Ping’s aide face bribery charges

Two Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials accused a retired police general, among others, of coercing them into corroborating the claims of opposition witnesses that President Arroyo cheated in last year’s election.

In a complaint for coercion filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday, the complainants — Gilbert Palogan, election officer of Hagonoy, Bulacan and Ferdinand Gerardo, of San Simon, Pampanga — alleged that they were also offered money by retired police general Julius Yarcia to corroborate earlier claims by opposition witnesses against Mrs. Arroyo.

Aside from Yarcia, a certain David Tan and several other people were also included in their sworn affidavits they submitted to Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Anthony Fadullon.

The two poll officials claimed Yarcia violated Presidential Decree 46 and Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code which prohibits public officials from receiving gifts.

NBI Director for National Capital Region Edmund Arugay said they are still studying whether they would also file coercion charges against Yarcia, former Comelec commissioner Ralph Lantion and former solicitor general Francisco Chavez, counsel of jueteng witness Sandra Cam.

"We will probably file additional charges against Yarcia, but we still have to validate Gerardo’s allegations that there was coercion," Arugay said.

Palogan and Gerardo were supposed to be presented as witnesses by principal jueteng whistle-blower Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz in the ongoing Senate inquiry on the illegal numbers racket.

But Gerardo claimed before a news conference last Wednesday that Yarcia forced them at gunpoint to sign a prepared statement alleging, among other things, that massive fraud was committed in last year’s vote.

Palogan, for his part, supported Gerardo’s allegations but claimed Yarcia offered them P5 million and US visas in exchange for statements corroborating the testimonies of Michaelangelo Zuce and Army Capt. Marlon Mendoza.

Palogan claimed Yarcia even tried to recruit them to make a documentary report to indicate Mrs. Arroyo ordered them to prepare the election returns ahead of the actual voting day in exchange for payoffs.

Palogan claimed the documents will be presented later by the opposition in the impeachment hearings against Mrs. Arroyo at the House of Representatives. — With Evelyn Macairan