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Monday, January 26, 2004
On 2001 fraud: Ballots switched 'not in Cebu'
By Linette C. Ramos
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cebu City will look into the possibility that ballots in the May 2001 elections were switched during or after transport to Manila and not while in Cebu City.
Cebu City Election Officer Simaco Labata said that if the findings of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) were true, fraud may have been committed by individuals who have the expertise to open the sealed ballot boxes.
In a long-distance call from Singapore, aspiring congressman Aristotle Batuhan said he will either file a motion for reconsideration or ask the Supreme Court to review HRET's ruling.
In a 40-page resolution, HRET dismissed the election protest that Batuhan filed against incumbent Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) after he was defeated in the congressional race in May 2001.
Labata said they will not conduct any investigation until they receive a formal directive from the tribunal.
Ballot trail
But once the investigation starts, they will focus on the trail of the ballot boxes to find out where, how and who carried out the switching of the ballots.
"It's hard to judge now who was or were responsible for the anomaly. But if HRET is saying that it is the city treasurer, I doubt it because it would be difficult for him. If indeed there was fraud committed, personally, I don't think it happened in Cebu," Labata told Sun.Star.
He added that in his more than 10 years with the Comelec in Cebu, "nothing of this sort of anomaly has happened here."
The tribunal, which is composed of three Supreme Court justices and three representatives each from the majority and minority blocs, also noted that "serious fraud and irregularities" were committed after the canvassing of votes.
With their findings, HRET directed the Comelec to investigate the city treasurer, who was custodian of the ballot boxes after the elections, and other individuals who may have participated in the commission of fraud.
Labata explained that ballot boxes are metal-sealed and cannot be opened easily.
Exasperated
From the city treasurer's office, it is the HRET personnel who are solely responsible for the supervision of the ballots and the treasurer no longer has control over them during and after transport, he said.
"It is very possible na sa Manila na nahilabtan, gikuha ang balota og giilisan og bag-o. My suggestion now is to look into the matter, how all these happened (It was in Manila that the ballots were tampered with, taken and replaced with new ones)," Labata added.
The HRET also affirmed the victory of Cuenco over Batuhan, with a margin of 3,296 votes, or one vote less than when he was proclaimed winner.
"I feel exasperated and disappointed...I can only speculate that behind this decision are members of the House of Representatives who are protecting one another. This is the second time that I have been robbed of my victory," Batuhan told Sun.Star.
He said he is not surprised by the outcome of his protest because even from the start, the tribunal has already been lenient with Cuenco.
Batuhan said, though, that he could not understand why HRET made it appear that he was the one who cheated in the 2001 polls.
He said that there was never a time that he had access to the ballot boxes that were sent to Manila for the revision process.
(January 26, 2004 issue)
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