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Arroyo
linked to 2007 poll fraud
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from
NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.21
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The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and
the Department of Justice (DOJ) presented to the public on October 3
a new set of witnesses in connection with the alleged irregularities
that marred the 2007 mid-term elections.
The witnesses served as election officers (EOs) and provincial
administrator from Maguindanao during the 2007 elections. Provincial
administrator Norie Unas, along with 14 EOs were presented to
members of the press.
Unas said that Arroyo hosted a dinner in Malacanang a few days
before the elections and allegedly reminded them that it should be a
12-0 vote tally result in Maguindanao province in favor of the
senators running under Arroyo’s party. She also said that GMA gave
instructions to Andal Ampatuan, Sr. to make sure that all Team Unity
senatorial candidates will win at any and all cost, while ensuring
as well that then-candidate Alan Peter Cayetano will not get a
single vote. The Provincial Election Supervisor at that time was
Lintang Bedol, who, according to Unas, was getting instructions from
Andal Ampatuan, Sr., one of the henchmen of the Arroyo couple. The
election officers executed sworn affidavits saying they did not
prepare the election returns (ERs) for the senatorial positions, but
were made to sign the documents. They said they only prepared the
ERs for the local positions, which was an easy thing to do since
local officials ran unopposed.
Former president Arroyo’s camp questioned the merits of presenting
the witnesses to the media. They claimed that the current
administration orchestrated the poll fraud case to pin Arroyo and
her allies. |
Abalos’ offer to testify
re 2007 poll fraud snubbed
Former COMELEC chairman Benjamin Abalos’ offer to testify as
witness in connection with the 2007 election fraud was
belittled by DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima and called it a
scheme to elude his liability in the alleged election
irregularity.
This report came after two witnesses appeared and claimed
that Abalos orchestrated the manipulation of the results of
the 2007 elections to make sure that all the twelve senators
of Team Unity, the political party of then-president Gloria
Macapagal- Arroyo will win in Mindanao. The witnesses are
Lilian Radam and Yogi Martirizar, former election
supervisors of North and South Cotabato, respectively. |
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Sec. De Lima said that the two witnesses’
claim about Abalos should be taken into serious consideration in the
investigation of the fraud. She further said that the former poll
body chief should not try to elude the allegations against him by
turning himself into a witness and testifying against Radam and
Martirizar. Martizar is a former client of Comelec Chairman Sixto
Brillantes, Jr. The DOJ-COMELEC joint investigative panel, tasked to
probe the poll irregularities in 2007, is now looking into the
claims of the former election supervisors, De Lima added. The
investigation aims to determine if there is probable cause for
filing criminal case before the proper courts, and after
gathering substantial facts, the joint panel will then make
recommendations as to who will be charged of election offense.
(Various news sources) |
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