Poll fraud witnesses send feelers

Saturday, July 30, 2011
MANILA — Eighteen witnesses, some of them are from Mindanao, are willing to shed light on alleged electoral fraud in 2004 and 2007 elections, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said.
Speaking at a press conference Friday, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said they have received feelers but the poll body is checking the personalities of the witnesses and the veracity of their claim.
Brillantes’s announcement came just a day after Hadji Abdullah Daligdig, a Lanao del Sur official of the poll watchdog — the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) — emerged from hiding on Thursday, saying he has information about the election fraud in 2004.
He said the election was rigged in favor of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
On Friday, police Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago and some members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force faced the media in a separate press briefing and said that he and his men stole original election returns (ERs) in the 2004 polls kept at the Batasang Pambansa and replaced these with fake ones that favor Arroyo.
Allegations of Daligdig and Santiago appear to corroborate similar statements made by suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan, dismissed Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol, and three other poll officials in Maguindanao regarding the matter.
The affidavits of the witnesses in the alleged poll fraud can already be considered strong pieces of evidence to complete the picture in 2004 and 2007, Brillantes said.
“The major players are already out e. We still have our own officers, who are still with us up to now, and, who can really testify ano nangyari nung 2007 (what really happened in 2007),” he said.
“Yung 2004, nandiyan na yung mga yan e. It’s just a matter of (former Comelec commissioner Virgilio) Garcillano coming out, mabubuo na sana yung litrato e (Witnesses in the 2004 elections are already here. It’s just a matter of former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano coming out to complete the picture),” he added.
The commission is currently preparing election documents that can be presented in its forthcoming joint investigation with the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Also on Friday, police officers involved in the alleged switching of election returns (ERs) back in 2004 apologized to the Filipino people and to actress Susan Roces, wife of actor-turned presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.
“We apologized to the nation and to Ms. Susan Roces for the error we are now trying to rectify,” said Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Operations chief Rafael Santiago, together with his men — Rudy Gahar, Allan Layugan, Norman Duco, Trifo Lacsamana, Rodel Tabangin.
Santiago and his men turned over to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday additional 34 original ERs, bringing the total number of ERs to 38.
He earlier said the switching of ERs happened inside the Batasan Pambansa building to ensure that then President Arroyo would be proclaimed winner in the presidential elections in case of a recount.
He presented on Wednesday night four documents to de Lima bearing the Comelec seal, supposedly the original ERs from different parts of Mindanao. The ERs allegedly came from precincts in Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte.
Arroyo’s lead over his opponent in the 2004 presidential elections — the late Fernando Poe Jr. — was more than one million votes.
Poe’s daughter, Grace, in a television interview, thanked Santiago for coming out to expose the 2004 poll fraud.
She added the revelation is a triumph not just for their family but also for the nation.
“Nagpapasalamat kami, pero ‘di ito tagumpay lamang ng pamilya namin kundi tagumpay ng bayan (we are thankful. This is not only a triumph of our family but also of the entire country),” she said.
She added they have not yet talked to their lawyers but said they will do the right action regarding the issue.
Grace added: “Gusto naming mabago ang kaisipan ng tao (We want to change the people’s minds), that to be good, to defend our values, is worth it.”
The four break-ins, according to Santiago, occurred on separate occasions in January and February 2005.
De Lima said the witnesses are still finalizing their sworn statements, adding she expects them to submit their affidavits next week.
Santigao, as he faced the media Friday, said they were not involved in actual ER switching but were made to provide access and security to cover up cheating trail.
He also denied being paid to reveal what they know about the alleged switching of ERs.
He said he is receiving death threats even before he came out.
“We know that our lives are at risk. We know that we’re facing powerful people, but there’ll be no turning back,” he said.
He said they seek justice by revealing the truth.
“Maybe this effort will change the system in our society,” he added.
Arroyo’s lawyer Raul Lambino earlier said in a text message, however, that “those same allegations were already investigated thoroughly before and even exposed in the media.”
“Nothing new… Now, personalities with their own political agenda to advance are like hyenas savoring to devour their fallen prey by capitalizing on matters that in their minds will help them earn some points from the unsuspecting public,” he said. (AMN/Sunnex)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/07/30/poll-fraud-witnesses-send-feelers-169843

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