P900- Million Swine Scam

We should start butchering those two-legged pigs in Malacanang and their cohorts. It appears that the Department of Agriculture was the source GMA’s 2004 election campaign funds. Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts’ allegedly malversed public funds for their personal interest. Joc-joc Bolante‘s P728 M fertilizer scam allegedly used to bribe congressmen and provincial governors to support Gloria’s candidacy. Public funds were diverted to ex-Comelec commissionaire Virgilio Garcillano’s election cheating operations in favor of Gloria Arroyo. The ghost of Hello Garci political scandal keeps haunting bogus Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.


GMA’s involvement in ‘Swine Scam’ seen in EO 322

Daily Tribune 04/03/2008

Where a direct link to President Arroyo in the P3-billion fertilizer funds scam was not quite established, this time, that direct presidential link to the “Swine Scam” is definitively marked with Mrs. Arroyo’s involvement, as evidenced by Executive Order (EO) 322, which effected the transfer of the Quedan and Rural Credit Gurantee Corp. (Quedancor) from the Department of Agriculture to the Office of the President.

Noticeably EO 322 was issued on July 5, 2004.

By August, going back on her word that she would not seek the presidency in 2004, Mrs. Arroyo announced that she would be running for the top post after God had told her He wanted her to run for the presidency.

“The direct hand of Mrs. Arroyo in this Swine Scam cannot be denied, now that the EO 322 has been bared, which was clearly designed for the President to be able to skim off hundreds of millions and divert this amount, most likely to her election kitty,” Harry Roque, a lawyer and critic of the President yesterday, told the Tribune.

“That is the good news (direct linkage),” civil society lawyer Roque said. “The bad news is that since Quedancor has been transferred to the Office of the President, Malacañang can get away with this crime again, just by invoking executive privilege,” he added.

The Supreme Court, voting 9-6, upheld the President’s executive privilege even when a crime is involved.

Roque said the amounts in the hundreds of millions were likely diverted by Malacañang to fund Mrs. Arroyo’s presidential campaign in 2004, stressing that the balance was definitely spent during the election period, as shown by the Commission on Audit (CoA) report.

An even bigger amount has been suspected of having been diverted in 2005, after the EO was issued and Quedancor was ordered transferred directly under the President’s office.

Roque charged that there was P 5 billion in cash, P3 billion which was borrowed from the Land Bank and P2 billion borrowed from Equitable PCI. The collateral was government bonds which Roque said that in case of default, it will be Juan de la Cruz who will again be made to pay up.

The sum of P2.25B was reportedly intended to buy swine for distribution to marginalized farmers on credit. “Like the fertilizer scam, it was conceived and implemented in 2004, a presidential election year,”Roque stressed.

The pattern in the swine diversion scam and the fertilizer funds scam appears to be very similar, in that there were ghost deliveries noted as well as the way the hog farmers were made to sign receipts even when they never got the swine.

He added that a year after its launch, in 2005, the CoA reported that Quedancorp spent 1.66 billion but failed to account for the manner it was spent, which was roughly 60 percent of the amount equivalent to P 747 million.

This amount, he said, was classified as “unrecorded receivables.” The following year, Roque stated, CoA reported that of P1.66 billion, there was only a record that P176 million was actually received by farmers/beneficiaries. This means that P1.5 billion was already stolen, through ghost delivery.

“Moreover, field audit revealed that an almost overwhelming number of farmers were made to sign receipts for swines that they never received for sums ranging from P200 to P300 per signature,” Roque pointed out.

The CoA recommendation, from the documents obtained by Roque, showed that the agency’s recommendation was that action should be taken against those who may be found remiss in the discharge of their duties.

He said that in 2005, the CoA already reported that the collection of P755million was already doubtful. This amount classified as of doubtful collection was increased to P1.1 billion in 2006.

Roque also charged that the procurement of P1.66 billion worth of swines was done without bidding and supplied by four companies with interlocking directors and stockholders and which were not even accredited Swine Breeders Farms by the DA.

“All these companies had no track record as they were all incorporated only in 2003. None of them were accredited by the Bureau of Animal Industry

“All suppliers were paid in full in advance explaining why they all got paid a total of 1.66B when they only delivered 176M worth of swines.

“Further, there was also the ghost delivery of P47M of input supplies.

He noted that in 2006, it was also reported that there was interlocking of shareholders and directors of companies who received and the supplied the swines. Ex: Iloilo Feeds Corp, Nueva Foods and BORKS: NG family: Mary Ann Treasurer of Iloilo feeds, later became Chairman of BIRKS.

Roque also noted that Quedancorp engaged in quasi-banking without authority from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; loans incurred for Swine Program of 2.25 exceeded by P 750M ceiling that were approved by Monetary Board; Overstatement of cash inflow and outflow from Financing Activities: Proceeds:P188M, Payments P 264M; and overstatement of cash position by P195M

Roque said that P2.25B of funds from Landbank which could have been used to increase productivity of rice farmers was lost to graft and corruption on an election year and stated that the current rice crisis being experienced is due to corruption.

He named as responsible the members of the Board of Quedancorp including Agriculture chief Arthur Yap and then DA chief Cito Lorenzo.

Roque also questioned why Yap failed to act on the irregularities when Quedancor was informed of it as early as 2005. He noted an investigation was started only in 2006. By that time, he said, P1.66 billion had already been spent.

Part of the reason for the transfer, as stated in the EO was that which said that “in order to effectively oversee and implement agriculture development activities through an institutionalized and comprehensive financing and guarantee support system for the country’s agricultural sector, there is a need to transfer Quedancor from the Department of Agriculture to the Office of the President, and to reorganize the Government Board thereof” adding that under Section 31, Chapter 10, Title III, Book III of the administrative Code of 1987, the President has the continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President.

“With that EO transferring the Quedancor to the office of the President, Mrs. Arroyo can hardly deny that she knew nothing about these billions diverted,” Roque said.


Quedancor has P1.4-billion in unliquidated fund

Philippine Supreme Court Legitimized Kleptocracy

Deviantart

Welcome to kleptocrat nation! The Philippine Supreme Court has legitimized Gloria Arroyo’s kleptocracy-the rule by looters and thieves. The Arroyo government is ruled by Mafia criminals and cronies. It’s lutong makaw! The majority of the magistrates are blind and bias. The Arroyo Supreme Court is a part of wholesale conspiracy of China’s ZTE scam and its clone’s cover-up. In fact, the Philippine Supreme Court legitimized the Arroyo presidency after the 2001 EDSA Dos coup. What national security? What diplomatic matters? The alleged Spratlys sell-out and wholesale conspiracy to commit fraud, bribery, and treachery are covered under Gloria’s executive privilege. Shame on them!

The rule of law is dead under corrupt Arroyo regime. Gloria Arroyo has the rubber stamp do-nothing House of the Representatives, the Supreme Court to justify her misdeeds, the Ombudsman and Department of Injustice to protect her Mafia cronies from prosecution, the military-police to suppress people’s civil liberties and the bishops for their prayers and all-out support. Anak ng jueteng! But no thanks to bribery! Tuloy ang ligaya!

SC Chief Justice Puno dissents
The limits of executive privilege
GMA’s justices uphold Neri’s silence, castrate Senate

CJ Puno: Palace claim of RP-China ties at risk not credible
By Benjamin B. Pulta
Daily Tribune 03/26/2008
The Senate, empowered by the Constitution with the mandate to investigate anomalies in government, and in the Executive branch in aid of legislation, has been effectively castrated by the high court with its ruling issued yesterday involving the invocation of executive privilege.
All of President Arroyo’s men and women in the Supreme Court (SC) appeared to have delivered to her what she wanted: The clipping of the Senate’s powers to investigate, in aid of legislation; to question witnesses and resource persons and demand answers from them; and to cite them in contempt, while upholding the Malacanang officials’ right to invoke executive privilege, and thus evade public accountability even in criminal matters.

The SC yesterday ruled to grant a petition filed by former National Economic Development Authority (Neda) secretary-general now chairman of the Commission on Higher Education Romulo Neri to stop the Senate from compelling him to testify in its investigation into the aborted $329-million national
broadband network project of the government with China’s ZTE Corp.
Voting nine-to-six,the majority of the high court in the decision written by Associate Justice Teresita De Castro agreed with Neri’s claim that the Senate cannot cite any person appearing before legislative inquiries before it in contempt until the upper house passes its rules.
As of 4:00 p.m. yesterday, no official copy of the main ruling was available since it was still being revised, SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said, adding that it runs to some 35 pages.

The main decisions said ,in this present search for truth, we should turn to the fundamental constitutional principles.
The SC said while the three department s of government are considered separate,co-equal,coordinate and supreme within their respective spheres they are imbued with a system of checks and balances to prevent unwarranted exercise of power.
Even the courts are repeatedly advised to exercise the power of contempt judiciously and sparingly with utmost self-restraint with the end in view of utilizing the same for correction and preservation of the dignity of the court, not for retaliation or vindication.

The majority added that the Senate committees should have exercised the same restraint adding that after all petitioner (Neri) is not even an ordinary witness. He holds a high position in a co-equal branch of government.
The SC also pointed out that only a minority of the members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee were present during the deliberation.
Clearly,the needed vote is a majority of all the members of the (Senate blue ribbon) Committee. Apparently, members who did not actually participate in the deliberation were made to sign the contempt order. Thus , there is a cloud of doubt as to the validity of the contempt order, the SC said.
The tribunal also cited that in letters made by Neri to the Senate, the former include(d) an expression of his willingness to testify again, provided he be furnished in advance copies of the questions.

