DOJ-Comelec panel formed to probe poll fraud allegations

The Department of Justice and the Commission on Elections on Tuesday agreed to create a five-member committee that will look into alleged cheating in the 2004 and 2007 elections. The Comelec is set to issue a resolution later in the day to formalize the creation of the panel. At a news briefing, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the panel will be composed of three representatives from the DOJ and two from the Comelec. The committee members are still being vetted, she said. De Lima said the DOJ representative, who will either be an undersecretary or a senior state prosecutor, will chair the panel and spearhead the conduct of the inquiry. "[The chair] will be either [be at the] undersecretary level or senior state prosecutor but the other members would be [at the level of] city prosecutor. We are choosing among several names. Remember city prosecutors sit as BOC [Board of Canvassers] so at least may exposure din sila ng election law. There will be a joint secretariat, joint legal staff," she said. The committee will likewise have the power to subpoena possible witnesses and resource persons, and probable respondents. The committee can also exercise its power to cite individuals in contempt. "If they don't appear without justifiable reasons, the committee can cite them in contempt. But that is only an option; the committee may or may not cite in contempt. If it's crucial or very important, the committee has the option to cite personalities in contempt," she added. De Lima added that the legal staff will research and study on the prescriptive period in connection with the 2004 elections. A prescriptive period refers to the period that the State can file charges against the accused. In election offenses, however, the prescriptive period runs for five years. This means that the State has five years to file charges five years from the time the election offense was committed, or from the time the offense was discovered in the course of the proceedings. — RSJ, GMA News