COMELEC chief sees 'election sabotage' during 2007 polls

Details of “maneuvered" voting results in the 2007 senatorial elections are the substance of testimony various witnesses will reveal in separate investigations at the Senate and before a joint panel of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Department of Justice (DOJ), according to officials privy to the eyewitness accounts. Senator Panfilo Lacson said the alleged cheating operations were elaborate according to a new witness who will come forward in the coming days. In the appraisal of Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes, the scale of the operations to manipulate the results was massive. “There can be no other (case)… If you look at the magnitude of the votes involved, it is definitely tantamount to electoral sabotage," Brillantes said. Brillantes said the Comelec may file charges of election sabotage against those who have knowledge of the anomalies in the 2007 polls. He said the testimonies of the 15 election officers will prove the unlawful movements made at that time. Section 42 of the Poll Automation Law states that it can be considered electoral sabotage “when the tampering, increase and/or decrease of votes perpetrated or the refusal to credit the correct votes or to deduct tampered votes, is/are committed in the election of a national elective office." Brillantes said he will ask dismissed Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol to issue a supplemental affidavit. The Comelec chief said he believes Bedol knows more than what he already stated. The former Maguindanao election officer earlier claimed that Andal Sr. informed him that former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo allegedly ordered the former governor to ensure that senatorial candidates of the Genuine Opposition all get zero votes in Maguindanao. The Comelec chief said that, aside from the revelations of former Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas, the evidence from 15 poll officials assigned in Maguindanao in 2007 will show the scale of the cheating done. “The 15 EOs (election officers) we presented can prove that there were irregular operations that took place in the 2007 elections there. Ang daming boto nun," Brillantes said. Elaborate operations Senator Panfilo Lacson said the new witness, who preferred to come before the Senate instead of the Comelec-DOJ panel, would substantiate the latest accusations of election cheating against former President Gloria Arroyo. "There’s another witness coming out [who] will corroborate ang sinabi ni Unas. Katunayan pati ang ibang details like ang pagkuha ng manufactured ERs (election returns) sa Manila at dinala sa isang probinsya sa Mindanao prior to transporting it to Maguindanao," Lacson told reporters in an interview. Lacson said the new witness, whom he refused to identify, will testify as to how the votes of opposition candidates were “maneuvered" through elaborate operations. Lacson said the still unidentified witness was supposedly part of the “special operations" team of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province. "Detalyado. Kung saan kinuha ang fake ERs, kung saan trinansport, he said. The Senate’s Blue Ribbon committee and electoral reforms committee will convene to hear the allegations and receive other evidence.
On Monday, Unas, the former right hand man of former Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., claimed that he heard former President Arroyo instruct his boss to “make" the results of the May 2007, elections in Maguindanao “12-0." “When the President was about to exit from the hall as she was shaking hands with several participants, the President signaled Datu Andal to a corner and I heard the President told again Datu Andal: ‘Dapat 12-0 sa Maguindanao, kahit pa ayusin o palitan niyo ang resulta’, [to] which the Governor answered: ‘Opo Ma’am,’" Unas said, in his nine-page affidavit. Unas claimed that Andal Sr. committed to deliver a 12-0 sweep for Arroyo’s Team Unity senatorial slate and allegedly enlisted the help of then Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol, who is also set to testify on alleged cheating in the 2007 polls. Maguindanao was the only province where all 12 senatorial bets from Team Unity won. The alleged cheating supposedly benefited then Team Unity bet Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was declared the winner of the 12th Senate seat in 2007. Last August, Zubiri relinquished his Senate seat citing his desire to spend more time with his family. Weeks later, the Senate Electoral Tribunal declared Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III the rightful winner of the 12th Senate slot in lieu of Zubiri. “Very strong evidence" Unas’ testimony is “very strong evidence" according to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. "We asked if it (testimony) is hearsay. This is personal knowledge. So under the rules of evidence, personal knowledge is very strong evidence," Lacierda said at a press briefing Tuesday. When asked if he thinks the testimony is credible, Lacierda said he will leave that evaluation to the Department of Justice and Commission on Elections. "But it seems like, in his affidavit, it appeared that he was very confident of being able to state for the record that he was able to hear former President Arroyo giving the order," Lacierda noted. Unas also claimed that then-First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo also gave instructions to rig the polls.
Arroyos prepared to face accusations The Arroyo camp has since denied Unas' allegations. Atty. Raul Lambino, spokesman of the Arroyos on legal issues, said Mrs. Arroyo and her husband are prepared to face the accusations Unas hurled. "Haharapin nila yan. Madaling magsampa ng kaso, kahit sino pwede sampahan ng anumang kaso. Kahit na sino pwede ring lumabas bilang testigo at mag-imbento ng mga kwento," Lambino said in an interview on radio dwIZ. — ELR/VS/HS, GMA News