Comelec eyes summoning Zaldy to probe 2007 'poll fraud'

He may face rough sailing in his bid to become a state witness in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case, but suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Zaldy Ampatuan may yet get to testify – in an investigation into alleged poll fraud in 2007. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it is considering grilling Ampatuan on alleged cheating in the ARMM during the 2007 midterm polls, after Ampatuan linked former President Gloria Arroyo to the alleged fraud. “Pag-uusapan namin sa members ng Comelec en banc. Tingnan ko kung ma-meet sila ngayon at pwede imbestigahan. Kung may basis to investigate, get some more details from Zaldy. Pwede namin siyang ipatawag kung may basis...," Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said in an interview on dwIZ radio. But he said he will have to set up a “more independent and impartial body" to conduct the probe because he had been a lawyer for the Genuine Opposition in 2007. Also, Brillantes had served as now-President Benigno Aquino III’s election lawyer in the 2010 elections. “Kung kasama ako sa mag-imbestiga sabihin [ng iba] 'nandoon ka sa Genuine Opposition noon, kakampi mo ang supposedly mga nadaya' (If I take part in the investigation, I will be accused of favoring the then opposition bets)," he said. Brillantes also said it is possible Ampatuan may be summoned as a witness in Aquilino Pimentel III’s complaint against Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri before the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET). “Pwede naman... may proseso ang SET na pwede ipa-subpoena si Zaldy," he said. Earlier this week, Ampatuan revealed anomalies and fraud during the 2007 ARMM polls when he won as governor under then President Arroyo’s ticket. He said his father Andal Sr., a principal accused in the 2009 massacre, was called by former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in January 2007 to plan the alleged cheating in the Maguindanao polls. He said the then First Gentleman instructed their family to ensure that then senatorial bet Benigno Aquino III and fellow Genuine Opposition candidates Alan Peter Cayetano and Panfilo Lacson would get zero votes in Maguindanao. The camp of opposition senatorial bet Aquilino Pimentel III had lodged a complaint against Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who ran under the administration ticket in 2007, before the SET. Pimentel claimed he was cheated in the 2007 elections. But Zubiri also denied knowledge of the cheating. Ampatuan had also offered to be a state witness in the Maguindanao massacre where 58 people, including 32 media workers, were killed. But Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has so far frowned on the offer. Criminal aspect Brillantes said they will concentrate on the criminal aspect of the 2007 elections cheating, and not the results. As such, he said the Comelec will not interfere with the ongoing recount of the votes for Zubiri and Pimentel at the SET. “Mahirap pakialaman ang recount ng SET. Pero criminal aspect ang nagtanggal, nagdagdag, nagbawas, kaya pwede namin i-check yan," he said. — LBG, GMA News