House probe on supposed 2004, 2007 poll fraud sought

Two party-list lawmakers on Thursday asked a committee in the House of Representatives to investigate the alleged electoral fraud in 2004 and 2007, which allegedly benefited then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies. Bayan Muna Reps. Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares filed House Resolution 1475 directing the committee on suffrage and electoral reforms to conduct an inquiry into suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan’s claim of cheating in Maguindanao province during the 2007 midterm polls. The congressmen particularly want the House panel to probe how the alleged fraud ensured the victory of candidates under the administration ticket. “Ampatuan’s testimony would be crucial not only in holding Arroyo and her allies accountable… [but also in helping] lawmakers craft measures to combat cheating," they said in the resolution. The resolution was filed days after Zaldy, a suspect in the Maguindanao massacre case, claimed that Arroyo and husband Jose Miguel gave orders in 2007 to reduce votes from three opposition senatorial candidates. The votes will then be allegedly padded in favor of the Arroyo administration's senatorial ticket. The lawmakers said the same cheating may have happened in 2004, when Mrs. Arroyo won as president over the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. Casiño and Colmenares described Ampatuan as a “credible" witness since he claimed to be personally involved in the supposed poll fraud. “His offer, as long as it will not be in exchange of his exoneration in the infamous Maguindanao massacre in 2009, should be seized by the government as an opportunity to shed light on the questions and scandals surrounding the 2004 and 2007 elections," the resolution read. Justice Secretary Leila De Lima earlier said that the Aquino administration may consider Zaldy as witness in possible election fraud cases involving Mrs. Arroyo. — Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News