The dissenting opinion of Chief Justice Reynato Puno was 120 pages long.
Despite the majority vote in favor of the administration in the Neri petition, magistrates of the high court who dissented said a virtual mouthful for the case.
In his separate opinion, the Chief Justice did not give credence to the claim of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita that the country’s relationship with China may be put at risk if Neri is forced to answer the three questions which stem from a Neri allegation of bribery.
Puno said Ermita has no explanation on how diplomatic secrets will be exposed at the expense of national interest if petitioner answered the three disputed questions propounded by the respondent Senate committees.
Neri, Puno pointed out, also failed to explain during the oral argument on the case how diplomatic secrets will be compromised if the three questions are answered by him.

But even assuming arguendo that petitioner Neri can properly invoke the privilege covering national security and military affairs, still, the records will show that he failed to provide the Court knowledge of the circumstances with which the Court can determine whether there is reasonable danger that his answers to the three disputed questions would indeed divulge secrets that would compromise our national security, Puno noted.
The questions, Puno added, should be answered by Neri as these are pertinent to the subject matter of the legislative investigation being undertaken by the respondent Senate committees.

He noted that the questions to Neri have direct relation not only to the subject of the inquiry, but also to the bills pending before the Senate such as Senate Bill No. 1793 which intends to amend Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, Senate Bill No. 1794 or An Act Imposing Safeguards in Contracting Loans Classified as Official Development Assistance and Senate Bill No. 1317 or An Act Mandating Concurrence to International Agreements and Executive Agreements.
Puno further stressed that the strength of the executive privilege is weakened by the fact that the subject of the communication involves a contract with a foreign loan, which is not exclusively vested in the President, but is shared with the Monetary Board (Central Bank).

We also consider the chilling effect which may result from the disclosure of the information sought from petitioner Neri but the chilling effect is diminished by the nature of the information sought, which is narrow, limited as it is to the three assailed questions. We take judicial notice also of the fact that in a Senate inquiry, there are safeguards against an indiscriminate conduct of investigation, Puno added.

With all these considerations factored into the equation, we have to strike the balance in favor of the respondent Senate committees and compel petitioner Neri to answer the three disputed questions, he further said.

Spokesman Marquez, quoting the high court’s majority ruling said that since there are no published rules of the Senate’s rules for contempt no person can be penalized with contempt by the Senate until the guidelines are already published.
Marquez said the ban not only covers Neri but in effect also covers other witnesses appearing before the legislature.
It does not limit the power of the Senate but only defines executive privilege he added.

Dissenting from the majority opinion were Puno and Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Conchita Carpio-Morales and Adolfo Azcuna.
Carpio however joined the majority in ruling that the arrest warrant issued by the Senate against Neri was handed down in grave abuse of discretion.
The senators ordered Neri’s arrest following his failure to heed their subpoenas for him to appear the Senate inquiry.
The SC ruled that three crucial questions being asked of Neri during the senate proceedings are covered by the rule of executive privilege.
The majority decision said that these questions fall under executive privilege and that the conversations between Neri and the President must remain secret, despite the fact that an earlier SC ruling on EO 464 made it clear that executive privilege does not cover criminal activities.
It was claimed by the majority that for Neri to divulge his conversations with Mrs. Arroyo would put the diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines at serious risk.
Marquez clarified that the SC ruling does not prevent Neri from opting to change his mind and voluntarily testifying before the senate in executive session.
Aside from De Castro those who ruled to uphold the Palace position were Associate Leonardo Quisumbing, Renato Corona, Dante Tinga, Minita Chico-Nazario, Presbitero Velasco, Antonio Nachura, Ruben Reyes and Arturo Brion. All of whom are publicly perceived to toe the Malacanang line.
Brion who replaced Associate Justice Angelina Gutierrez was not yet with the court when the high court held oral arguments on the case last March 4. Marquez clarified that Brion wrote a separate opinion explaining his vote to concur with the majority.
Malacanang was pleased by the decision, saying that the ruling confirmed all along its belief that the Senate had been disrespectful toward the Executive department when it comes to its inquiries in aid of legislation.
What’s good about this ruling is that it emphasized what we have been saying all along that all these time we have been talking about respecting the independence of one another (executive and legislative branches) and (for the Senate) to accord respect to resource persons. In all of this, we have been proven correct. The only reason this Executive Order 464 was ever issued was due to the disrespect (of the Senate) to the Constitution, said Press Secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye.
For his part, Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said they are now looking forward to the Senate and the executive to work out a mutually acceptable rules on appearances in the senate inquiries of witnesses, in aid of legislation.
With Sherwin C. Olaes and PNA

Resign Gloria Macapagal Arroyo!

Banner from Philippine Experience blogsite

Philippine bogus President Gloria Arroyo has no moral authority to lead our divided nation. Political scandal, scams and anomalous transactions under her inept corrupt regime is no longer acceptable. She is dragging the Senate investigation on Hello Garci political scam and China's ZTE Corp. broadband scam. The Arroyo government is run by thieves and Mafia-like cronies.

IBON Survey: Most Filipinos Want Arroyo To Step Down Due To Corruption Charges

Recent corruption scandals besetting the Arroyo administration have led most Filipinos to call for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down, according to the results of the latest IBON survey.
Asked if they were aware of calls made recently by members of the Church and other sectoral groups for Pres. Arroyo to resign from office and face corruption charges levelled against her, 75% of the total 1,503 survey respondents said yes.
Of these, 77.4% said they agreed with such call to step down.
Various interfaith and sectoral groups such as Solidarity Philippines, Concerned Citizens Group, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others, have called for a rejection of what they called as Arroyo’s morally bankrupt government.
The IBON nationwide survey was conducted from January 7 to 14, 2008, with 1,503 respondents. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

Maguindanao poll anomalies found in SET

The Supreme Court’s senate electoral tribunal panel has opened can of worms in the alleged election fraud committed by elections officials in Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan. Sooner or later fugitive Lintang Bedol and his conspirators will reveal the real score what transpired during the fraudulent 2004 presidential election and 2007 midterm elections.

Pimentel set to unseat Zubiri with fraud proved in Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan ballot boxes

Zubiri poll anomalies found in SET

By Charlie V. Manalo
01/12/2008
It may be just a matter of time before Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III unseats Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who is likely to lose his place in the Senate, and perhaps even in shame, with the discovery of the electoral tribunal panel of too many cases of blatant election anomalies.
And it won’t be long either for those involved in the massive election cheating committed against Pimentel, successfully depriving him of a Senate seat, to be brought to the halls of justice and eventually behind bars, by Pimentel himself.
The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) has uncovered election irregularities in four municipalities of Maguindanao and a municipality in Shariff Kabunsuan, with the the number of votes involved reportedly enough for Pimentel to overtake Zubiri’s lead over him for 12th place in the 2007 senatorial elections.
In his protest, Pimentel contests the results of 2,658 precincts where votes had been manipulated to enable administration candidate Zubiri to dislodge him for the last Senate seat.
In an interview yesterday with Pimentel’s lawyer, Leila de Lima, she pointed out that she and her client are satisfied with the early results of the revision being conducted by the SET as the five municipalities alone are enough for Pimentel to unseat Zubiri.
“In the four municipalities of Maguindanao, namely the Ampatuan, Buluan, Paglap and Gindulungan, the number of votes involved is 25,000 which Mr. Zubiri got,” said De Lima. “However, upon opening of the ballot boxes, the SET found out that all election
except the ballots, were all missing.”
She added that upon review of the ballots, most of thesewere found to have been faked and manufactured as they did not bear any of the security features.
De Lima stressed that “the revisionists found out that everything written on the original ballots was done by only one person as can be attested by the same penmanship all throughout.”
It will be recalled that on election day, or a few days after the polls closed, reports were out that teachers who were tapped as election officers, were said to have been abducted and brought to an unnamed island, where they were told by armed men, said to belong to the military, to fill up the empty ballots, all in the name of administration senatorial candidates.
The teacher-whistleblowers came to Manila to face the Commission on Elections commissioners and testify to the fraud being perpetrated. The Comelec commissioners, however, refused to hear them out.
De Lima said what she found more interesting “is the Municipality of Sulatan Kudarat in the Province of Shariff Kabunsuan where Mr. Zubiri established a lead of 31,000 votes over Koko Pimentel. None of the ballot boxes opened by the SET yielded anything. They were totally empty.”
Pimentel’s lawyer explained: “while we may not be able to get a 100 percent nullification of the Zubiri votes in the four municipalities of Maguindanao as they would be subjected to strenuous investigation and revision, we can be assured of a 100 percent nullification of Zubiri’s 31,000 vote lead over Koko in Sultan Kudarat and that would be enough to overtake Zubiri’s lead of roughly 18,000 votes,” De Lima pointed out. Daily Tribune

Now Showing Malacanang's Like A Thief In the Night

Dirty money?
A Freudian slip? Malacanang propagandists are telling the truth about their thieving boss. They can no longer hide the billions of kickbacks involved in China’s ZTE-NBN misdeal. In June 2004, like the thief in the night, House Speaker Jose De Venecia proclaimed Gloria Arroyo the 14th president before dawn after six weeks of vote’s manipulation and fraud.



Abalos wanted overprice coursed through his office
Farmers May Lose Control Of 1.2 Million Farmlands Under RP-China Deals

LANAO DEL SUR SPECIAL POLLS: “A deliberate systematic and institutional failure”

Written by By Froilan Gallardo and Charina Sanz Zarate/MindaNews
Saturday, 07 July 2007 11 33 58

1st of four parts

MARAWI CITY (MindaNews/06 July) -- Frustrated over the way elections are conducted in Lanao del Sur, provincial board candidate Aga-Khan Mangondato Sharief bared a plan that would spare the province from future electoral fraud: “privatize the Philippine Government including the Commission on Elections.”

“Make a public bidding and whoever wins the franchise gets to operate the Comelec. The government will earn; the franchisee could be a professional and credible firm. Why, it may even lead to professionalizing this whole election business,” says Sharief, who also goes by the name “Bin Ladin” for his uncanny resemblance with the Al Qaeda chief.

