Former Masbate town mayor files P1.5-M graft raps vs Zuce

A former town mayor in Masbate has filed graft and bribery charges against Michaelangelo Zuce, the opposition’s witness against President Arroyo’s alleged poll fraud, saying the former presidential staff officer demanded P1.5 million for a favorable resolution of his electoral case.

In a five-page complaint-affidavit filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, Cherry "Nonoy" Abapo of San Fernando town in Masbate charged that Zuce "solicited and accepted money from me."

Abapo, who was mayor of San Fernando from 1998 to 2001, said he first met Zuce a month after the May 2001 polls, when he was filing an electoral protest against his opponent, to whom he lost by a mere 96 votes, before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila.

Abapo revealed he was at the City Mayors League Convention at the then Century Park Sheraton hotel in Manila at the time, and that Zuce was introduced to him by a common friend. Zuce said he was with Lakas and was working in Malacañang under the office of Secretary Jose Maria "Joey" Rufino.

Being a Lakas member himself, he said they "exchanged mobile phone numbers" and later met at several five-star hotels, where Zuce demanded P6 million "to help me obtain a favorable result from my election protest."

"At first, I was shocked. But Zuce was insistent, assuring me that by reason of his position, he could influence the Comelec into rendering a positive resolution of my election protest," Abapo narrated further.

He agreed to give Zuce a "down payment" of P1.5 million "within a span of six months" while the P4.5 million balance would be remitted "after a favorable resolution was issued by the Comelec."

Abapo said he initially gave Zuce P150,000, then P250,000, followed by P50,000. A separate P800,000 was given by his sister, which then amounted to a total of P1.25 million. The P250,000 balance was deposited in Zuce’s bank account.

But after having paid the agreed down payment, Zuce suddenly was nowhere to be found, and no longer returned his cell phone calls.

To make matters worse, says Abapo, "I was shocked to discover that my election protest was resolved negatively."

"I also learned that he had already gone into hiding," Abapo added. A "diligent search" yielded positive results, but Zuce was later forced to finally admit that "he could no longer return the money." He then decided to "bear in silence the loss and injustice that I suffered."

Recently, however, the former local chief executive saw Zuce on national television being interviewed, along with his lawyer, former Bureau of Internal Revenue commissioner Liwayway Vinzons-Chato.

"I was bowled over by the temerity of Zuce, who was pretending to be some sort of a hero, cleverly disguising the deceitful, shameless and villainous person I had found him to be," Abapo said.

But upon hearing Zuce no longer had ties with the Palace, "I recovered a sense of hope and saw my chance to seek justice, since I sensed that Zuce was no longer as invincible as he once portrayed himself to be."