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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Abalos resigns, to sue detractors
MANILA –- Lawyers for Commission on Elections (Comelec) Benjamin Abalos Sr. said they would file perjury and damage suits against Commission on Higher Education (Ched) chairman Romulo Neri and businessman Jose “Joey” de Venecia III.
Gabriel Villareal said it is Abalos who decided not to sue Neri and de Venecia III until he has resigned so as not to be accused of abusing his power for being the election chairman.
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“Now that he (Abalos) resigned, we will now file the charges,” he said.
According to Villareal, they are still studying whether they could implicate other people in the case.
Neri and de Venecia III accused the election chief of bribery at the Senate hearing on the National Broadband Network (NBN) deal.
Abalos vowed to continue facing his detractors when he announced his resignation in his residence in Kanlaon, Mandaluyong City Monday afternoon. He was with his wife Cora, son Mandaluyong Mayor Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., and other members of the family when he made the announcement.
“I am resigning the chairmanship of the Comelec effective immediately,” he said.
No guilt
Abalos Sr. told his supporters that his decision to step down does not mean he admits any guilt on the allegations leveled against him in connection with the NBN project.
“Let not my detractors feast on this declaration. I am not admitting guilt for any wrongdoing. Neither am I giving up on my crusade to clear my name and reputation,” he said.
The elder Abalos said he wanted to “spare” the Comelec from the vicious and malicious attacks against him.
“It is my intention that with my resignation today, I shall detach the Comelec from the controversy in which my person is currently embroiled,” he lamented.
He said Commissioner Resurreccion Borra being the most senior among the election commissioners will replace him as officer-in-charge until President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appoints his successor.
No pressure
Abalos Sr. also denied being pressured to resign saying “in these few days of reflection and consultation I’ve had with my family and close friends, I have come to the painful determination that the time has come to separate my person from the office I now occupy, and the Institution I head.”
He said his resignation will also prove wrong the allegations that the impeachment case lodged against him by Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico will not prosper because he enjoys the support of the President and some members of Congress.
“My resignation should dispel the claims of my detractors that I am dangling so-called political debts dispensed when I was supposedly king during election period as a shield to fend off moves to oust me from office,” he said.
Abalos Sr. was appointed Comelec chairman in February 2001.
Moot and academic
With the resignation of Abalos Sr., House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said he will ask the House committee on rules chaired by Iloilo Representative Arthur Defensor to transmit the impeachment complaint against the election chief to the congressional archives.
“Thank God the impeachment case is now moot and academic and will now be behind us,” said de Venecia Jr.
Malacañang officials wished Abalos Sr. well acknowledging his decision to protect his family and the Comelec from all the smear campaign and endless politicking.
“We respect his (Abalos Sr.) decision and appreciate his desire to protect his family and the Comelec from vicious politics. We wish him well as he carries on his fight to clear his name,” said Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye.
Surprise
Local Government secretary and Presidential political adviser Ronaldo Puno said they were caught by surprise with the decision of Abalos Sr. but they respect and laud him for it.
Puno said even President Arroyo appeared surprise when he mentioned it to her over cocktails after turnover ceremony. He said the President just asked when Abalos Sr. resigned.
He said he had been conversing with Arroyo all morning and until he mentioned the resignation, she gave no indication that she had any prior knowledge.
Puno said Abalos Sr. quit out of delicadeza and with the interest of entire political situation in mind, citing that the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections is already on October 29 and “it would be better if this election is pursued without this cloud of controversy hanging over the Comelec.”
He is confident that despite Abalos Sr.’s resignation, the remaining commissioners would be able to conduct the forthcoming elections orderly, peacefully and “without controversy.” He said an acting Comelec chairman would eventually be named.
He said Abalos Sr. decided to make a sacrifice by resigning, but he stressed that he was never made a sacrificial lamb. He added that Abalos Sr., however, believed that he has been a victim of a “concerted smear attack.”
Puno said despite the resignation of Abalos Sr., he foresees that all attacks including investigations would not be terminated especially if those who “wish the administration ill” have anything to do with it.
To spare
For Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teodoro Casiño, he believed that Abalos Sr. resigned to spare the President from the wild fire that may cause by his impeachment complaint.
“He (Abalos Sr.) wanted to save the queen,” said Casiño.
The militant lawmaker was one of the three endorsers of the impeachment complaint filed against Abalos Sr.
Casiño said that while Abalos’s resignation is “a victory for our people, it is obviously meant to deny Congress the opportunity to hold him and the others, including the First Couple, accountable for their wrongdoings”.
He said Abalos Sr. should stop taking all the blame and being a “sacrificial lamb” for the administration. “We now challenge Abalos to tell all that he knows. He should not allow being made the President’s fall guy,” he said.
The truth
The United Opposition (UNO) said it welcomed the decision of Abalos Sr. to resign but said the “search for the truth behind the NBN controversy should be pursued and not end with his resignation.”
“We commend Chairman Abalos on his decision. But the act of resigning does not erase possible administrative and criminal liabilities. The search for the truth behind the NBN scandal should be pursued,” UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay Jr. said.
Binay said Abalos Sr. can still redeem himself from the mess by telling what he really knows about the multimillion-peso project entered into by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) with China’s ZTE Corporation.
Respect
At the Senate, Abalos Sr. earned respect from senators when he resigned.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee hearing the NBN deal, urged Abalos Sr. to do more than sparing the Comelec’s integrity, but this time to think of "the country” as well.
Cayetano said although Abalos Sr. may have had resigned from his post, but a criminal case against him can still be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who criticized Abalos Sr.'s appointment to the Comelec, asked the election chief to be a “state witness” and reveal the truth behind the broadband deal.
Pimentel said Abalos Sr.’s resignation while “great news" was not enough. He stressed that Abalos Sr. now former poll chief “has all the reason to face the proper court and explain himself.”
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) meanwhile said Abalos Sr.’s choice to step down is the “best decision” that he has done.
“The best decision that Abalos Sr. has done is to resign amid threats of impeachment. It was a short cut,” said CBCP president and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
Citing the case of other countries like Japan, Lagdameo said officials implicated or accused of any irregularities in government are no longer waiting for their conviction but instead opt to vacate their post. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. (October 2, 2007 issue)
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