MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday rejected the proposal of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to withdraw the electoral sabotage case filed against former South Cotabato provincial election supervisor Lilian Suan Radam before the Pasay City court.
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said the poll body, in a 4-1 vote with one abstention, decided not to drop the case which would have allowed Radam to become a state witness against co-accused former Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos.
“We had different positions... the commission, after lengthy discussions, decided not to discharge accused Radam,” Brillantes said.
He added the Comelec has yet to rule on the fate of former North Cotabato provincial election supervisor Yogie Martirizar but hinted the decision will likely be the same.
Radam and Abalos are facing a poll fraud case for allegedly rigging the 2007 elections in South Cotabato while Martirizar and Abalos are co-accused in a similar case involving North Cotabato.
The Comelec investigated Radam and Martirizar in 2007 for submitting falsified election documents. They went into hiding for four years and resurfaced in November 2011 to become state witnesses of the DOJ against Abalos, whom they accused of masterminding the cheating.
The two former election officers were placed under the Witness Protection Program (WPP) by the DOJ.
According to Brillantes, those who voted against withdrawing the case were Comelec Commissioners Lucenito Tagle, Rene Sarmiento, Armando Velasco and Elias Yusoph.
Commissioner Christian Robert Lim “took no part” because he used to lawyer “for either of the two.”
Brillantes added that Sarmiento and Tagle, who led the investigations against Radam and Martirizar, respectively, have argued that there is strong evidence against the two former poll officials so the cases against them should be pursued.
Brillantes, for his part, said that he made a dissenting opinion, citing a provision in the WPP law requiring the witness to be discharged from the case.
But the four commissioners, Brillantes said, believed that since it was the DOJ that placed the two accused under the WPP “without our expressed consent,” the poll body is “not bound” by the WPP provision.
Brillantes admitted that without Radam as a state witness, the case against Abalos might weaken.
“Without Radam, we practically have no evidence against Abalos unless we get someone else. There will be others but not as strong as the statement of Radam who admitted doing the cheating on the orders of Abalos,” he said.
Brillantes though maintained there is also a risk that even if they discharge Radam, she will mess up her testimonies, allowing Abalos to get off.
“We will end up with nothing. We also have strong evidence against Radam. So we thought that if there will be no evidence against Abalos, let it be. At least we will be able to send Radam to jail,” he added.
Brillantes said that despite their decision, the DOJ had filed a “motion to discharge” Radam with the Pasay City court.
“So it’s now up to the court. It’s now the court that will decide if the case should be discharged or not,” he added.
The Pasay City court, on the other hand, ruled Comelec has waived its right to present a vital witness in the bail hearing of Abalos.
Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 117 Judge Eugenio de la Cruz said the Comelec failed to present the witness despite earlier notice that the court would make a decision if the prosecution failed to present Radam to prove the case against Abalos.– With Perseus Echeminada