Koko assures public of impartiality in Senate poll fraud probe

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Tuesday assured the public that he would be impartial in the Senate blue ribbon committee's inquiry into allegations of poll fraud during the 2004 and 2007 elections. "Hindi ako biased na tao," Pimentel said after the Senate blue ribbon committee's first hearing on alleged cheating during the 2004 and 2007 elections. He issued the statement after he filed on Monday a non-bailable electoral sabotage case against former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for supposedly ordering electoral fraud in 2007. Also included in the complaint are former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo, former Elections chief Benjamin Abalos, former Elections Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, regional poll director lawyer Michael Abas, former presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio and his executive assistant Bong Serrano. Last August, Pimentel was proclaimed the 12th winning senator in the controversial 2007 polls after the Senate Electoral Tribunal found out some of the ballots during the elections were spurious and were accomplished by more than one person. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was initially proclaimed by the Comelec as the winner four years ago, was replaced by Pimentel. Zubiri resigned last Aug. 3 from the Senate. But Pimentel said this would not interfere with his duties as chairman of the Senate electoral reforms panel, which is jointly hearing the poll fraud allegations with the Senate blue ribbon committee. "Actually makakatulong ako dito dahil marami rin naman akong alam na nangyari doon sa 2007. Kunyari merong sinasabi yung resource person na alam kong hindi totoo, pwede ko siyang i-confront with what I personally know to be a fact," he said. He specifically cited the case of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Francis Escudero, whose knowledge of the events during the 2004 elections supposedly helped steer Tuesday's hearing. 2004 poll fraud Earlier in the day, several witnesses confirmed allegations that there were several attempts to bribe election and police officers to ensure the victory of Mrs. Arroyo during the 2004 polls. In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Cayetano said they will listen to the "Hello Garci" tapes again in the next hearing. The "Hello Garci" tapes refer to recordings of alleged wiretapped conversations where vote-rigging in the 2004 elections was discussed by a woman presumed to be Mrs. Arroyo and a man presumed to be former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. Both Mrs. Arroyo and Garcillano have denied being engaged in the alleged rigging of the 2004 polls. "Sa susunod na hearing... Sen. Alan Cayetano will show the correlation of the tapes, the Garci tapes, with the events that happened in the areas that were mentioned in the tapes," said Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Teofisto Guingona III. "If you look at it so far, the evidence is really pointing to massive, orchestrated fraud in the 2004 elections," said Cayetano. Guingona, meanwhile, could not categorically say whether they will invite Mike Arroyo to the Senate again since he was identified as one of those who approached those who supposedly bribed several officers in 2004. "It's possible but again we will be confronted with the health problem. We will have to go through the whole process again," he said. — RSJ, GMA News