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Sunday, May 23, 2004
Leaders decry Cebu fraud tag
CEBU CITY -- Stung by allegations that Cebu was "one of the centers of cheating" in favor of President Arroyo during the elections, her local allies challenged the camp of Fernando Poe Jr. to show proof.
In Manila, Senator Aquilino Pimentel said an Edsa 4 is not far from happening if the widespread cheating during the May 10 elections would be proven.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeņa blamed Poe's debacle on his own failure to provide funds for his political machinery in Cebu and that Cebuanos do not get swayed by the "razzle-dazzle" brought by entertainment personalities.
He said Poe could not claim he was cheated because the mayor's own brother, Sen. Sergio Osmeņa III, was his leader in Cebu.
The mayor said his cousin and political enemy, Sen. Sonny Osmeņa, a reelectionist who lost in Cebu City despite being in Arroyo's senatorial line-up, would be the first to cry fraud in the elections.
Sonny did not make it to the magic 12 even in Cebu City, a result, the mayor said, showed Cebuanos have rejected the senator.
Mayor Osmeņa, along with Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) and Coconut Farmers Federation of the Philippines (Cocofed) nominee for sectoral representative Emerito Calderon, hastily called a press conference yesterday to denounce the accusation.
Del Mar said the turn out in Cebu City was the product of hard toil in their part to campaign for Arroyo.
In Cebu City, Arroyo got at least 220,000 votes over Poe's 58,000.
Del Mar said that aside from campaigning for their own candidacies, they always made it a point to include Arroyo and, except for Sonny, her whole line-up.
He said Poe has no basis to claim victory because it is Arroyo who leads in the ongoing count.
Calderon, for his part, said that in campaigning for his party-list group all over Cebu, he observed that the Cebuanos were for Arroyo and not for Poe.
Osmeņa said that among the three candidates for governor of Cebu, not one allied themselves with Poe.
All three candidates supported Arroyo, he said.
"Movie stars won't make good candidates in Cebu City," Mayor Osmeņa said, referring to popular action star Poe and his star-studded campaign sorties.
An exception was Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., whom the mayor said local allies specifically supported and campaigned for.
He called the allegation as "unfair to the integrity and reputation of the Cebuano electorate".
Poe's camp still has to present proof, while Arroyo is clearly ahead in the polls, the mayor said.
"President Arroyo has the more credible claim to victory because she has led all the way," he added.
He further said they will not take the allegation sitting down and they will issue a statement that Cebuanos are sensitive of their reputation.
He urged Poe's allies to respect the will of the majority as expressed in the ballot.
Edsa 4
In a television interview, Senator Pimentel clarified that he is not calling for another Edsa but if President Arroyo will be proclaimed as winner despite the evident cheating then it is conceivable that the people would act on it.
Both Pimentel and Jamby Madrigal, opposition senatorial candidates who made it to the top 12 still doubted the results.
"You cannot help because when the surveys are bombarded in media, it is mind-conditioning. I pray for my party mates who are not in the magic 12 because in the party, you hoped that they are included," Madrigal said in a television interview.
With the slow development of the canvassing, leading opposition candidates are still very doubtful and uneasy saying that they wouldn't take some rest and be silent on the matter until all votes have been counted.
Normal security
Meanwhile, security in Malacaņang is back to normal compared to its tight and intensified security Friday amid talks to another destabilization plot.
Chief of Presidential Security Guards, Col. Delfin Bangit said the alert level has been downgraded from red to blue since there really was no reason to maintain the red alert situation.
The Palace though are not complacent and is still having the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to lower their guard especially now that there are a lot of reports that there are groups planning to hinder the proclamation of the upcoming president.
The Samahan ng mga Retired Generals, supporters of Fernando Poe Jr, denied that they are part of the groups threatening the government of coup d' etat and destabilization and even though they have evidences of cheating they have no plans of leading a rebellion.
Malacaņang hopes though that the situation would be better with the start of the national canvassing for presidency and vice-presidency this Monday for the opposition to have a proper venue to raise their complaints.Rene H. Martel and Nicelee V. Morales)
(May 23, 2004 issue)
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