“We have lost faith in these election officials,” said Sharief whose “desperate measures” also included filing a case against Comelec officials before the Shariah court of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, for alleged “massive vote padding” to “not counting the votes” cast in their favor, and even to the failure of election personnel to show up in many towns during the May 14 polls.

2nd of a series

Catholic bishops slams conduct of midterm elections

CBCP slams conduct of midterm elections

By EDU PUNAY
The Philippine Star

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed dismay on Friday over the conduct of the May 14 midterm elections, saying the challenge of credible, honest, meaningful and peaceful polls remains.

CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo lamented that “vote-buying and other anomalies have already become systematic and even cultural.”

He said election watchdogs, including the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said the problem no longer lies in the voters but the voting system itself and the irresponsibility of some election officials.

“If you listened to reports, you would have realized that there was very little difference between this last election and the past elections,” Lagdameo said.

PPCRV chairman Henrietta de Villa told the bishops that last May’s elections merely repeated the unresolved poll fraud issues in the 2004 race between President Arroyo and the late Fernando Poe Jr.

Lagdameo said the CBCP would call for solid measures to restore the credibility of the electoral process. He said issues related to the last elections would be at the top of the CBCP agenda in their upcoming meeting.

He said they would come up with a full assessment of the conduct of the May 14 midterm elections at the conclusion of the assembly on Monday.

“This is one of the topics to be discussed. We will get reports from poll watchdog groups like PPCRV, Namfrel (National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections), and Lente (Legal Network for Truthful Elections),” he added.

De Villa went on to liken Maguindanao provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol to former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

“Attorney Lintang Bedol – with his repeated defiance of summons from the National Board of Canvassers and en banc resolutions of Commission on Elections, unexplained loss of election accountable forms in his custody and the ‘kid gloves’ treatment he is being given by his superiors – seems to be a repeat of the ‘Hello Garci’ controversy,” she stressed.

Garcillano is believed to be the “Garci” in the controversial “Hello, Garci” wiretap tapes.

In the tapes, a female caller who sounds like President Arroyo discusses the May 2004 presidential election with a man she addresses as “Garci.”

Mrs. Arroyo defeated Poe in that election.

In June 2005, Mrs. Arroyo admitted talking to an “election official,” although she has not identified the official up to now.

She claimed it was a “lapse in judgment” on her part, and in a nationwide televised address said she was sorry.

The House of Representatives investigated the “Hello, Garci” scandal. Garcillano evaded investigation for six months. When he finally surfaced in December 2005, he admitted talking to Mrs. Arroyo only once during the election period and vote count in 2004.

The “Garci” tapes were made the basis of impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo, which was twice dismissed on a technicality.

“How can the Filipino people feel good about our elections when the gross mistakes of the past continuously rear their heads in our electoral exercise, which can only mean that no genuine effort is being made to regain the public trust?” De Villa asked.

De Villa, former ambassador to the Vatican, admitted they were appalled by the delayed resolution of issues surrounding the elections in Maguindanao.

“For the sake of our almost 440,000 volunteers of PPCRV who risked their lives and limb to restore credibility to our elections, we call on the Comelec whom we tried with all our might to help come up with clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful elections to please stop this running travesty of the electoral process,” she appealed.

Lagdameo added the CBCP is also expected to discuss other pertinent issues, including extrajudicial killings of activists and journalists as well as the implementation of the new Anti-Terror Law.

Lagdameo, however, believed the unresolved issues of poll fraud and corruption against Mrs. Arroyo can no longer be raised in their meeting although they were consistently discussed in the last two plenary assemblies: “I don’t think that should be part of the agenda anymore,” he said.

In earlier pastoral statements, the bishops called on the Filipinos to continuously search the truth behind allegations against Mrs. Arroyo stemming from her questionable victory in the 2004 polls.


Opposition: Votes for 18 Senate bets prove fraud in
Maguindanao

COMELEC is a disgrace to Filipino nation

'COMELEC failed to resolve poll fraud'

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) criticized Thursday the Commission on Elections' alleged inability to exert effort to restore public trust.

“How can the Filipino people feel good about our elections when the gross mistakes of the past continuously rear their ugly heads in our electoral exercise which can only mean that no genuine effort is being made to regain the public trust?” PPCRV chairwoman Henrietta de Villa said.

The PPCRV, a national parish-based, non-partisan citizens' movement, described the last election as a classic picture of chaos where many Filipinos failed to freely and properly exercise their right to suffrage.

De Villa said the PPCRV is losing patience over the poll body’s canvassing delays and failure to resolve the credibility issue of the last elections.

She said allegations of cheating were due to COMELEC’s failure to address serious and legitimate concerns on the issue of fraud in Mindanao particularly the controversial Maguindanao certificates of canvass which delayed the national canvassing process.

“Election forms that have been missing since the purported canvassing (municipal and provincial) that no poll watcher was allowed to witness suddenly have begun to appear without sufficient believable explanation as to their disappearance then, and reappearance now,” de Villa said.

Reports said Maguindanao province delivered a 12-0 sweep for the administration’s Team Unity candidates.

She said the poll body’s “kid-glove” treatment of Maguindanao poll chief Lintang Bedol is a repeat of the “Hello, Garci” controversy, referring to the alleged anomaly involving former COMELEC commissioner Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 presidential election.

PPCRV criticized Bedol for his repeated defiance of summons from the National Board of Canvassers and the COMELEC en banc resolutions, with the unexplained loss of poll documents supposedly in his custody.

“In an age of global media, scenes and images of Mr. Bedol relaxingly skirting accusations of electoral fraud before the Commission en banc, appearing almost invincible with a gun tucked under his waist in a major daily constitute a flagrant mockery of the electoral values we hope our citizens, especially our young ones will practice and uphold,” said de Villa.

The group also urged the COMELEC to solve the Maguindanao controversy and other election issues.

“For the sake of the 439,693 volunteers of the PPCRV who risked lives and limbs to restore credibility to our elections, we call on the COMELEC to please put a stop to this running travesty of the electoral process,” de Villa said.

The COMELEC has yet to proclaim the 12th senator since canvassing has not been completed despite its assurance that winning national bets will be proclaimed within two weeks after the polls. Also, party-list groups who won a seat at the House of Representatives have yet to be proclaimed.

Senator Trillanes vows probe on GMA’s poll fraud, to work for ouster

The 2007 Comelec’s National Board of Canvassers and the 2004 Joint Congressional National Board of Canvassers have one in common; all pleas and objections are DENIED and NOTED. Sen. Francis Pangilinan and then Rep.Raul Gonzalez arrogantly denied and simply noted all FPJ camp’s pleading and objections. This time, shameless elections commissionaires denied and set-aside pleas and objections from the opposition camp.

Both elections are fraud-tainted. As a result, both national canvassers made a mockery of democratic processes and rule of law. Well, the Philippines have a fake president and fake senator of the republic. It is indeed a national shame. Senator Trillanes' top agenda is to investigate electoral fraud in 2004 and 2007 and how prevent it from happening again. I hope that Garci and Bedol clones and scalawag generals are history.


Trillanes vows probe on GMA’s poll fraud, to work for ouster

By Gina Peralta-Elorde

Daily Tribune 06/30/2007

Jailed military rebel Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday took his oath as senator, before a barangay captain of Caloocan City, and promised to use his new position to work for the ouster of President Arroyo.

Trillanes, 36, was allowed out of detention to take his oath in Caloocan City following his victory in the May 14 mid-term elections.

More than 11 million voted for the former Navy lieutenant accused of leading a failed military mutiny that paralyzed Manila’s financial district in July 2003. The rising was swiftly crushed without a shot being fired when the rest of the military refused to join the revolt.

Trillanes told reporters Friday that when he begins his work in the Senate next month, he will work to prove Mrs. Arroyo cheated to win the May 2004 presidential elections.

“If we want to serve the country, we have to get rid of Gloria Arroyo,” he said.

He also called on Team Unity senatorial aspirant Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri “to have the decency” to quit the race, and adverted to Zubiri as a “cheat” or at the very least, a beneficiary of the poll fraud in Maguindanao.

Trillanes also vowed to open a probe on the Maguindanao poll fraud.

Zubiri was incensed at hearing the charges of Trillanes and threatened to file a lawsuit against the senator, calling Trillanes a destabilizer and a destroyer of the economy, as well as charging him for being “immature” and ignorant of the “parameters” of a senator and parliamentary courtesies.

Trillanes made history when he ran as part of the opposition slate while in detention in a military stockade. He is still on trial on charges of trying to topple the government.

A case is now pending in court on whether Trillanes can be allowed out of detention to attend Senate sessions.

The 24-member Senate is dominated by Arroyo opponents who have consistently charged that the President cheated to beat the opposition presidential candidate, movie star Fernando Poe Jr., in 2004.

Trillanes yesterday vowed to prioritize the investigation of the alleged cheating in the May 14 2004 elections involving military officials and as well as the spate of killings involving leftist members and leaders.

Trillanes at the same time advised Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. to seek a government post after his retirement to avoid the summons from the legislative hearings of his involvement in the alleged May 2004 nationwide election cheating.

Esperon is set to retire on Feb. 28, 2008. Trillanes’ term beyond 2010.

Trillanes said he and some opposition senators have gathered testimonies by witnesses and documentary evidence of alleged vote-rigging, not only in Maguindanao province but in other areas as well.

According to Trillanes, Esperon can invoke Executive Order (EO) 464 until he retires and it is better for him to line up and apply for a new position if he wants to invoke it.

EO 464, issued last year, bars government and security officials from testifying in legislative hearings without clearance from Mrs. Arroyo. The Supreme Court struck down several of the order’s provisions as unconstitutional last year.

Despite this, Esperon has said he would invoke EO 464 to evade congressional hearings that Trillanes plans to call to look into extra-judicial killings and the alleged cheating in the 2004 elections.

Nevertheless, Trillanes, who is being tried in both civil and military courts for being an alleged mutiny leader, maintained: “It’s nothing personal. We are after the truth.”

