Zubiri denies involvement in alleged 2007 poll fraud

(Updated 4:16 p.m.) Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri on Thursday denied that he was involved in any supposed cheating during the 2007 midterms elections, particularly in Maguindanao province. "Isinusumpa ko sa inyong lahat na kung may nangyari mang dayaan wala po akong kinalaman (I swear to all of you that if ever any cheating happened, I was not involved in that)," Zubiri told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. He issued the statement after Zaldy Ampatuan, a suspect in the Maguindanao massacre case and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor, claimed that then-First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo ordered that votes from three senatorial candidates from the opposition in Maguindanao be transferred to Zubiri. This claim was corroborated by Lintang Bedol, a former election supervisor in Maguindanao. Zubiri, however, said that he did not ask anyone for any favor regarding the elections. "Ang inyong lingkod ay lalabas ding biktima noong botohang naganap noong 2007 (I am also a victim of the 2007 elections)," he said. Also a victim? Zubiri's victory in the 2007 elections is being contested by Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, who ranked 13th in the 2007 senatorial elections with 10,987,347 votes. Zubiri notched the 12th and last slot with 11,005,866 votes. Pimentel later on said that Ampatuan's claim justified his electoral protest. Zubiri, however, said that he was also a victim of so-called election syndicates, especially in Metro Manila. He explained that as per the findings of the Senate Electoral Tribunal, 53,490 votes have been deducted from Pimentel. He likewise said that 157,913 suspicious ballots were found. He added that empty ballot boxes and destroyed ballots were found in 930 precincts, which would account for around 186,000 ballots. With this, he said he can claim at least 211,403 more votes over Pimentel. The SET still has to revise 8,000 precincts or around 1.6 million more ballots. Zubiri, meanwhile, asked the public to wait for the ruling of the SET before making any judgment. The SET is expected to rule on the protest case in two to three months — KBK/RSJ, GMA News