Lacson: Bets asked to pay P4M to rank No. 14 in Maguindanao

Now it can be told: Senatorial votes in Maguindanao went for sale for as high as P4 million, and that's just for an "assured" ranking just outside the Magic 12. Re-electionist opposition senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said he personally experienced this when operators approached his camp and made the offer. "Ako mismo meron akong personal experience. Coordinator ko sa Maguindanao tumawag, kung gusto ko magkaroon ng boto magbabayad ako kung di ako nagkakamali P4 million ang halaga pero ang available slot No. 14 kasi sold out ang No. 1 to 13," Lacson said in an interview on dzXL radio. (I can personally attest to that. My coordinator in Maguindanao relayed the offer to me. I was told that if I wanted to have votes I'll have to pay P4 million for the next available slot, which was No. 14. I was told the top 13 slots were sold out.) He did not say if he was informed who "bought" the top 13 slots. The administration Team Unity pulled off a 12-0 sweep in the May 14 election in Maguindanao. Lacson said he refused because he was very vocal in denouncing the cheating involving the "Hello Garci" tapes in 2005 and 2006. "Saan tayo lulugar niyan kung mamimili tayo ng boto? Di bale nang ma-0, e na-0 nga (I told my coordinator, where will I stand if I bought votes? I said it doesn't matter if I got zero votes. And true enough, I got zero votes)," he said. Earlier, Lacson said he had filed a petition questioning the 12-0 vote, as well as the zero votes many GO candidates got in the province. He said it was impossible, at least for him, to get zero votes in Maguindanao because he had coordinators there, and he got many votes there in the 2004 presidential election. Lacson said the zero votes some GO candidates got smacked of the administration "overdoing" it. "Ang 12-0 hindi imposible yan, ang imposible ma-0 ang isang kandidato. Basta may boto rin. Sila naman they overdid it. Sa halip na 12-0 kami, ginawa kaming 0. Di kapanipaniwala, ngayon lang ako nakatikim ng 0, may organizer ako doon at siguro buhay ang bumoto sa akin noong 2004, di ako na-0 saan munisipyo noong 2004,' he said. (I think a 12-0 sweep is possible but what is impossible is for candidates to get zero votes. It looks like the administration overdid it. It was not enough for us to get swept 12-0, they had to rub it in and give some of us zero votes. I have organizers there so it is impossible for me to get zero votes.) "Hindi ka ma-0 kung walang awareness pero ako incumbent, reelectionist, walang lugar na pwede naman ako ma-0 maski 1 vote may boboto sa akin dahil unang una may coordinator ako doon. Pati ang coordinator ko di boboto sa akin? Imposible nga kaya kitang kita natin walang eleksyon," Lacson added. (You can get zero if voters are not aware of you. But I'm a re-electionist. I think it's impossible for me to get zero votes, especially in areas where I have coordinators. Does that mean even my coordinators won't vote for me? This is impossible, that's why I think there was no election there last May 14.) - GMANews.TV