DOJ to assist Comelec in poll raps vs GMA

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has tapped a team of state prosecutors to assist the prosecution team from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) handling the electoral sabotage case against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima issued Department Order No. 49, designating four government prosecutors to assist the Comelec in the charges filed against Arroyo, former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos and former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr.

The DOJ team includes Assistant State Prosecutor Mari Elvira Herrera, Assistant City Prosecutor Orlando Mariano, Associate Prosecution Lawyer Gerard Gaerlan and Associate Prosecution lawyer Mark Roland Estepa.

The Comelec issued Resolution No. 9333 last Jan. 18 that deputized the DOJ prosecutors to assist the poll body’s own prosecution team.