Trillanes added he would summon other military and governments officials who were involved in the supposed cheating operations.

Esperon was linked to the election fraud controversy after he and three other senior officers, who have all retired, were mentioned in purported wiretapped telephone conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and her alleged accomplice in vote-rigging operations, former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

“Garci (Garcillano) mentioned his (Esperon’s) name clearly. Garci will not fool the President by dropping his name if he had not talked to her,” Trillanes said.

In the tapes, it was implied that Esperon had a hand in the relief of then Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, who was perceived to be sympathetic to the opposition, as 1st Marine Brigade commander. A military fact-finding board cleared the four so-called “Hello Garci” generals but its report was not fully disclosed to the public.

A gag order was issued just as Gudani and another Marine officer was to testify before the Senate into the alleged electoral fraud. EO 464 followed.

Relatedly, Trillanes also claimed that the three unidentified generals who were quoted to be helping him in gathering evidence in some government anomalies were real and true.

But Trillanes refused to answer more questions regarding the issue saying things would just be preempted.

The generals were quoted as saying that the murders of leftist militants were discussed openly in military command conferences, and that a general told his men that to get promoted, they had to kill activists.

“They (generals) are for real,” Trillanes said.

The newspaper report said the generals would give Trillanes evidence during the hearings.

Trillanes was sworn in by Ruben Gatchalian, Barangay (village) 169 chairman, before a packed crowd at a covered basketball court that was filled with ribbons and streamers in red, the known color of the Magdalo group, of which he was one of its alleged leaders that staged the July 27, 2003 mutiny at the posh Oakwood Apartments in Makati City.

“I assure you I can accomplish the mission you gave me,” said Trillanes who wore a blue Barong Tagalog, in a speech after the oath-taking.

To his family, Trillanes said, “They have been my strength ever since I went to Oakwood and until now.”

Aside from Trillanes’ children – Seth, 9, and Thea, 8; his mother, Estelita, and other relatives – also present at the oath-taking were Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, a former Armed Forces chief, Caloocan Rep. Luis Asistio and former Caloocan City Mayor Rey Malonzo.

A marching band welcomed Trillanes, who arrived under heavy guard from his detention cell at the Philippine Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

Trillanes has been charged with coup d’etat over the foiled mutiny in 2003.

He led a mutiny of young Army officers against Mrs. Arroyo in 2003 due to perceived graft and corruption in the military and the administration.

While some of the mutiny leaders have reconciled with the President after making public apologies, Trillanes has remained unrepentant, criticizing Mrs. Arroyo’s government for widespread corruption and rights abuses.

He faces rebellion charges at the Makati City Regional Trial Court and several violations of the Philippine Army’s Articles of War before a military tribunal. If found guilty, he has to give up his Senate seat. With AFP

Zubiri Tops Maguindanao Votes Recounting

Elections chief Abalos is an accomplice to the massive fraud

The COMELEC’s yo-yo policy in handling Maguindanao fraudulent election results is a bad precedent. Why? Are they instructed by Gloria Arroyo to dislodge Koko Pimentel in the winning circle? Where’s Lintang Bedol?


Election watchdog Kontra Daya said Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Benjamin Abalos is an accomplice to the massive fraud in Maguindanao.

Fr. Joe Dizon, Kontra Daya spokesperson, said, “Abalos does not confront head on the accusations of massive fraud in Maguindanao. Instead, he obscures the situation to give leeway for machinations in favor of administration candidate Miguel Zubiri.”

Dizon said, “By refusing to exclude the highly tainted provincial certificate of canvass from the national canvassing and proclaim the Genuine Opposition’s Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, Abalos is still finding ways to get Team Unity’s Zubiri on the 12th slot.”

The Kontra Daya spokesperson hit the Comelec’s handling of Lintang Bedol, head of the Maguindano Board of Canvassers. “Bedol disappeared for some time then mysteriously reappeared saying that the municipal certificates of canvass (COCs) were stolen from right under his nose. Abalos has not ordered Bedol’s suspension pending a thorough investigation and now accepts uncritically the self-serving statement of Governor Ampatuan, represented by his lawyer, that elections were held in a proper and fraud-free way. Abalos also uncritically accepts the statement of the provincial BOC that elections were held on the basis of the alleged minutes of their meeting signed by no less than Bedol himself. Abalos handling of Bedol shows his complicity with the kind of vote manipulation and bare-faced manufacture of results that obviously took place in Maguindanao.”

Kontra Daya criticized the Comelec for its “deliberate effort to confuse the public, especially concerned citizens’ groups, on the schedule of hearings on Maguindanao.” Kontra Daya learned that even the party-list group Bayan Muna failed to manifest its protestations due to this. It was pointed out that Bayan Muna was the one who presented two critical witnesses to the massive fraud in the province, one of whom has been cold bloodedly murdered.

Dizon said, “Witnesses who have executed affidavits proving electoral fraud have not received subpoena from the Comelec. They have not aired their stories. The cover-up aims to save Lintang Bedol, Abalos and Comelec itself from any accountability on the Maguindanao fraud.”

Dizon added, “The Comelec has not valued the life of whistle blower Musa Dimasidsing. The Comelec did not exert any effort to protect his life and the truth about the Maguindanao elections. The lives of other witnesses are in danger and the shameless Abalos does nothing.”

Dimasidsing, a school district supervisor, was shot dead, June 9.

Dizon said, “If the Comelec insists on counting the COCs from Maguindanao, it will only prove once again that it is the machinery of the Arroyo administration for massive cheating.”

Related Links
Philippine Elections: Illusion of Democracy?
Postscript to the May 2007 Elections

Maguindanao ballots filled in banana farm

Philippines bogus President Gloria Arroyo has consistent negative trust ratings since the power grab in 2001. In fact she was rejected by the majority of the Filipino electorate in 2004 presidential election. The rubber stamp Philippine Congress proclaimed her the “winner”? contrary to massive and systematic electoral fraud in Mindanao, Sulu, Cebu, Pampamga, Pangasisnan and Ilocos Sur. All protest and anomalies by the opposition were merely NOTED by her political allies in the joint congress vote canvassing. The repeat of 2004 electoral fraud is happening in Maguindanao, Lanao, Sulu and Cotabato. The resignation of Comelec Commissionaire Rene Sarmiento as Maguindanao poll investigator can be interpreted as, he can no longer stomach Malacanang’s dirty works. Perhaps he cannot produce thru hocus focus millions of votes in favor of losing TU bets.
The result of the senatorial race in favor of the opposition reflects the true sentiments of the Filipino people. Filipinos want her out. In her own turf, Pamapanga province two of GMA allies were castigated and rebuked by a crusading priest. Malacanang and the Comelec are desperate to change the outcome of election results in Moslem Mindanao regions thru massive and systematic electoral fraud in favor of Gloria Arroyo’s Team Unity. Evil Gloria Arroyo and her trusted dog Benjamin Abalos are inviting people’s uprising. Rebellion is justified if discredited and abusive government rams their agenda against the will of its citizens. It’s not right to send senators in the halls of congress without a popular mandate. Filipino patriots must protect sacred votes at all cost.



Maguindanao ballots
filled in banana farm
Teachers’ lament: ‘Will it always be like this?’

Malaya BY DENNIS GADIL

FOUR teachers surfaced yesterday to confirm that in a Maguindanao town, armed men operating in a banana farm filled up official ballots with names of Team Unity candidates.

The teachers, accompanied by re-electionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson at the Genuine Opposition headquarters in Makati City, served as Board of Election Inspectors in Pagalungan town, which has 12 barangays with at least 10,000 registered voters.

One of the teachers, Abdul (not his real name), said they were escorted by armed men to a remote area outside Libang town on the morning of May 14. He said they had just collected ballot boxes from the municipal hall in Pagalungan.

He said Provincial Election Supervisor Eliza Gazmin was inside the municipal hall when they were "abducted."

He said they thought the armed men, some in military jackets and jeans, were their military escorts to the polling precinct in Buliok.

He said they rode a van and then a pump boat, which took them to a remote place of banana stands.

"Pagkaahon namin sa pumpboat, lahat ng cell namin kinuha. Pinatay ang cell phone. Doon kami sa sagingan. Pinabuksan sa amin ang ballot box. Sila na bahala sumulat. Pinabayaan namin, takot kami kasi armado," he said.

Abdul recalled that the names of Cesar Montano and Rep. Prospero Pichay were on the official ballots.

He said the armed men were aided by companions already in the area.

He said there were more than 100 election inspectors in the banana farm that election morning.

He said their other colleagues are also willing to testify.

The teachers said they were taken behind the Montawal municipal hall at around 3 p.m. and told to wait until nightfall.

They were then transferred to another government office in Shariff Aguak and were told to start filling up the election returns (ERs). A female teacher said they spent three days and three nights preparing the ERs.

They said a certain Mohammad Andoy, a former president of the Association of Barangay Chairmen, accompanied them from Montawal to Shariff Aguak.

One female witness said that on May 17 at 11:45 p.m., they were sent to the office of Gazmin for the proclamation of the winners. The results were 12-0 in favor of the TU ticket.

They said Gazmin administered the proclamation even if only four barangays had been canvassed. Votes from eight more barangays still had to be counted.

The four teachers were told to keep quiet and received P3,000 each for their "cooperation."

"Instruction nila, sabi nila pagbalik sa area, kailangan close mouth. Walang salita na pangontra sa kanila. Yan ang order nila, order is an order," one of the teachers said.

"Actually our role was only to open the ballot boxes and sign the tampered documents. We were fed enough and paid also for our cooperation," another teacher-witness said.

"Kung hindi kami lalantad, habambuhay ganito na lang lagi. Noong 2004, kahit may dayaan, at least sa polling precincts. Ngayong 2007, grabe na, sa sagingan na ang botohan," he said.

