Pimentel blasts poll exec for protecting Comelec men

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel on Thursday blasted a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official for claiming that election paraphernalia retrieved from a Cagayan de Oro junkshop were stolen. Pimentel said the Comelec official’s claim was an attempt to protect the poll body's personnel. The senator bared on Thursday—the third day of canvassing of the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC)—that he received information that the election materials, which included election returns (ERs) and compact flash (CF) cards, were dumped by a government truck. This meant they could not be considered as "stolen," he added. "I accuse [Commissioner Gregorio] Larrazabal of trying to protect all their members. The Comelec has the tendency of protecting its own members," Pimentel said. He was reacting to Larrazabal's statement before the NBOC that the Cagayan de Oro election materials were "unfortunately stolen" after the local canvassing in the province. Pimentel claimed that when the local Comelec officials were asked to react on the disposed election materials, the latter reportedly said, "Well, they had already been transmitted anyway." "You people have an obligation to safeguard and protect the ERs in case anybody complains," Pimentel said. Safekeeping Comelec officials from Manila went to Cagayan de Oro to retrieve the dumped items from the junkshop where they were found. However, two of the retrieved CF cards were handed over to Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma for safekeeping. "The cards were turned over to Archbishop Ledesma because they said baka mawala itong flash cards na ito (these flash cards might get lost)," Pimentel said. The senator requested that the church official be invited to appear in the session. "This is an opportune time for us to really call Bishop Ledesma and bring the compact flash cards with him," Pimentel said. According to earlier reports, police records belied the Comelec’s claim that the election materials were stolen during a purported break-in at its office in the city. The Comelec has already created a three-man panel to investigate the supposed stealing, even as the Philippine National Police launched a similar probe.—JV, GMANews.TV