MANILA -- A Commission on Elections (Comelec) official said Friday that they already know the identity of "Koala Boy," the whistleblower who claimed to have participated in massive cheating in the May 10 polls.
"We already know who is behind Koala Boy. He is a losing candidate," said Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez.
The identity was unraveled based on initial reports the Comelec received from several government agencies.
The information, Jimenez said, points to a "losing presidential candidate" as the mastermind behind the masked man. He, however, said it is still very difficult to substantiate the information, but "we trust our sources."
He said they are still verifying the identity of the individual, adding that once they pinpoint the mastermind, he/she will be facing sanctions for undermining the credibility of the elections.
Jimenez said he is certain the reason why the whistleblower surfaced is to discredit the elections.
Malacañang tagged
While the poll body believes that a losing presidential bet is behind the masked man who alleged he was part of the vote padding and shaving operations during the recently concluded elections, outgoing Makati Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr. said a Malacañang official is behind "Koala Boy."
"I know who you are. You are protecting Koala Bear. Do not provoke me to name you," Locsin dared his suspect in the third House hearing on poll automation Friday.
Locsin is chairman of the House committee on electoral reform and suffrage.
He said unless "Koala Boy" will remove his koala-bear-like mask, he will not credit him with anything but a very good impersonation of a New Zealand creature.
Locsin said he also received "malicious text messages," some coming from administration sources that tend to discredit the poll body.
"I find such texts despicable," he said.
On Thursday, Locsin lost his temper and threw invectives at Smartmatic official Heider Garcia for failing to give satisfactory answers with regard to the discrepancy on internal clock logs of some Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.
Understandable
Jimenez on Friday, however, said he understands the outburst of Locsin during Thursdays' hearing at the House of Representatives.
"He's not a pop icon, he's a congressman. He carries the weight of the country on the shoulders so he's not someone you should judge for cursing," said Jimenez.
He added that what's more important is to look at the basis of Locsin's outburst.
He said the Comelec, despite its partnership with Smartmatic, wants the consortium to provide more reasonable explanations to the lawmakers.
"Smartmatic was not deprived of any opportunities to explain...it's just that maybe Smartmatic did not explain to he's satisfaction," Jimenez said.
In Malacañang, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar also agreed that the outburst of Locsin was understandable given the sensitivity of the situation.
Olivar said Locsin was among the authors of the Poll Automation Law and "so I can understand the passion that led to his outburst."
"What is important is for all outstanding issues to be impartially and expediently processed so the transfer of power on June 30 can take place on time and unclouded by doubts," Olivar added.
The Palace, however, leaves the matter to Congress to handle the investigations. It assured that preparations for the smooth transition of power to the next administration will not be affected by reports on alleged electronic fraud.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Charito Planas said Malacañang is "ready and just waiting" for the next administration even as it recognizes the fact that only Congress has the power to proclaim the incoming president and vice president.
"The Arroyo administration is ready and prepared to receive, and so it is up to the incoming president and vice president to name their counterparts who will sit down with us for the transition," Planas said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Virgil Lopez/JMR/PNA/Sunnex)