Manila bet decries ballot blunder

A Manila congressional bet cried foul yesterday after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) failed to include her name in the list of candidates being mailed to individual voters.

Sandy Ocampo, a former lawmaker who is once again seeking to represent the capital’s sixth district in the House of Representatives, said her name has been mysteriously omitted in the Voter’s Information Sheet (VIS) and Sample Ballot.

Ocampo branded as "ill motivated" the Comelec’s failure to put her name in the list of congressional candidates in the district, which is composed of Pandacan, San Miguel, a portion of Sta. Ana, Sta. Mesa and Paco.

Ocampo is running against Councilor Lou Veloso of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) and Councilor Julio Logarta Jr. (independent) among others for the seat once held by Mark Jimenez.

When Ocampo confronted Comelec officials assigned in the district about the matter, she was told it was simply a "printing error."

Poll body officials explained the error was not immediately corrected after the Holy Week break because employees were "all tired coming from the beach."

"I find it absurd and flimsy for Comelec officials to just dismiss the issue as a printing error," Ocampo said. "How can they miss my name when I am the only one in the list of candidates who has actually served three consecutive terms in the past?"

She noted that Comelec officials offered to make amends by just stamping her name on 200,000 list forms set to be mailed to the individual voters.

Ocampo rejected the offer and demanded the immediate reprinting of the forms.

"I will not accept the mere stamping of my name. Time is of the essence and there is no way the material will be ready for distribution (which is set for today). Reprinting the forms will be a lot easier," Ocampo noted.

Later, Tess Ileto, a member of Ocampo’s staff, said Comelec officials assured them that another set of VIS forms with Ocampo’s name were ready for distribution today.

One Comelec employee said it was a plain and simple error, which was not meant to favor her political rivals. The employee added that Ocampo’s camp should take into consideration the heavy workload of Comelec officials and employees.

Nevertheless, Ocampo called on Comelec Commissioner Benjamin Abalos to ensure an honest, orderly and peaceful elections. She recalled the fraudulent conduct of the 2001 elections in which Jimenez defeated her father, Pablo Ocampo, by 500 votes.

Jimenez was disqualified and unseated a few months after his extradition in 2002 when the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal found him guilty of massive vote buying and for non-residency. He was extradited to the US for a series of criminal charges, including $3.5-million tax evasion, wire fraud and illegal campaign contribution to the 1996 election of former US President Bill Clinton. –With Nestor Etolle