|
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
NBI help to be sought on Bedol’s arrest
MANILA -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is now looking at the possibility of tapping the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to effect the immediate arrest and prosecution of fugitive Maguindanao provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol.
Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento issued this statement after admitting disappointment with the failure of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 12 headed by Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao to capture Bedol since the issuance of the arrest warrant more than two weeks ago.
Post your comments here on the Batasan blast
“We issued the warrant of arrest more than two weeks ago, yet nothing has happened,” Sarmiento said.
He said the Comelec en banc will discuss the matter as well as the issue on whether to ask the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to blacklist Bedol to prevent him from leaving the country.
Sarmiento said they might ask the BI to issue a hold departure order against Bedol, who is believed to be in hiding somewhere in Mindanao.
“There is no update and the police said they cannot locate him (Bedol) but we believe he is still here in the country because the Bureau of Immigration would know if he leaves the country,” he added.
Sarmiento however admitted that they have not requested yet for any hold departure order against Bedol due to several things that the commission needs to deal with.
Alioden Dalaig, the late Comelec law department director, was in close coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP). He was handling the case of Bedol before he was brutally murdered last November 13 in Ermita, Manila.
The Comelec declared Bedol guilty of indirect contempt for snubbing the hearing called by the election body.
Bedol was sentenced to suffer six months imprisonment and asked to pay a fine of P1,000.
The former Comelec official has been accused of manipulating the results of the past senatorial elections in Maguindanao province where the administration candidates made a clean sweep of the race. (MSN/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pangasinan. (November 21, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
RP, New Zealand salvage UN envoy's visit