Abalos' co-accused admits signing fake documents in 2007 poll

MANILA, Philippines - A co-accused in the electoral sabotage case filed against former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos admitted yesterday that she was forced to sign and later submitted fake documents to the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) during the 2007 midterm election.

Lawyer Yogie Martirizar, former chairman of the North Cotabato board of canvassers, testified during the bail hearing of Abalos at the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) that three unidentified armed men barged into her office on May 20, 2007 and seized the certificate of votes and certificates of canvass and forced her to sign another set of election documents containing results of votes of senatorial candidates for North Cotabato.

She said the armed men poured alcohol on the original election documents but she was able to retrieve some, which she presented as evidence during the hearing yesterday.

She said in earlier testimony that a certain Col. Basiao and Comelec director Mike Abbas ordered her to segregate the results of the local elections from the national polls.

“One of the armed men pointed a gun at me and forced me to sign already filled up documents,” she said.

Martirizar said the alleged cheating in North Cotabato was carried out under the close supervision of Capt. Peter Reyes and the three unidentified armed men who were assigned to guard her.

She said the fake election documents were then placed inside a ballot box and she was instructed that the box would be submitted to the NBOC at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay.

Martirizar said one of the gunmen handed her a cell phone where a man claiming to be Comelec chairman Abalos ordered her to sign the documents.

She said she signed the documents, which showed that the senatorial candidates of the administration coalition Team Unity topped the elections in North Cotabato.

Abalos, who was allowed by RTC Judge Jesus Mupas to argue his case, vehemently objected to the testimony of Martirizar, saying that Capt. Reyes who is also an accused in the case has not been arrested and there were reports from Comelec that the name is fictitious.

“Capt. Reyes has not been arrested so we object to the testimony,” he said.

Abalos told Mupas that the bail hearing is already going beyond his petition for bail.

“We are going beyond my bail petition, this is already a full blown trial,” Abalos complained.

Abalos also insisted that Martirizar, who is now under the Witness Protection Program, is not qualified to become a state witness because she admitted to being responsible for tampering votes in North Cotabato to ensure the 12-0 victory of the administration’s Team Unity senatorial candidates.

He and his lawyers, former justice secretary Artemio Tuquero and Abraham Espejo, manifested their continuing objection to the testimony of Martirizar, who is also a co-accused in the case.

They cited the opposition to their motion to bail where Comelec lead prosecutor Esmeralda Ladra used the admission of Martirizar as their ground to oppose the bail of Abalos.

Abalos earlier testified that it was during his term that the cheating in North Cotabato was uncovered and an investigation was then initiated against Martirizar and Lilian Radam, former provincial election supervisor in South Cotabato.

He said it was the Comelec during his term that discovered the discrepancies in the results of the elections and when an investigation was initiated, Martirizar went into hiding.

Mupas, however, allowed the continuation of the testimony of Matirizar so that the court would be guided in resolving the motion for bail of Abalos and the motion of Martirizar to be discharged as a co-accused.– With Paolo Romero