Saturday, April 28, 2007 Manila mayoralty bet faces probe over cellcards
MANILA mayoralty candidate Ali Atienza may be investigated for supposedly giving away cellular prepaid cards to journalists covering the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Several reporters received Globe prepaid cards worth P100 from Atienza. The cellular cards were contained in mailed envelopes that had "Anak ng Maynila, Ali Atienza for Mayor Headquarters, Manila, City Hall" as return address. The envelopes were sent to the Comelec main office in Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.
A letter supposedly signed by Atienza accompanied by cellcards. The letter was dated April 23, 2007 and had Atienza's battle cry "Buhayin ang Maynila" printed on top.
In the letter, Atienza supposedly referred to the recipients as "kaibigan sa media (friends in the media)."
The letter stated that the cards were Atienza's way of thanking the reporters for their support to his father, outgoing Manila Mayor Jose "Lito" Atienza.
"Naniniwala akong ang suportang inyong ibinibigay sa aking ama, Mayor Lito Atienza, ay ipagkakaloob din ninyo sa akin sakaling palarin maluklok bilang bagong mayor ng Maynila (I believe that the support you have given to my father, Mayor Lito Atienza, will be the same support you will give to me if ever I get elected as mayor of Manila)," the letter said.
Comelec Commissioner Resurrecion Borra said they will look into the matter once they get a copy of the letter as he cautioned the media about the issue.
"I would like to urge our friends from the media at this point in time of election, political intrigues are very, very prevalent sometimes amounting to character assassination and reputation destruction," he said.
He said some candidates "would like to impute to the opponent the commission of an alleged crime and that is just a black propaganda." (MSN/Sunnex)
