Biazon, Barbers exchange accusations of cheating

Re-electionist Senators Robert Barbers and Rodolfo Biazon, who both ran as part of the administration’s senatorial slate, are now exchanging accusations of cheating in the senatorial elections.

Barbers, who is neck and neck with Biazon in the latest official count of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), asked Biazon to stop alleging that the delay in the canvassing of votes in Cotabato City and Lanao del Sur is due to electoral fraud.

The votes in these two areas will decide which of the two senatorial candidates will get the 12th slot in the Senate.

Biazon led Barbers by a margin of 39,000 votes when canvassing in one barangay in Nueva Vizcaya and seven towns in Lanao del Sur started yesterday at the Comelec head office in Intramuros, Manila. The Lanao count was suspended after Biazon’s lawyer, Wilfredo Asis, cited discrepancies between their copy of the certificate of canvass (COC) and the copy the Comelec was set to use in yesterday’s canvass.

Biazon’s staff showed reporters that erasures marred their copy of the COC for the seven Lanao towns which held special elections last May 22. They also questioned the Comelec’s supplemental provincial COC, which contained the results of individual COCs from Lanao del Sur.

They pointed out that the supplemental COC listed results from eight towns, instead of just the seven towns that held the special elections. Comelec officials explained that the eighth town held its elections as scheduled last May 10 but delays in the canvassing forced it to just consolidate its tally with that of the seven towns.

Biazon’s camp was apparently not satisfied with the explanation of the erasures in their copy of the COC and Comelec subsequently ordered lawyers of both camps to a closed-door conference. After emerging from the conference, the poll body decided to reset the Lanao count for today.

Biazon’s staff said they checked the copy held by the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), and this confirmed their allegation of electoral fraud. The Lanao count, had it not been contested, would have reduced Biazon’s lead to only 3,000 votes.

Biazon’s son, Parañaque Rep. Rufino Biazon, stopped short of accusing Barbers’ camp of cheating.

"We are not saying that at the moment. What we are contesting now is why are there eight towns when there were supposed to be only seven?" he said.

The Comelec is expected to canvass today the COC from Cotabato City, which has some 120,000 registered voters.

Barbers challenged Biazon to "show proof first before making such statements. I, myself, got a zero vote in the municipality in Bicol, but I never complained. That is the will of the people and we have to respect it," referring to Biazon’s claim that he got a zero vote in one of the towns in Lanao del Sur because of electoral fraud.

He added that the Comelec is doing its job well in order to show that the May 10 elections were "transparent, clean and honest," particularly in Cotabato City and Lanao del Sur.

"The decision of the Comelec to bring the certificates of canvass (from) Cotabato City to their head office in Intramuros for the official counting clearly shows that they are doing everything to speed up the official proclamation of the 12th slot in the senate slate in a truthful manner," Barbers said.

He pointed out that the canvassing in Cotabato City was initially conducted in an army camp guarded by soldiers, lawyers, local leaders of various political parties, and Namfrel volunteers. This was done to protect the ballots from any tampering prior to the Comelec’s decision to transfer the COCs to Manila, Barbers said.

"I hope that whatever will be the outcome of the remaining COCs that will be counted by Comelec here in Manila, it will be honored by both parties concerned. For as long as there is no proof of electoral fraud found, I will respect it even if I lose. However, if my lawyers are not satisfied with how the canvassing was conducted, we will naturally file an election protest over this matter and exhaust all legal remedies possible," Barbers said.

He also chided Biazon for prematurely declaring himself as winning in Cotabato City and Lanao del Sur though the canvassing has yet to be finished.

Barbers, a former police official, advised Biazon to stop making statements that hint at threats if the results of the elections in Lanao del Sur and Cotabato City are unfavorable to him. He described the move of Biazon, a former chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as the way a "military officer fights this war."

He expressed sadness that the electoral controversy has to involve him and Biazon, since they both come from the same ticket.

Barbers cited that Comelec results showed that he won against Biazon in all the regions in Visayas and Mindanao, but added that "what is more important... is a higher calling to heal the wounds of our great nation and make it once more a nation composed of people proud to be Filipinos. I have been a public servant for more than 35 years. Whether I win or lose in this election, I made a vow to continue to serve our countrymen and try to uplift their lives either in my public or private capacity. Let us expedite this issue in order for us to move on to serve our people."