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FEARFUL
witnesses who claimed to have seen first-hand how the
alleged election fraud was carried out in Maguindanao,
resulting in a 12-0 shutout in favor of administration
senatorial bets, want to testify on the alleged cheating
before an executive session of the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) to get it over and done with,
opposition spokesman Adel Tamano said on Thursday.
Appearing at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado, Tamano
clarified that the still-unnamed witnesses are not
“faceless” as described in some reports.
“Hindi
sila faceless, the reason why we cannot show their
faces is because they fear for their lives … these are
[members of] the Board of Election Inspectors from
Maguindanao, who saw the cheating first-hand,” Tamano
said.
He
recalled that during a news conference the other day,
the members of the media saw for themselves that “the
witnesses were shaking, natatakot talaga sila for
their lives.”
“And
yet, in spite of their fears, in spite of the fact that
they knew that they were putting their lives in danger,
they have stepped forward to tell the truth about
cheating,” Tamano told the forum adding the opposition
have not offered these witnesses “anything in terms of
money or promises, or even protection.”
But
Tamano said the problem was that the Comelec has not yet
decided to call the witnesses to testify before an
inquiry by the poll body.
Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. earlier warned
that the Comelec investigation could result in the
filing of election sabotage cases against the poll fraud
perpetrators in Maguindanao.
“We did
try to present the witnesses to the Comelec; ang
problema lang, hindi pa pumapayag ang Comelec. We
want to present them in an executive session to protect
their identities pero hindi pa pumapayag ang
Comelec,” Tamano said but added “we are still hopeful.”
Tamano
explained that the reason why the Genuine Opposition
wants to present the witnesses to the Comelec is “for
the officials of the poll body to see from the testimony
of these witnesses what really happened in Maguindanao,
and the cheating that happened there and to prove we are
rising to the challenge of the Comelec that we are
presenting our evidence on cheating.”
However,
Team Unity said the “unholy alliance” of GO with leftist
groups led by Bayan Muna and ultra-rightist forces is
now in the final lap of vilifying electoral results from
Maguindanao, and other Mindanao areas through the
presentation of alleged whistleblowers, which is a vital
component of the heinous plot to undermine the
senatorial elections and destabilize the Arroyo
administration.
In a
statement, TU said it took note of the fact that GO’s
presentation of four alleged witnesses was preceded by
“incendiary statements” from both the GO and, later,
Bayan Muna on the “political crisis and instability”
that the country will supposedly face once the tally of
votes from Maguindanao, and other areas they had
“falsely and venomously” accused of cheating pushes
through.
This
developed as the Comelec relieved the provincial
election supervisors (PESs) in North and South Cotabato,
and placed them on the watchlist of the Bureau of
Immigration (BI) for alleged poll fraud in their areas.
At the
same time, the PES in Maguindanao, Lintang Bedol, was
also placed on the BI’s watchlist for failing to appear
twice before the poll body.
“The
Comelec resolved to relieve them of their posts,”
Elections Commissioner Romeo Brawner told reporters
referring to Lilian Radams and Yogie Martirizar, PES of
South and North Cotabato respectively.
Brawner
added that the poll body’s legal department has been
ordered to investigate Radam’s and Martirizar’s failure
to appear before the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC)
on Thursday to explain why there are discrepancies in
their provinces’ certificates of canvass (COCs).
The
Comelec made that directive after an opposition lawyer
threatened to file contempt and electoral sabotage
charges against Radam and Martirizar for alleged
election fraud in their area.
Leila de
Lima, counsel for opposition bet Alan Peter Cayetano,
said Radam and Martirizar should answer why there are
discrepancies in the statement of votes in the
municipality and city levels in North and South Cotabato.
Bedol,
on the other hand, was one of the trusted men of former
elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in
Maguindanao, where administration candidates reportedly
got 12-0 votes.
The NBOC
adjourned on Thursday after canvassing COCs from South
Cotabato where opposition bets got most of the votes.
In
Maguindanao, some 20,000 protesters gathered at the
provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak to assail those
accusing the leadership of the province of rigging the
result of May 14 polls in favor of TU at 12-0.
The
mayors of 21 towns were present in the rally. Each mayor
took with him at least 500 demonstrators.
The
protest rally, Maguindanao provincial administrator
Norie Unas said, is to object to the manner that the
residents are being portrayed and to call on their
accusers to substantiate their accusations.
He said
GO candidates did not go to Maguindanao to campaign
while the TU senatorial candidates Chavit Singson, Migz
Zubiri, Prospero Pichay Jr. and Cesar Montano came to
Maguindanao several times to campaign.
Gov.
Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao said the result of the May 14 polls
prove that the people of Maguindanao support President
Arroyo.
“It is
not true that the GO got zero in Maguindanao because
Francis Escudero, Loren Legarda, Koko Pimentel, Gregorio
Honasan and Manny Villar also got votes, only that the
did not get in the magic 12,” Ampatuan said. Results of
the senatorial tally as of 5 p.m. are as follows:
1.
Loren
Legarda (GO) 17,106,817
2.
Francis
Escudero (GO) 16,934,982
3.
Panfilo
Lacson (GO) 14,391,494
4.
Manuel
Villar (GO) 14,225,533
5.
Francis
Pangilinan (Ind) 13,570,178
6.
Benigno
Aquino III (GO) 13,358,905
7.
Edgardo
Angara (TU) 11,453,242
8.
Alan
Peter Cayetano (GO) 10,912,680
9.
Joker
Arroyo (TU) 10,853,157
10.
Gringo
Honasan (Ind) 10,642,467
11.
Antonio
Trillanes IV (GO) 10,270,365
12.
Aquilino
Pimentel III (GO) 10,055,051
--With Cher Jimenez and Tommy Tee |
