Abalos wants poll fraud raps vs 2 ex-Comelec execs reinstated

MANILA, Philippines - Former election chairman Benjamin Abalos wants criminal charges of electoral sabotage reinstated against former election officers Lilian Radam and Yogi Martirizar.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, Abalos said he has a pending appeal before the Court of Appeals (CA) to reverse the lower court decision dismissing the criminal complaint against them.

“Somebody must be held accountable for the tampering of election results to give justice to the electoral system in the country,” he said.

He has asked Commission on Elections (Comelec) prosecutors to join him in his appeal to reinstate the charges against the two, he added.

However, Abalos said he will not pursue counter charges against them.

He only wants justice to be served in the alleged cheating during the midterm election, he added.

Judge Eugenio de la Cruz of Pasay City Regional Trial Court branch 117 has acquitted Abalos of 11 counts of electoral sabotage, while Judge Jesus Mupas of branch 112 acquitted him of two counts of electoral offense. 

The case remains active in the two Pasay City courts despite his acquittal, Abalos said.

Radam and Martirizar had admitted before a joint panel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Comelec that they tampered election results in favor of senatorial candidates of the pro-administration Team Unity party during the Arroyo administration.

They have been admitted into government’s witness protection program (WPP) after they turned state witness on 13 counts of electoral sabotage charges against Abalos.

Martirizar and Radam were former election officers in Cotabato and South Cotabato, respectively.

They were the subject of a Comelec investigation when Abalos was chairman after discrepancies were discovered in the votes for senatorial candidates in the two provinces during the May 2007 election.

They surfaced in October 2010 after going into hiding to implicate Abalos.