Capitol sees tampering in ballot box padlock theft

After the police charged two casual employees of the Tabogon municipal government with theft for the loss of 300 padlocks of kept ballot boxes, Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia suspected the thievery as an attempt to tamper with the election returns of the last polls. The boxes contained the results of the elections in Tabogon, which are currently under protests at the Commission on Elections central office. These are among the results that Governor Gwen Garcia had raised in her counter-protests before Comelec against defeated candidate Celestino Martinez Jr.

Martinez won in Tabogon with 12,784 votes over Garcia who only got 876 votes in the last gubernatorial race. Pablo John said they might file charges against Tabogon municipal treasurer Edna Carla Arbuyes for neglect of duty because Comelec deputized her to take custody and secure the ballot boxes.

Pablo John expressed apprehension that the counter-protest in Manila will be affected because of the incident, especially if the ballots have already been tampered with. Gwen had already asked the police for an official report on the theft of the padlocks so that her lawyers in Manila could inform Comelec about it.

Before the theft, Pablo John said there have been reports in the past that a group of people was formed to tamper with the election results, a matter that was already relayed formally to provincial election supervisor Edwin Cadungog. Pablo John said the Tabogon incident confirmed these reports prompting the Garcia camp to request Comelec to ensure that ballot boxes kept in all parts of the province are protected.

Aside from the counter-protest of the governor, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal also ordered these ballot boxes secured due to the election protest filed by vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda against incumbent Vice President Noli de Castro. Co-workers have positively identified the two Tabogon government employees, Gaudioso Batal and Benjamin Cañete, as those who stole the ballot boxes' padlocks.

They said the two were with them resting inside the Public Employment Service Office building where the boxes were kept. The police have already filed charges against them for theft at the Municipal Circuit Trial Court in Borbon town. - Fred P. Languido and Flor Z. Perolina