Another female witness said: "Para tumigil ang kalokohan (kaya kami lumabas). Kaming teacher ang kawawa, tapos wala kaming maano diyan. Kami, for the sake of the people. Kawawa ang tao na walang katapusan ang paghihirap nila."

The four witnesses appealed to media to hide their real identities to protect their families in Maguindanao.

Abdul said he could identify some of the armed men because they did not bother to hide their faces.

The witnesses said a friend, a known supporter of Lacson, arranged their coming out.

"Doon kami nagkita sa Davao," one of the witnesses said.

Abdul said their other colleagues who witnessed the election fraud are executing their affidavits and are also ready to come out.

He said it was expensive to bring them all in Manila.

Lacson said the surfacing of the four witnesses boosted his plan to file a petition to declare a failure of elections in Maguindanao province.

"They are going to appear before an executive session of Comelec to support my petition to declare failure of elections in Maguindanao. Worried lang sila sa safety nila," Lacson said.

The National Board of Canvassers (NBC) ordered the re-canvassing of the municipal certificates of canvass (MCOCs) of North and South Cotabato after their Provincial Election Supervisors (PES) failed to appear despite summons.

Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos ordered that new sets of provincial board of canvassers (PBOCs) for the two provinces be created after PES Lilian Radam (South Cotabato) and Yogie Maritzar (North Cotabato) could not be located.

Leila de Lima, counsel for Alan Peter Cayetano, said that the entries in the Koronadal City COC are different from the ones listed in the provincial statement of votes (SOV).

Among the affected candidates are Edgardo Angara (20,008 city COC; 30,008 provincial SOV), Joker Arroyo (16,697; 26,697), Michael Defensor (11,456; 21,456), Loren Legarda (37,711; 40,711), Vic Magsaysay (8,663; 18,663), Tessie Oreta (5,564; 15,564), Prospero Pichay (10,422; 20,422), Ralph Recto (14,506; 28,506), Tito Sotto (7,174; 17,174) and Juan Miguel Zubiri (21,813; 7,183).

The South Cotabato re-canvassing is set today. The PBOC is headed by Nelia Aureaus.

The date for the North Cotabato re-canvassing, headed by Jovencio Balanquit, has yet to be set.

Discrepancies were also manifested by opposition counsel in the COC of North Cotabato.

De Lima said the absence of Radam and Maritzar is an indication of guilt.

Rex Robles, counsel for Antonio Trillanes IV, said the two should be cited for contempt.

Romulo Macalintal, an administration lawyer, said they will not oppose any motion from the opposition as long as the allegations are supported by concrete evidence and a formal petition.

The NBC also set aside the controversial COC from Maguindanao after the members of the municipal Board of Canvassers (MBOC), who were summoned last Friday, failed to appear.

Abalos said the MBOC members, including Maguindanao provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol, might be culpable for contempt of court if they fail to explain their absence.

The NBC has also ordered the creation of a new set of provincial board of canvassers to determine whether the municipal certificates of canvass are still viable to be re-canvassed after the counsel for the opposition questioned and petitioned for the exclusion of the provincial board of canvassers. – With Gerard Naval
Related Links:

Where there’s smoke there’s fire
Lanao Del Sur Special Elections
Classic case of dagdag-dagdag
Philippine opposition warns of brewing crisis over vote-rigging allegations

‘Blatant’ cheating in Sulu exposed

The deliberate stalling tactic to delay the proclamation winning senatorial candidates is a reminiscent of 2004 fraudulent presidential election. Malacanang and elections chief manipulator Benjamin Abalos are cooking the DEVIL’S RECIPE-electoral fraud. There’s strong proof that systematic cheating in Maguindanao, Lanao and Sulu in favor of Gloria’s TUTA and yet Comelec chief Abalos have no enthusiasm to investigate alleged election irregularities. The presence of ex-generals Lomibao and Palparan and election operators in Lanao Del Sur special elections may have something to do with devil’s recipe. Malacanang is determined the entry of additional 3 TU bets in the magic 12 by hook and by crook and this is an invitation of an uprising. Gloria Arroyo’s bogus presidency is a by-product of massive cheating in Mindanao.


‘Blatant’ cheating in Sulu exposed
Election officials accused of collusion

BY DENNIS GADIL

A LAWYER for the Genuine Opposition yesterday said poll cheating was so blatant in Sulu province that even the incumbent congressman and the governor actively participated in rigging the results.

"We have witnesses to prove (that) on May 13, lahat ng ballots filled-up na ng tao ng mga pulitiko, kasama ang Comelec municipal election supervisor, (as) per instruction of the provincial election supervisor," Diego Palomares, a former judge, mayor and assemblyman, said in a media briefing at the GO headquarters in Makati City.

He added: "We have documents to support, walang election sa Luuk, Kalingalan-Caluang at Tungkil."

Palomares said a policeman who executed an affidavit even claimed seeing Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and Rep. Munir Arbison personally supervising the filling up of ballots and election returns (ERs) on the eve of Election Day.

"Ang incumbent Rep. Munir Arbison, kasama ang provincial Gov. Sakur Tan, pumasok sa municipal hall where the ballots and election paraphernalia were stored. They took control and supervised the filling up of ballots," Palomares said, quoting the affidavit of the policeman whom he refused to identify.

He said Arbison, a re-electionist congressman who represents the second district of Sulu, and the wife of Tan, Hajja, even personally filled up the ballots.

Palomares said in Kalingalan-Caluang in Sulu, a barangay chairman spearheaded the filling up of ballots from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. of May 14 or hours before the opening of polling precincts.

Palomares said he and his son, Dunhill, a law student in Davao City, were able to obtain the affidavits of more than a hundred voters and watchers who attested that no actual voting took place in the second district of Sulu which has at least 100,000 voters.

He said the affidavits run from A to U.

Sulu’s second district is composed of 10 municipalities including Luuk town where Alan Peter Cayetano and Benigno Aquino III got zero votes.

Palomares said would-be voters were shooed away by the regional Comelec officials during Election Day and were told that they have already voted.

Palomares said the voters also affixed their own thumb marks on the affidavits as proof that the thumb marks found on the ballots were not theirs.

The GO lawyer said they worked on the affidavits for four days. Palomares said the witnesses are willing to come forward.

Palomares said more than a hundred voters who were already working in Sabah, Malaysia were also able to "vote" with the others voting for them.

He said he witnessed election fraud in Sulu but he was only told by the perpetrators, some of whom were board of election inspectors, to go ahead and sue them.

"Yung ibang (watcher) na nagrereklamo, binibigyan nila ng balota at sinasabihan, ‘sige ilagay mo kung sino’ng gusto mo’ para matahimik ka lang," he said.

Palomares stressed that the corrupt BEIs and Comelec officials should be charged with electoral sabotage.

Re-electionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson said they will use the affidavits of the voters and watchers as basis in filing charges against Comelec officials in Sulu before the Ombudsman. Lacson said the case will be filed Monday.

"Comelec na lang yata ang hindi nakakaalam na may widespread cheating. Now we have two witnesses," Lacson said.

Lacson said his group will provide security to Palomares and his son.

Lacson and GO spokesman Adel Tamano showed a footage of policemen from the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) shooing away watchers from a polling precinct in Ganasi, Lanao del Sur.

The policemen took over the counting and even personally tallied the votes.

Tamano said the watchers were allowed to return only after some hours and were told to just sign the ERs, indicating that the counting was over.

As of Thursday, the Comelec had canvassed 88 percent of the votes and hopes to wind up its tally Friday.

Comelec has finished counting all 154 certificates of canvass (COC) from overseas absentee voting, and 104 COCs from local and local absentee voting for a total of 258 COCs.

The Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers ordered the second deferment of the COCs from Maguindanao.

The NBC arrived at the decision at the conclusion of arguments between Provincial Election Supervisor Lintang Bedol, administration lawyer Romulo Macalintal and opposition lawyers.

"With the admission of Bedol that none from opposition was present, none of copies for dominant minority has been furnished, considering the number of zeros, the board has resolved to defer the canvassing of the COC from Maguindanao," chairman Benjamin Abalos said.

Abalos said they will require the presence of other election personnel from the municipalities, BEIs and the province to give a hand in explaining the "step-by-step" conduct of canvassing in the whole province.

Bedol appeared before the NBC after his presence was required by the board when the reading of Maguindanao COCs was deferred last Tuesday.

The COCs revealed that Team Unity swept the senatorial race with Luis Singson in No. 1.

Seven GO candidates got zero votes. They are Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, Alan Peter Cayetano, Nikki Coseteng, Panfilo Lacson, John Osmeña, Sonia Roco and Antonio Trillanes.

Francis Escudero was at 13th place followed by Manny Villar and Loren Legarda. Aquilino Pimentel III was at 17th place.

Bedol failed to recount the procedure that the provincial canvassers went through after it was questioned by opposition lawyers.

He also admitted that he is still in possession of the ER copies of the dominant minority party as well as that of the Namfrel as there was no one who claimed it. – With Gerard Naval . MALAYA .

Related Links:
PCIJ: All eyes on Lanao del Sur
Davao del Sur cheating
Davao City Vote Padding
Lanao del Sur election returns transfered to a hotel by Garci men

Comelec is responsible for failure of elections

It’s not failure of elections in some parts of the country, but, its failure of the independent electoral body-COMELEC to conduct fair and clean elections. Massive cheating, vote-buying, intentional disfranchisement of voters, ballot snatching, tampering of election results, terrorism and intimidation are deliberately planned to achieve GMA’s political victory by hook and by crook. Comelec is the extension arm of GMA cheating machine in conspiracy with rogue top military officers. The repeat of 2004 massive fraud is in place. Filipino patriots must stop this Mindanao frenzy.

