Senators, bets: Comelec fire 'cover-up' or prelude to fraud

In the view of at least two senators and two opposition senatorial candidates, the fire that razed the old Commission on Elections (Comelec) building in Manila was either a ploy to destroy damning evidence against the Arroyo administration or an early effort to cover up a conspiracy to commit fraud in the May 14 midterm elections. Opposition senatorial candidate John Osmeña said on Sunday that apart from being “fishy," a “big fish" might have been behind the Comelec fire. “May mga kalokohan na ayaw nilang malaman. Pero hindi naman tayo magtataka, wala naman silang ginagawang matino sa Comelec(There were some queer goings-on that they don’t want known. But we shouldn’t be surprised, they don’t do anything good at the Comelec)." Osmena said in a media briefing in Binondo, Manila. Osmeña said he suspects that the fire was done deliberately because the Comelec was hiding something. “I think it's a big fish. Ano ba ang ayaw nilang makita? (What is it that they don’t want others to see?)" Osmeña said. Sen. Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby" Madrigal proffered the theory that the Arroyo government “is now setting the stage for a no elections scenario." “I urge the Senate to investigate this matter fully. The Comelec should disclose what records were burned and how they will reconstruct them. Let us not forget, the lackeys of Garci are still there," she said. But Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr said his chief concern was the important documents that could have been destroyed by the fire. Pimentel said Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos should order a complete inventory of the documents, equipment and facilities that were burned. “The burning of the Comelec office raises alarm that vital evidence might have been burned. Chairman Abalos’ good intentions need to be proven. Clean elections are vital and necessary," he said. Pimentel had recently sought a Senate inquiry into newspaper reports of alleged overpricing of security papers to be used for the May 14 election’s official ballots. House Minority Leader Francis "Chiz" Escudero meanwhile expressed doubts about the number of registered voters that the Comelec had reported. Escudero said that with the country's population of 87 million, it was doubtful that 45 million of the population were voters. He said that the Philippines, like all developing nations with high population growth, is a country of young people. Thus, there could be more young Filipinos who are not yet of voting age, than those qualified to vote. Escudero said it was possible that the Comelec allowed multiple registration or, worse, the registration of non-existent voters.-GMANews.TV