Namfrel: No proof of massive fraud

The secretary-general of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) said yesterday they did not detect massive fraud that could have changed the results of last year’s presidential elections.

However, their man in Lanao del Sur insisted in the same forum that large-scale cheating did take place to ensure that President Arroyo would win the elections and that Fernando Poe Jr. would be defeated.

Seated side by side at the Fernandina Forum at Dencio’s Bar and Grill in San Juan yesterday, Namfrel secretary general Guillermo Luz and Hadji Abdullah Dalidig, Namfrel chairman in Lanao del Sur, gave reporters two different perspectives on alleged fraud committed in last year’s elections.

The two Namfrel officials were invited to the weekly forum to discuss allegations that massive fraud had taken place in the 2004 presidential election.

Speaking to reporters, Luz said Namfrel lacks enough evidence to prove that large-scale electoral fraud was committed in the elections of 2004.

"We never said no fraud was committed, that there was no fraud in the elections," he said. "We said if there were allegations of fraud, we did not see a large enough scale of fraud to materially affect the elections."

However, Luz said there had been "problems," notably certain documents that have been "floating around" concerning the certificates of canvass (CoCs).

"We did not see enough fraud to tell us that election results would be different," he said. "There probably has been fraud. But I think it has to be detected and checked out on a case-to-case basis. But we did not see enough to change the entire result in the elections."

Lengthy arguments had ensued over the congressional canvass on the state of the CoCs, he added.

But Luz asked: "Did it materially affect the election results, and would the election results be different?" He concluded they would not.

In an affidavit shown to reporters at the forum, Dalidig revealed that at least 20,000 votes were taken away from Fernando Poe Jr. in Lanao del Sur.

He did not say to whom he would submit the affidavit.

Dalidig said whenever the election returns (ERs) of each municipality are collected to form a CoC, some degree of "dagdag-bawas" (vote-padding or —shaving) takes place.

"But the truth is that all the other presidential candidates obtained votes, as proven by the official ERs given to Namfrel and which are still in my custody," he said.

Dalidig noted that in the municipality of Poona Baybao, the official CoC, which became one of the bases of the congressional canvassing at the House of Representatives, listed President Arroyo as receiving 4,700 votes, while all other presidential candidates got zero votes.

In five municipalities of Lanao del Sur, where Poe was ahead of Mrs. Arroyo, "dagdag-bawas" had taken place, he added.

Dalidig claimed in the town of Suguiran, the election returns showed that Mrs. Arroyo had only 1,926 votes, while Poe had 3,460 votes.

After the CoCs were counted, Mrs. Arroyo was somehow ahead of Poe by 5,523 votes, he added.

Dalidig alleged that more than 20,000 votes were taken from Poe in the five towns in Lanao del Sur to ensure that Mrs. Arroyo would win in Mindanao.

Dalidig said he brought the matter to the attention of Namfrel chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. and Luz via a report on June 1, 2004, which was properly acknowledged and received on June 3, 2004.

However, the report was ignored by the two officials, he added.

Dalidig said he had come out to authenticate the charges contained in wiretapped conversation allegedly detailing efforts by Mrs. Arroyo to influence poll results in last year’s elections.