The usual alibi by Comelec chief Abalos when his men hands caught in cookie jar: ‘HONEST MISTAKE’. No Sir! It’s deliberate and intentional. The fraudulent results in Maguindanao, Lanao, Davao City, Sulu, Zambales and elsewhere need a deeper investigation. Electoral sabotage is a crime against the Filipino people. Fraud witnesses can not come openly due to fear of their lives and safety of their families. They don’t trust the Comelec because it’s closely identified with Jose Pidal and Gloria Arroyo. Comelec has a credibility problem after the Hello Garci political scam. Malacanang surrogate congressional candidate Manny Pacquiao was KO'ed by 98 pounder Magnolia's solid bolo punch in General Santos City, South Cotabato.

Is it true that Comelec chief Abalos had been paid P200 million to install Ben Dy as Isabela governor? Malacanang's dirty hands are all over the place from Batanes Is. up to Tawi-Tawi Is. COMELEC REALLY STINKS!

‘Cat’s paws used for ER thumbmarks, Namfrel says

GO bares massive fraud in Lanao

By Jojo Arazas and Angie M. Rosales

Daily Tribune 05/24/2007

Massive electoral cheating in administration bailiwicks, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) can no longer be ignored — not even by the Com-mission on Elections (Comelec), as the body, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers yesterday was forced to defer the canvassing of votes from Sulu, given that there were massive erasures in the certificates of canvass (CoC), which also showed that two Genuine Opposition (GO) senatorial bets, Alan Peter Cayetano and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino lll had zero votes from the town of Luuk while nuisance candidate Joselito “Juju” Cayetanoobtained 187 votes.

Alan Cayetano’s lawyer, Leila From page 1

de Lima, questioned Vidzfar Amil Julie, provincial election supervisor of Sulu, on the “noted unauthenticated superimpositions on figures” in the CoC which clearly bore no initials from the poll officers who made the erasures.

At the same time, GO and the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), in separate press conferences, presented their evidence, consisting of video footage and tampered election returns marking the massive election cheating in the province of Lanao.

They sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Comelec on these issues.

Lanao del Norte chief legal counsel for GO, lawyer Subejano, in a briefing at the GO Headquarters in Makati City, showed media video footage which he said he personally recorded where three ballot boxes from the municipalities of Maigo, Bacolod and Kauswagan were seen as having been tampered with, as the seals of envelopes containing the statements of votes (SoV) and CoC inside the ballot boxes were still wet and tampered with, adding that the seals might have been removed and then pasted again.

For its part, Namfrel showed media election documents that had cat’s paws serving as thumbmarks and asked the Comelec to segregate the votes in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Sulu pending an investigation on reported voting irregularities in the provinces.

Lawyer Howard Calleja, legal counsel of Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said the Comelec should conduct an executive session to get accounts of witnesses on poll fraud.

Subejano said that in one village in Maigo town, he was surrounded by a group of people after he tried to question the canvassing of ballots. He urged the Comelec to stop the canvassing of votes from the three municipalities.

Maigo has an estimated 48,000 to 50,000 registered voters, Bacolod has 14,000 while Kauswagan has 12,000 to 13,000.

“The boxes were forcibly opened. It is very evident that envelops were opened and pasted back as evidenced by the wet paste,” Subejano said.

He disclosed that in some precincts in Tubod, also in Lanao del Norte, he personally witnessed how the words Team Unity were credited to each administration senatorial candidate. “When they were appreciating the votes, I noticed the election officials crediting to each administration candidate votes from ballots where the words Team Unity were written instead of the names of the candidates,” Subejano said.

GO senatorial bet Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel yesterday threatened to file a case of “electoral sabotage” a new crime that is penalized with life imprisonment, as stated in the election law which was passed by Congress in January, against Davao Provincial Board of Canvassers after his watchers noticed his votes were shaved by around 85,000 and added to administration candidate Ralph Recto, with another 70,000 added to TU bet Luis “Chavit” Singson, even as the Comelec officials claimed it was a “clerical error.”

“This is a mockery of the election system. The culprits should be punished,” he said.

GO reelectionist Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who is assured of a new mandate, yesterday rallied behind the planned filing of electoral sabotage charges by Pimentel.

Lacson urged Pimentel to include not only poll fraud operators but also officials of the Comelec and even candidates involved in the conspiracy of cheating, saying it is high time to put a stop to the “culture of cheating in this country.”

“I would love to see a Comelec official and a candidate, winner or loser, spend the rest of their lifetime in jail. The higher (the official), the better. The cheating culture in our country must stop,” he said.

Recto was quick to clear his name, denying any knowledge in what he claimed as an inadvertent addition of votes to him.

“It came as a complete surprise to us,” Recto’s chief of staff, lawyer Aristotle Liwanag said.

Recto said he is amenable to have this probed by the Comelec and the Namfrel to determine whether this was a clerical error.

Recto’s camp raised suspicions that such allegations could be aimed at sabotaging the re-electionist’s candidacy to put a cloud of doubt on the mandate he will receive from the people.

With the numerous reports on massive cheating anew in the recently-concluded electoral exercise, Lacson said those involved in the poll fraud operations in the May 14 elections deserve the distinction of being the first to be charged with the relatively new crime of electoral sabotage

Lacson himself appeared to be a victim of such cheating in Zamboanga del Sur, where he placed fourth or fifth in the tally of the Namfrel. Namfrel then had tallied 46.08 percent of the votes, and Lacson got 60,812 votes.

But after a long delay, the final provincial canvass figures showed Lacson got 80,880 votes, ranking only 15th and was overtaken by the TU “tailender” candidates.

Sec. 42 of Republic Act 9369, the new election law, defines electoral sabotage as a special election offense that penalizes any person, election inspector or canvasser who tampers with the votes with life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the Namfrel chairman in Marawi City also yesterday exposed more poll fraud evidence in Lanao del Sur towns, presenting some elections returns (ERs) containing marks that even the naked eye could see came from either dogs or cats, and certainly not humans.

This use of thumb marks from cats’ paws were also resorted to in 2004, as shown in many ERs in Mindanao by the opposition in 2004, which the opposition congressmen were also trying to present before the House justice committee in 2005 during the impeachment bid against President Arroyo.

“Look at the thumb marks. They are much too small. Either they used their little finger, or used cats to fill up the space for thumb marks,” Namfrel-Marawi chief Mama Palawan said as he bared the ERs to reporters during a press briefing at La Salle Greenhill in San Juan.

There were also other ERs which contained double entries, with the number of votes higher than the number of voters.

Also explained were the many instances of fraud in Lanao del Sur province where “vote manipulation” is usually done by separating the canvass of votes for the local and the senatorial bets.

The Comelec placed the province of Shariff Kabunsuan in ARMM under its control, and will be sending a new head of the Provincial Board of Canvassers for the province.

Lawyer Jocelyn de Mesa, Comelec Election Supervisor for Parañaque will be flying to the province of Shariff Kabunsuan today, to head the canvassing of the CoC, as the former chairman of the PBOC in the province refused to canvass the CoC due to security reasons.

“Because of security considerations, no one wants to accept the position of head of PBOC so we have this lady who is gutsy enough to accept responsibility. It takes a woman to accept the responsibility. There was a previous lawyer but because of security consideration he backed out”, Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, in charge for the ARMM said, addding that De Mesa will be assisted by Gregorio Lardizabal and Emmanuel Ignacio, Comelec regional directors from Luzon, in the canvassing.

Sarmiento added that these officers have been instructed to finish the canvassing that has already piled up from different municipalities.

“The instruction is to complete the canvassing as soon as possible and to ensure that this will go smoothly, we declare Shariff Kabunsuan under Comelec control. Definitely Marines will be deployed”, he added.

Chairman Benjamin Abalos stressed that there is no need for the transfer of the canvassing in the province. “Let us prove the sovereignty of this government against lawlessness. What are our police, what is our military doing? We cannot rely on them for protection?”

Sarmiento will also be leaving today for Lanao del Sur, and after the special elections will proceed to Maguindanao for the investigation of the Comelec task force that will probe on the alleged election irregularities in Maguindanao. Namfrel and the PPCRV have asked to be part of the task force.

Comelec is set to proclaim senatorial candidates during the weekend. According to Abalos, Comelec will attempt to repeat the feat it did in 2004, where the commission proclaimed the winning candidates in 10 days.

With Kristine Torres

Massive Cheating In Chavit's Country

Massive cheating in Ilocos Sur province is nothing new. Comelec officials, school teachers, district prosecutors and municipal treasurers are helpless to stop electoral fraud. Influential warlord rules!
Vice-Governor Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano, a candidate of the Lakas-CMD-TU won over its opponent Efren “Rambo” Rafanan of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)-UNO and independent candidate Roque Sison. Savellano garnered 132,656 votes over Rafanan who got 131,264 votes. Gov.-elect Savellano won a margin of 1,392 votes against Rafanan.

Chavit behind manufacture of votes, cheating’

Bishop, priests condemn Ilocos Sur poll fraud

Daily Tribune 05/23/2007

Priests in Ilocos Sur, supported by their bishop, Nueva Segovia Archbishop Ernesto Salgado, yesterday condemned “the dirty conduct” of the 2007 elections in Ilocos Sur, pointing to the massive vote-buying and vote-selling, along with what they called “opponent-buying” for an unopposed candidacy.

In a statement, the group of priests also backed calls demanding a recount and recanvass of votes at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila.

Sources from Ilocos Sur told the Tribune yesterday that while the counting and canvassing were ongoing, with gubernatorial candidate Efren Rafanan of the Genuine Opposition way ahead of his rival, Vice Governor Savellano, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, along with his heavily armed bodyguards, was busy ordering mayors and even election officers in several towns where the canvassing was still ongoing, not to canvass the votes cast by the Ilocos Sur electorate, and ensure that whatever town Savellano was losing to Rafanan, the towns where canvassing was just starting would simply add the votes of Rafanan to Savellano, while canvassing in other towns and cities were allegedly ordered by Chavit to stop the canvassing — until such time that the election returns (ERs) could be replaced.

