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Saturday, May 26, 2007
Poll body defers anew Maguindanao canvassing
MANILA -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday suspended again the tabulation of the certificates of canvass (COCs) from Maguindanao after learning that many senatorial candidates got zero votes.
Nineteen of the 37 senatorial candidates, including some opposition bets, obtained no votes in Maguindanao.
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The Maguindanao COC was supposed to be canvassed on Thursday, but Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. postponed it to Wednesday after opposition lawyers contested the tallying of votes conducted by Lintang Bedol, chairperson of the Maguindanao board of canvassers, at the provincial level.
Abalos also ordered all parties concerned to present their copies of statement of votes at the municipal level.
The opposition lawyers criticized Bedol for canvassing the votes in the province without any of their election watchers.
They questioned how Bedol was able to tally all the Maguindanao votes at the provincial level when there are 190 election returns and 38 ballot boxes still uncanvassed in Pagalungan town, as claimed by Faizal Kalantungan, a board of election inspector in Maguindanao.
According to Kalantungan, the Comelec has yet to collect the election returns and ballot boxes from their town as of Thursday.
Election watchdog Kontra Daya, meanwhile, assailed the Comelec decision to defer the proclamation of the top nine senatorial candidates.
"This flip-flopping of the Comelec reinforces the view that something is cooking in the canvassing of votes," said Kontra Daya convener Fr. Joe Dizon.
Dizon stressed it was unusual that after announcing that the top nine senatorial candidates would be proclaimed, Abalos suddenly backtracked on his announcement, saying there are still four million uncounted votes "that could affect the results of the senatorial elections."
Dizon suspected that the Comelec plans to include in the canvassing tampered elections results from the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.
"Our biggest apprehension is that votes from Maguindanao will still be canvassed despite objections from the opposition and despite valid claims of massive fraud in the province," he said.
The priest added that the delay in the proclamation "is meant to accommodate more votes in favor of administration bets."
"Candidates like Allan Peter Cayetano may be slowly eased out of the winners' circle. The same fate may probably await Antonio Trillanes IV and Koko Pimentel. The delay may be an attempt to get the last three opposition bets out of the winners' circle," he noted.
Also on Friday, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) questioned the presence of retired generals Arturo Lomibao and Jovito Palparan in the special elections to be held in Lanao del Sur on Saturday.
"Having these two Arroyo loyalists in the area boosts the people's suspicion that something fishy is about to happen," said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes. (MSN/Hannah Oliva/Bernadith Abonita-UST interns/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (May 21, 2007 issue)
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