Ermita, Atienza, DND chief linked to 'Koala'

MANILA, Philippines - The “Koala Boy” video came from defeated Batangas congressional candidate and former Arroyo executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. said over the weekend.

“It was Ed Ermita who supplied the tapes,” Locsin said in an interview over radio station dzMM. “Ed Ermita is supposedly part of it.”

Yesterday, in an interview on GMA-7’s “Balitanghali” news program, Locsin said the former executive secretary, who has apparently been interviewed by the media, has admitted that the videotape came from him.

“But he denied having a hand in its production, that he was not the producer and director, that someone just gave it to him,” Locsin said.

When asked for the source of his information that the video material came from Ermita, the Makati congressman said, “It’s the office of the Speaker (Prospero Nograles).”

In his radio interview, Locsin said based on his conversations with defeated Manila mayoral candidate and former Arroyo environment secretary Lito Atienza, the latter and Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales also seem to be in the know on the Koala Boy election fraud story.

“Lito Atienza, he seems to know about it. He told me to call Bert Gonzales and he will give security to Koala bear. But how can I call Gonzales when I’ve been calling him an i_ _ _t in my daily radio program?” Locsin said.

Locsin, chairman of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reform, linked Ermita, Atienza and Gonzales to the Koala Boy expose’ after Malacañang spokesman Ricardo Saludo challenged him to prove his claim that Malacañang was behind the so-called whistleblower’s election fraud allegations.

Saludo also said editors should order their reporters to ask Locsin for the basis of his accusation.

On Friday, at the start of his committee’s inquiry into claims of election fraud, Locsin read a prepared statement in which he resented Malacañang’s suggestion that congressmen should leave such investigation to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“That is surely rich, coming from people who are behind the Koala bear gimmick designed to throw into total discredit the superb leadership of the Comelec, which tried, not always without success, to prevent embedded operators and syndicates from capturing the new electronic system,” Locsin said.

“I know who you are, do not provoke me to name you,” he said.

“You say he (Koala Boy) is afraid and wants security. You who abducted Jun Lozada (Senate witness on the ZTE-NBN deal) should know about security better than anyone else. Give him security and let him speak in the open.”

Locsin said Malacañang did a sloppy job of handling the supposed whistleblower, whom he called “Koala bear.”

“You should have hired a stylist before floating that marsupial with the big black nose so as to give him credibility you are telling me he deserves. Well, until he removes his fur, I will not credit him with anything but a very good impersonation of a New Zealand creature,” he said.

In his expose’, Koala Boy alleged that he was part of a group of election fraud operations that offered their services to several candidates for huge sums of money.

The supposed witness claimed leading vice presidential candidate and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay availed himself of their service for P1.4 billion, an amount that was supposed to be good for seven million votes.

Binay has denied Koala Boy’s allegations and vowed to expose his handlers.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo has said the Koala Boy’s expose’ was meant to taint the entire automated electoral process and the winners.

He said the May 10 balloting was largely a success and was even hailed by several foreign nations.