In the town of Candon, there was no canvassing at all,” Rafanan told the Tribune yesterday in a telephone interview. He said that whatever was the lead of Rafanan over Savellano, which according to Rafanan, the precinct count even then already showed a Rafanan lead of some close to 10,000 votes, would be offset, through the manufacture of votes in Candon town.

In other areas, such as Cabugao, there were witnesses’ reports of ballot-snatching and switching, he said.

In San Vicente town, where Rafanan was also leading, his watchers were all harassed and made to leave the canvassing area.

“Three mayors who are with me already tipped me off early, saying that Chavit was personally calling all the mayors and ordering them not to make me win, or else,’ Rafanan said, adding that even the election officers were threatened by Chavit and his men.

“They were so scared of Chavit, that they did what he wanted them to do,” he stressed.

Rafanan also pointed out that City Election officer Fidel Fines was placed in the top seat just a day before by the Comelec, “precisely to ensure that he would cheat for Chavit’s candidate (Savellano) by shaving my votes.”

While the canvassing was going on in other towns, Rafanan recounted, Chavit went on the air, telling one and all that the figures he was giving out, which were manufactured figures, were the results of the gubernatorial, congressional and gubernatorial races, even when there was still no canvassing of votes ongoing,

Other sources in Ilocos Sur, whom the Tribune contacted yesterday, confirmed the allegations of Rafanan, but also said that there was as well, cheating done in the senatorial count, again with Chavit ordering everyone to ensure that he gets the highest number of votes in Ilocos Sur.

It was alleged by the sources that even in Ilocos Sur, Singson was being repudiated by his constituents.

The priests and their bishop publicly stated that they observed the following means to thwart the will of the Ilocos Sur voters.

They stated that the Election Returns (ERs) were delivered without any seal. This was confirmed by the the Nassa-Namfrel team.

Page 3 of the ER from precinct 5, Brgy. Ballaigi, Sinait, was substituted.

The number of valid ballots was greater than number of registered voters.

They added the reports of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voters (PPCRV) poll watchers that said they were not given the Citizens’ Accredited Arm copy at the precinct. Instead, they were required to secure these from the municipality.

They also noted the blank and incomplete data on voters and ballots in a number of ERs.

There was also a delay in canvassing in Candon City and in the provincial Canvass, as well as reports of suspension of canvasing in several towns where Rafanan was winning.

In the town of Candon, where Rafanan said he was winning by some 6,000 votes, the certificates of canvass (CoC) were found to have major erasures in the gubernatorial post which were, however, not countersigned.

They also noted that the Narvacan CoC’s total votes were not written in words, as required by law and poll rules.

Rafanan was earlier reported to be leading Savellano, Chavit’s candidate and said in Ilocos to be the “front man” of Chavit in the yearly diversions of the tobacco excise tax during the time Chavit was out of his gubernatorial position, and “then suddenly, Chavit was giving all the orders to the election officers, who all obeyed him.”

In denouncing the massive electoral fraud in Ilocos Sur, the priests protested against the “injustice done to our people by the desecration of their right to choose and elect their leaders.”

They added that they also condemn political dynasties.

The Singsons have cornered the posts in Ilocos Sur, with sons, cousins and other relatives taking all the elective seats.

The priests blessed by their bishop, said in their statement that they support “all moves to demand the recounting/recanvassing of votes at the Comelec Manila at the fastest possible time to ensure truth and justice as well as confidence in our election processes.”

Additionally, they said they commit themselves to the ongoing political education and mobilization of the people under our care, geared toward political transformation.”

Signatures were affixed last May 21 at the Aula de Nuestra Señora de Caridad, at the archbishop’s residence in Vigan City. NCO

Comelec, Arroyo administration both liable for questionable May 14 polls

Poll staff filled up Maguindanao ballots

Maguindanao 12-0 TU clean sweep is highly questionable. The old sayings, when there’s smoke there’s fire. Gloria Arroyo needs more certified TUTA (puppet) in the Senate like Defensor, Pichay and Zubiri. Most likely election manipulators are targeting Aquino, Alan Cayetano, Pimentel and Trillanes in dagdag-bawas scheme. Why the Abalos’ Comelec allow this to happen? Is the discredited NAMFREL part of the conspiracy? Battery of GO-UNO lawyers may not enough to guard the true mandate of the Filipino people. Continuous peoples’ vigilance against the cheaters until the last election return (ER) is counted. Ibasura ang mga bantay salakay-COMELEC at NAMFREL!

Int’l Observers Hit Fraud, Military Intervention in Philippine Polls

Poll staff filled up Maguindanao ballots

Daily Tribune 05/20/2007

The truth will always come out somehow and the truth about Team Unity’s 12-0 victory in Maguindanao, where TU senatorial candidate Luis “Chavit” Singson topped the Senate vote, is that there was no voting in Maguindanao, and worse, the ballots and the summary of votes were filled up by teachers assigned to man the polls and thumbmarked by children even before the scheduled polls.

A participant of the wholesale Maguindano vote fraud who turned whistleblower, exposed this wholesale election fraud yesterday in an interview over radio dzRH, baring that the voting was over even before the precincts were scheduled to open.

At the same time, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) which works alongside the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and other watchdog groups, called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to speedily probe the 12-0 votes and suspend canvassing of poll results in areas that produced the 12-0 vote, the latest of which came from Bohol and reportedly, Eastern Samar, as claimed by TU.

Reports reaching the Lente network stated that it was the teachers who wrote out the names in the ballots in Mindanao while children were also used in the cheating operations to put in the thumb marks, which explains the very tiny thumbmarks found in some copies of the election documents in Mindanao.

The Lente charges appeared to have been substantiated by a participant in the cheating operations who turned whistleblower, baring all this during an interview over radio.

The teacher, who went by the alias of “Bai,” bared the wholesale electoral fraud in Maguindanao which resulted in a 12-0 vote for the administration TU bets.

She said the fraud was done a day before the polls, or May 13.

She recounted that she and her colleagues were ordered by Maguindanao Governor Ampatuan to fill out the ballots with the names of TU candidates which were handed to them in a list. These names, with Chavit Singson’s at the top of the list, followed by TU Prospero Pichay in second place, followed by 10 more from TU, were written down as ordered on the ballots prior to election day.

They were also ordered to copy the name of Ampatuan for the gubernatorial votes.

Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader former ARMM Gov. Nur Misauri is reportedly losing heavily in the ARMM regions (see related story).

Ampatuan is the current ARMM governor.

Bai claimed during that interview that there were only three of them filling up the ballots, saying in the vernacular that they signed some of the ballots but that most of these ballots were unsigned.

She also pointed out that she, along with her companions in the cheating operations, were brought to the safehouse to fill up these ballots.

Bai also stated during the radio interview that children were rounded up and brought to place their thumb marks on the ballots.

Lente issued an urgent call for the Comelec to stop the canvassing in all these areas where a claimed 12-0 TU vote occurred.

But Comelec officials appear to be reluctant to move, with commissioners even claiming that these allegations of fraud must first be substantiated.

The earlier response of Comelec commissioner Rene Sarmiento on the Maguindano vote was that the people should understand that the Muslims have a different culture and vote differently.

Yesterday, however, the Comelec ordered the poll officers in Maguindanao to release the Election Returns to the Namfrel volunteers, and directed AMM director Ray Sumalipao to order the same to the ARMM officers.

Earlier, the votes shaved off from two Genuine Opposition senatorial candidates, Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Alan Cayetano, both of whom lost 100,000 votes each, but which were restored the next day, Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos, Sr. claimed it was not evidence of dagdag-bawas fraud, but that these were merely “clerical errors.”

It was noted, however, that only the two GO candidates’ votes were shaved and the Comelec commissioners, acting as a national canvassing board, failed to clarify whether those lost votes were added to other candidates.

Abalos pointed out that the commissioners, reading the certifications of canvass (CoC) were those who noticed the discrepancy and immediately acted on it. “If you will see how we’re doing it here, it is a commissioner reading the number of votes being validated or audited by another commissioner and in case of a difference, immediately the attention of the one reading the certificate of votes is called by the other commissioner validating”, Abalos explained.

He added that the counsels of both candidates was already told of the finding of the tabulation board, and that they had no objections to the result of the verification.

Moreover, Abalos also explained that there are several reasons that affected the number of registered voters and precincts in Iloilo City.

The counsel of GO senatorial candidate Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel pointed out yesterday, during the canvassing of the CoCs coming from Iloilo that there was a difference in the reports from the Comelec in the number of precincts and voters in the province.

“The number of voters he was referring to was under date of March,the elections, May. You have to consider transferees who were not located before. Number two, those discoveries of people who were already dead because of the reports that came in. Three, per order of the court those who were excluded, are now included. And those who were omitted by mistake in the list of voters, that accounts for the difference, I hope people will understand that these were not done to increase or decrease the number of registered voters”, Abalos said.

He added that the number of precincts decreased because these were clustered. He noted it would be impractical to have a separate precinct that only has 30 to 40 voters, so they were clustered to mother precincts.

The Comelec commissioners, through their spokesman, James Jimenez, also berated the international poll monitors’ groups, for claiming that massive fraud marked the 2007 elections before the media, yetthey never bothered to give the Comelec their report on the alleged fraud.

He challenged them to substantiate their charges of poll fraud, before claiming fraud.

But the international monitors have already shown, on television, the video clips of these instances of poll fraud.

For its part, Malacañang yesterday challenged GO to produce evidence that President Arroyo had a hand in an alleged vote shaving and padding in favor of the Team Unity’s senatorial candidates in Maguindanao province.

In phone interviews, both presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol and presidential legal counsel Gabriel Claudio castigated the GO camp.

Malacañang was irked over GO’s complaints that the Maguindanao 12-0 score in favor of TU was a result of a massive vote padding and shaving orchestrated by the Chief Executive.

“The President has not given any order to her men to engage in any form of cheating. Although it is true that the President gave an order for her Cabinet secretaries to campaign for her senatorial and congressional candidates in these elections, there were no orders for them to commit fraud or engage in any illegal moves,” Apostol claimed.

