Sotto accuses natl canvassers of 2004 poll fraud cover-up

UPDATED 12:30 p.m. - Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente Sotto III on Monday accused the members of the 2004 national board of canvassers, which included his colleague Senator Francis Pangilinan, of being involved in cover-up of alleged poll fraud during that time. "If you look at what transpired, yes (they were involved in a cover-up)," Sotto, who was campaign manager of the defeated presidential bet Fernando Poe Jr., during a press conference at the Senate on Monday. Sotto said there wouldn't be any need for any investigation now if the national board of canvassers in 2004 — especially Senate Majority Floor Leader Pangilinan, former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, and then Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzalez — granted their request to open questionable elections returns (ER). "We would have known if they were right or if we were right. We would have known if (former President Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo won or if FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr.) won," he said. Sotto likewise said the then board of canvassers cannot cite a supposed lack of evindence during that time because the evidence was "right under their noses." "All we wanted was to open one ER in any of the areas we were pinpointing," he added, saying that they only wanted to confirm the authenticity of the election materials. Denial However, in a statement released Monday, Pangilinan denied that the national board of canvassers participated in any alleged poll fraud cover-up. “We reiterate our position that we were not privy to and did not participate in any cheating operations in 2004. We were simply doing our job as mandated by law. In fact, when the evidence of fraud surfaced a year later with 'Hello Garci' we in the Liberal Party condemned the efforts at vote manipulation and called for Arroyo's resignation," he said. Pangilinan explained that it is the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, and not the canvassing board, that hears and decides cases of election fraud. "The general rule is that the canvassing board under our Constitution can not be the venue to raise the issue of electoral fraud, but Sotto and the others wanted to transform the canvassing board into the electoral tribunal and when the issue of going to the ERs is raised by way of a motion 144 times, what is there left for one to do but have the matter noted," he said. “They wanted legal shortcuts and I decided on the basis of the evidence available then that a wrong, if indeed true, cannot be corrected by another wrong. We decided to uphold the law based on the available evidence," Pangilinan added. Pangilinan said Poe's camp questioned 144 of the 177 certificates of canvass or 88 percent of the ERs which is equivalent to 25 million votes. “If we agreed with their position and allowed for the scrutiny of twenty five million votes, we would in all likelihood still be canvassing the votes today. This is what the Constitution seeks to prohibit and what we simply complied with. We merely canvass the votes. It is the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, not the canvassing board, that hears and decides cases of election fraud," he said. The senator likewise criticized Sotto for speaking about the issue when he ran under the Arroyo administration's Team Unity in 2007. Sotto lost but was appointed by Arroyo as Dangerous Drugs Board chairman. “Ano ang nangyari sa kanyang paninindigan sa laban sa pandaraya ni GMA dahil bumaligtad siya at sumirko papunta kay GMA noong 2007 niyang akusahan ito ng pandaraya noong 2004. I, on the other hand, out of principle, refused to accept both the administration and opposition offers to be part of their tickets, and instead ran as an independent in 2007 and won," he said. “The public should be reminded that he has no moral ascendancy to comment on the issue of fraud for the simple reason that he flip-flopped on the issue and embraced the cheater in the end. Yes, by all means let’s call a spade a spade. He who lives in a glass house should not throw stones," he added. Politics and family Meanwhile, Sotto brushed aside questions regarding the effect of the issue on their family, given that Pangilinan's wife actress Sharon Cuneta is his niece. "Politics has nothing to do with family relations," Sotto said. Sotto said he stands by his actions, saying he merely ran under the Team Unity ticket because their party - the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) had a coalition with the administration party. He likewise said the opposition did not take in his close friends current Sen. Gregorio Honasan and defeated senatorial bet Tessie Aquino-Oreta. "We stood by the decision of the party...Ano gusto ninyo, iwanan ko sila? (Do you want me to leave them)" he asked. 2004 elections Based on the official tally by Congress sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, Mrs. Arroyo won the 2004 elections after garnering 12,905,808 votes over the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.'s 11,782,232 votes. Poe contested Arroyo's victory, saying he was cheated. Poe died on December 14, 2004 but his widow, actress Susan Roces, pursued the electoral protest against Arroyo. In March 2005, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) dismissed the protest. - VVP, GMA News