Comelec relieves Cotabato poll execs

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) ordered the relief of two provincial election supervisors of North and South Cotabato for their failure to explain discrepancies in the certificates of canvass they submitted to the National Board of Canvassers.

Lawyers Yogie Martirizar and Lilian Radam were relieved as provincial election supervisors of North and South Cotabato, respectively, after failing to appear before the Comelec hearing yesterday. 

Comelec Commissioner Romeo Brawner announced the relief of the two election officials in preparation for the investigation of the poll body against them.

Brawner also called on the Bureau of Immigration to include the two poll officials in its watchlist.

The Comelec, acting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBC), earlier ordered the two poll officials to appear and explain the discrepancies in the certificates of canvass (COC) they presented for national canvassing.

The discrepancies prompted Comelec to order a recount of all the votes from the two provinces.

The number of votes entered in the provincial COC was higher than the figures entered in the Statement of Votes (SOV) for Koronadal City in South Cotabato.

The poll body had nullified the SOV and COC and created a special provincial board of canvassers to supervise the recanvassing.

Those who allegedly benefited from the vote padding included Team Unity senatorial candidates Edgardo Angara, Joker Arroyo, Mike Defensor, Vicente Magsaysay, Tessie Aquino-Oreta, Prospero Pichay, Ralph Recto, Vicente Sotto III and Juan Miguel Zubiri and Genuine Opposition (GO) bet Loren Legarda.

The same issues were raised in North Cotabato, which also prompted Comelec to order a recanvassing.

Lawyers of opposition candidates pointed to the discrepancies in the COCs which were submitted by the two poll supervisors before the NBC.

Leila de Lima, lawyer of GO senatorial candidate Alan Peter Cayetano, claimed vote padding in South Cotabato had been committed.

Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos did not categorically admit that vote padding had taken place, but conceded there were indications that it had occurred.

“You saw the results coming from South Cotabato that was canvassed. I think there were several votes added to some candidates,” he said.

Abalos added the Comelec’s law department will make the formal investigation against Radam and Martirizar.

De Lima had asked Comelec to order Radam and Martirizar to submit official reports about the discrepancies between the old SOV and COC that they prepared and the new SOV and COC prepared by the SPBOC.

De Lima also wanted the two officials to explain why they snubbed the subpoenas sent to them by the Comelec.

“They have been summoned twice but they failed to show up. We want to know why there are major discrepancies. We want them to explain, otherwise we would file appropriate charges against them,” she said.

De Lima said the two poll officials should be charged for “electoral sabotage.”

“Given the magnitude of (the problem), it is about time for the commission to do something. Officers like them should not be given such an important assignment,” she said.

If Radam and Martirizar fail to give satisfactory and reasonable explanations for the discrepancies, De Lima said they are guilty of electoral sabotage under Republic Act 9360.

“We don’t like these people to serve again. It is damaging to the institution,” she added.

Comelec Executive Director Jose Pio Joson said the poll body should also include in the investigation Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol.

Joson said Bedol also failed to explain the discrepancies in the COCs submitted before the NBC for canvassing.

“We need a thorough investigation if indeed they had direct participation in these allegations. We need to implement due process for us to be able to come up with conclusive findings,” he said.

Joson pointed out the Comelec could take the initiative of filing the complaint against the three election officials.

“Through its own initiative, the Comelec can conduct the investigation,” he said. – With James Mananghaya