Palace to unmask “Koala Bear" and let him speak in the open. “I know who you are, you who are protecting ‘Koala Bear.’ Do not provoke me to name you," the lawmaker said in a statement he read during the third day of the House probe. “You say he is afraid and wants security. You, who abducted Jun Lozada, should know about security better than anyone else. Give him security and let him speak in the open," he added, referring Rodolfo “Jun" Lozada, the whistleblower in the botched national broadband network deal. Locsin said he will not credit the statements of a “marsupial" who claims poll fraud unless the masked person reveals his identity. “Unless he removes his fur, I will not credit him anything but a very good impersonation of a New Zealand creature," he said. Locsin likewise said that the “Koala Bear gimmick" was only meant to “discredit the superb leadership of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)." Deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar, however, denied Malacanang has anything to do with “Koala bear." “We cannot understand where Rep. Locsin’s pronouncements are coming from. If he has evidence, show it. So far he has not come up with any proof," he told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Olivar earlier said in a press briefing that Locsin’s outburst during Thursday’s the congressional hearing on the alleged poll fraud was “understandable" in light of the situation’s sensitivity. “I can understand the passion that led to his outburst," he said, adding that Locsin was among the authors of the Poll Automation Law. "What is important is for all outstanding issues to be impartially and expediently processed so the transfer of power on June 30 can take place on time and unclouded by doubts," Olivar added. Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Charito Planas meanwhile said Malacanang is leaving it to Congress to handle the investigations. The “Koala Bear" videotape, which was first presented to the media in a forum last Tuesday, shows a masked man claiming to have been paid to rig the results of the May 10 polls. Contrary to Locsin’s accusation, the Comelec on Friday said that a losing presidential candidate might be behind the masked whistleblower. The Comelec has also earlier dared “Koala Bear" — a nickname Locsin himself gave the masked man — to come out in the open and specify his allegations on Wednesday, the first day of the House probe on supposed poll fraud. - GMANews.TV