He challenged GO senatorial bet Panfilo “Ping” Lacson to produce evidence that the 12-0 victory in Maguindanao province was a result of Malacañang-initiated cheating operations.

“We’re challenging Lacson to come out with concrete evidence not just mere speech. How can they claim there had been cheating in Maguindanao when they don’t have any watchers, no local candidates there? Where did they get those malicious charges? They should stop dreaming and instead come out with a factual evidence,” Apostol added.

Apostol who is also a Lakas CMD regional director, an ally party of the President said they are always prepared to cooperate with the Comelec to prove that there was no cheating in Maguindanao.

“We’re open to any investigation and we would not interfere in any investigation to be done by the Comelec,” he said.

Lacson had specifically pinned Claudio as the “brain” behind the poll fraud allegedly on going.

But Claudio in a text message also yesterday defended the victory of TU in Maguindanao, in the midst of his earlier denial of engaging in electoral fraud.

“The victory of TU in Maguindanao does not mean GO candidates got zero votes in the province. It just means the electorate there favored all 12 candidates of the administration ahead of any GO candidate. Given the political culture and leadership pattern in Maguindanao, a 12-0 win for TU in the area is plausible. It is probably no more than the exercise of a shared political stand expressed through a bloc vote, as explained by provincial leaders and residents themselves,” he said.

“Nevertheless, any questions regarding the election results in the province can and should be resolved through the regular mechanisms provided by law under the supervision of Comelec,” he added. Kristine V. Torres, Sherwin C. Olaes and Tribune wires

Int’l monitors: RP polls marred by 3 G’s, cheating

The National Board of Canvassers had finally convened two days after May 14, 2007 is a delaying tactics to iron-out a “credible” dagdag-bawas scheme (vote padding and shaving). Any delay may create tension among die-hard political supporters. The center of political and economic power Metro Manila had repudiated the illegitimate Gloria Arroyo government. Mercenary election’s fraud operators are determined to thwart the true people’s mandate with the blessings from their evil patroness. Gloria Arroyo’s political survival is at stake. It appears that partisan Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos wants to gag TV-radio quick count upon the orders from Malacanang despite of signed ABS-CBN Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with STI and the COMELEC to conduct a media count. The Filipino people won’t allow massive cheating in favor of losing TUTA candidates. As expected, the Comelec has no credibility to conduct clean and honest elections. Be fair and come clean Senor Abalos. Public anger is ready to explode. Only time can tell.


Foreign poll observers: We felt safer in Afghanistan

Int’l monitors: RP polls marred by 3 G’s, cheating

By Michaela P. del Callar

Daily Tribune 05/17/2007

Malacañang and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) appear to have failed in projecting to the international community that they had conducted fair, fraud-free, peaceful and orderly elections, as accredited international monitors yesterday told reporters that elections in the country were marred by bombings, intimidation, vote-buying and cheating.
Members of the group told reporters yesterday that they witnessed two bombings, encountered two armed groups and saw election rules being openly ignored.
Money to buy votes was handed out openly. “The transactions took place very blatantly. Our presence did not deter them at all,” said Mohamad Yunus Lebai Ali, a Malaysian lecturer and one of the monitors.
The 21-member team from the Bangkok-based Asian Network For Free Elections (Anfrel) visited the six provinces of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) for the May 14 midterm elections to witness the campaigning, voting and counting.
The international monitors warned that the credibility of democracy was under threat in a region where powerful families still dominate politics.
Asian poll observers showed dismay at the culture of impunity for elections, manipulation of votes, and prevalence of political violence in ARMM.
The Anfrel and the National Institute for Electoral Integrity denounced electoral fraud and the use of violence and force in ARMM to undermine the democratic process or gain votes.
“In terms of peacefulness, we all can agree that the atmosphere is not conducive for elections. In terms of security, we get it from our experience in the field. Like my colleague from Thailand, she experienced two bombing incidents in polling centers and encountered two armed groups. I do not feel physically safe. What more about the voters?” NIEI Director Ali said in yesterday’s press conference.
Ali said the 21 Anfrel observers, who were deployed to the ARMM provinces on election day, witnessed polling problems, violation of the secrecy of the vote, cheating, violence and commission of election offenses.
“From our own direct observation and our own experience we saw manipulation and the buying of votes. It’s not to say election is fair. We saw how protection took place, many cases of vote manipulation. It’s very hard to say there was no cheating up to election day,” he said.
Ali said the group observed a lot of coaching inside precincts wherein voters were being commanded to write the names of certain candidates.
“And I myself observed flying voters in truckloads with 20-25 of them coming to precincts. No security of votes,” he said, adding: “It’s not free, no individual freedom to vote candidates they like.”
Anfrel Director Somri Hananontasuk of Thailand, meanwhile, said she finds military presence in polling centers unusual and disturbing.
“There was deployment of military outside schools or voting centers. (In Thailand ), we see them (only) in (instances of) national disasters and earthquakes,” she said.
“In our country we don’t have crowded polling stations. (Here), voters talk and look at each other so (there is) no secrecy of votes. In Philippine elections there’s no secrecy,” she pointed out.
For his part, coordinator Amim Shah bin Iskandor ( Malaysia ) said he was “impressed” with the vigilance displayed by non-government election watchdogs National Movement for Free Elections and Parish Pastoral Counting for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).
The Genuine Opposition’s allegations appear to have been backed up by the reports of the international monitors.
GO yesterday unearthed the alleged massive cheating being done by the administration in the ARMM which shows the two survey tail enders as the top vote getters in Mindanao: Luis Chavit Singson and Prospero Pichay.
Adel Tamano, spokesperson for GO, revealed the dreaded “cheating mode” of the administration, saying that “it’s quite obvious the elections were rigged in ARMM. It is so statistically improbable for voters to vote 12 straight if you are going to vote,” Tamano told reporters late afternoon.
According to Tamano, what was really suspicious was the fact that their top vote getter, Loren Legarda, was nowhere near the top 20 in the ARMM.
The other senatorial bets, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Manuel Villar, Panfilo Lacson and even independent candidate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan landed from numbers 13 to 16.
“When I was informed it was 12-0, I was surprised,” he said.
Earlier, deputy campaign spokesperson Tonypet Albano said TU is not surprised to get a 12-0 in Mindanao since they believe that the local executives will carry them and that contrary to popular belief people trust Singson.
Albano said in other areas such as Isabela and Eastern Samar the 12-0 vote for TU was also assured.
Escudero landed in the 13th spot but according to Tamano, a big difference with what can be seen as based on the Comelec tally.
It is also reported that 72 percent of the election returns have been counted in Maguindanao.
It also reported a 90 percent voter’s turn-out.
Tamano also said that in Datu Unsay there are 10,172 registered voters and 10,160 voted.
In Southern Kudarat, out of 10,999 registered voters, 10,664 voted.
Observers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand spent eight days observing pre-election situations and Election Day last May 14 throughout the six provinces of ARMM, visiting more than 500 precincts.
Anfrel recommended that the problem of impunity for election offenses must be addressed and that overspending by political candidates must be discouraged and their source of funding should be declared.
They added that the Comelec must be “more professional and needs to disqualify those who misuse their power and that local elections should be more professional and candidates who abuse their power must be disqualified.
Anfrel also said that law on modernization should be implemented in preparation for the upcoming presidential polls in 2010.
Meanwhile, with the majority of GO headed in the count for victory, opposition figures expressed fear over massive cheating by the administration’s poll operators to overturn the opposition victory in the polls.
Detained Rep. Crispin Beltran said all efforts must be exerted now to ensure that Malacañang will not be able to sneak in more of its TU candidates in the Top 12 through cheating.
Beltran said that it was already clear that Malacañang is manipulating to have GO bet Alan Peter Cayetano dropped from the winners’ circle by having votes for him invalidated on the grounds of a paltry legal technicality.
Reports that President Arroyo is now highly busy making phone calls and that there are countless incidences of Election Returns switching or theft should make the Filipino people vigilant. We must not allow a repeat of the ‘Hello, Garci’ scam and allow the Arroyo government to secure a stolen victory,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel also yesterday voiced suspicions over the very premature conceding of former Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano in the Bukidnon polls, saying that this was probably his message that he was now free to “perform” poll operations and at the same time, collect a hefty fee for his services that would more than pay for the expenses he incurred for his campaign.
Pimentel also reported that some five cheating operators who are alleged to have connections with the Comelec recently arrived in Davao City to ensure a delay in the canvassing of votes and gain more time to manipulate the election results to favor TU candidates.
Also, Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPeg), in an initial assessment, said that the voters’ turnout during the May 14 elections was the lowest in six years.
According to Prof. Bobby Tuazon, the low turnout could be attributed to widespread disenfranchisement even as he said that in the National Capital region the turnout has dropped to a low of 50 to 60 percent only.
Comelec claimed a turnout of some 70-80 percent.
Reports reaching CenPeg showed that possibly hundreds of thousands of voters were directly disenfranchised with the names of many legitimate voters missing in master lists or names found in other precincts.
He said there were also complaints of missing precincts, many master lists unreadable, delayed opening of polling precincts, and of voting marked by long queues thus preventing many voters from casting their ballots while others were harassed by soldiers and police not to vote for certain partylist groups.
He said reports culled from Task Force Poll Watch (TFPW) of Party-list groups, the PPCRV, Kontra Daya, monitoring by UP mass communication student volunteers, foreign observers missions as well as partial field reports from 30 provinces also showed that many voters complained about their names missing in master lists while groups of voters were harassed and prevented from going to their precincts. With Gerry Baldo, Jojo Arazas and AFP

Related Links
Blatant Vote-Buying, Manipulation in ARMM
12-0 for TU in Maguindanao; Singson tops Senate slate
Poll Anomaly in Maguindanao
Summary of Cases on Election Related Fraud and Violence