Ex-Shari'a judge, 20 others may testify in poll fraud probe

(Updated 4:33 p.m.) The former Shari'a court judge who claimed to have helped Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cheat in the 2004 presidential elections and at least 20 others may serve as witnesses in the joint investigation by the Commission on Elections and Department of Justice on the alleged poll fraud, Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. said Wednesday. Asked by reporters whether the Comelec-DOJ panel already has witnesses for the probe, Brillantes said there are already more than 20 witnesses who are being approached to testify in connection with alleged fraud during the 2004 and 2007 elections. "Andami naming kausap na witnesses ni Justice Secretary [Leila] de Lima," Brillantes said after the Commission on Appointments conducted a hearing on his appointment. "We're talking about election officers and other election officials. Kasi ang mga election officers na nagkaroon ng participation, we can use them as state witnesses," he added. Brillantes refused to identify the witnesses but admitted that former Shari'a court judge Nagamura Moner, who allegedly helped distribute bribe money to ensure Mrs. Arroyo's victory, might be included in the possible witnesses. "Oo kausap ko na siya, nakausap ko na siya," he said of Moner, who made his revelations during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. For its part, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it would be presenting any of its personnel on active duty who will be linked to the alleged rigging of the 2004 polls. "Ever since, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is open for any investigation, we are ready. If ever there are personalities [who] would be called, we will present them before any proper court and in any investigating body," said military information chief Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos. Meanwhile, Brillantes said that they are ready to prepare for an election in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) should the Supreme Court ask them to do so. The high court on Tuesday voted to stop the Aquino administration from appointing ARMM OICs following the postponement of the elections there that were supposed to be held last August. Brillantes, however, said that they will need at least six months to conduct automated polls there. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK/RSJ, GMA News