Palace dismisses opposition’s electoral fraud witnesses

Malacañang twitted yesterday opposition leaders behind the presentation of hooded witnesses who would supposedly testify to alleged electoral fraud committed by the administration in Cebu during the May 10 polls.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye again denounced the political opposition for its latest media stunt.

The Palace has issued repeated appeals and challenges for the opposition to present its pieces of evidence and witnesses to alleged poll fraud before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other appropriate fora for airing such grievances.

In a statement issued by the Palace, Bunye directed his tirades at the opposition leaders from the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) who orchestrated the presentation to members of the press in Cebu of self-confessed witnesses to electoral fraud allegedly instigated by the opposition.

"The opposition’s play is all media hype," he said. "There is no need to cover the faces of witnesses before the camera as if they were testifying against terrorists."

"What is more ironic is that the opposition is presenting alleged evidence before the media without presenting them before the proper forum for investigation and prosecution," he added. "This means the opposition is either unsure of its witnesses, is trying to put one over the public or is engaged in plain foolishness."

He maintained that President Arroyo’s Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4) will be able to easily refute these allegations, especially in Cebu, where Mrs. Arroyo won by a landslide over KNP standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr.

"I am sure that all witnesses on election fraud will be given due process and due respect by the authorities concerned," he said.

Bunye reiterated his statement that the opposition camp has been engaged in its "three-pronged" strategy to delay the official canvassing of votes for president and vice president by a 22-man joint congressional panel.

"The opposition strategy is obviously to stall the canvass, mount mass protest actions and expose alleged fraud," he said, adding that "the strategy is old and the public is not biting the bait."

Meanwhile leaders of various civil society groups in Cebu denounced the KNP for engaging in black propaganda to destroy the integrity of the elections in Cebu.

Talisay City Mayor-elect Socrates Fernandez said, "this is another crude attempt by KNP to shore up the dead cause of its standard-bearer, Fernando Poe Jr., who was clearly beaten during the election but could not accept defeat."

Members of the Cebu media were up in arms over the second-class treatment accorded them when Manila-based reporters were allowed access to the KNP’s witnesses but they were not.

Elias Vaquero of Sunstar Daily said the KNP questioned why the KNP hid the witnesses’ faces and stopped Cebuano journalists from talking with them. "Are they afraid we could expose them (the witnesses) as fakes?"

Five of the 10 witnesses were reportedly interviewed by Manila-based journalists at a secret venue, where they discussed localized cheating - not poll fraud on a national magnitude as KNP lawyers insist has been perpetrated.

"Maybe they think they can fool Manila media with their witnesses, that is why they kept them from us," Vaquero said.