Despite credibility issues, Comelec determined to hear out Zaldy, Bedol

Despite claims questioning their credibility, the Commission on Elections remains determined to hear out suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and former election supervisor Lintang Bedol on alleged poll fraud in 2007. Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said that while the public is aware of alleged cheating in the 2007 polls, the poll body is not making any conclusion at this time yet. “Siguro gusto nila sabihin ano ang katotohanan. We would also like to know, we don’t want to make any conclusions yet. Tingnan natin anong sasabihin nila," Brillantes said in an interview on dwIZ radio. In media interviews earlier this week, Bedol and Ampatuan linked former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to poll fraud in the 2007 midterm elections. They claimed the Arroyo administration wanted not only a 12-0 win for administration senatorial candidates, but also for some opposition candidates to get zero votes. But Arroyo’s legal spokesman and defeated senatorial bet Raul Lambino questioned the “revelations," saying past investigations into the alleged poll fraud had yielded nothing. “Ito ay hearsay. Hindi ito dapat paniwalaan dahil hakahaka, rumor ito... massive well-funded campaign kasi yan ang gusto nila gawin. Ang ganito kalawak na media campaign orchestrated yan... kung di ito may bendisyon ng napalakas na tao o grupo," he said in a separate interview on dwIZ. Brillantes said the Comelec will likely investigate the new claims by Bedol and Ampatuan, although he is likely to inhibit himself and even testify, since he was a lawyer for the opposition in the 2004 and 2007 elections. In the meantime, Brillantes said the Comelec continues to grope for leads on Bedol’s whereabouts. “Pinakikiramdaman namin kung nasaan (We’re trying to feel our way as far as his whereabouts are concerned)," he said. He said he already ordered the Comelec to check if it can still issue a new warrant for Bedol’s arrest. At the time the Comelec first issued an arrest warrant, Bedol had been cited for contempt for not complying with the Commission’s order to submit election documents. Brillantes said the Comelec is studying the possibility of re-issuing the warrant, although he noted Bedol is no longer connected with the poll body.— LBG, GMA News