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A prominent election lawyer on Monday challenged the Genuine Opposition (GO) to file the appropriate charges before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) instead of just playing up in the media their allegations of widespread cheating in two provinces in Mindanao

This, said Team Unity chief legal counsel Romulo Macalintal, will give the affected election officers the opportunity and proper venue to defend themselves against such charges.

Macalintal said that if GO really has evidence to back its claims, it should take the appropriate action before the Comelec in connection with its allegations of electoral fraud in the provinces of Sulu and Maguindanao.

“They (GO) can file that petition if they want to. No one is barred from doing that. The problem here is proving their allegations. It is very easy to file a petition but the hard part is proving them (the charges),” he said.

GO senatorial candidate Panfilo Lacson had bared plans on separate occasions to file charges of election sabotage against poll officials in Sulu and Maguindanao for their alleged connivance with certain local politicians in rigging the elections in these two provinces.

Macalintal chided the GO’s tactic of bringing their cases before the media first in lieu of the Comelec convened as the National Board of Canvassers, where these charges could be properly discussed and all sides heard.

“The problem with the opposition is that they keep on bringing their case before the media where they (accused election officers) could not seek remedy from their petitions,” Macalintal said.

He said it would be very unjust for those election officers being accused of rigging the elections if they are not given a chance to give their side of the story.

“It would be very unfair for these election officers who are being accused of irregularities if they are not allowed to defend themselves. These issues should be settled before the proper forum and not before the media,” he said.
“If there would be an investigation, we would welcome such an investigation and we will join them,” Macalintal added.

Earlier, Macalintal hit the opposition for seeking the declaration of a failure of elections in Maguindanao on the mere basis of electoral fraud as alleged by one accuser, a certain Faizal Kalantungan, whose identity has yet to be established and whose story has yet to be confirmed or validated.

“It would not be fair for the voters of Maguindanao if their votes would be disenfranchised on account of a story by only one teacher,” he said.

Macalintal also blasted GO’s skewed evaluation of poll outcomes in specific provinces, assessing the balloting to be clean in areas where they were leading and saying these were rigged in areas where TU bets were leading.
“These gripes are no different from the sourgraping of a traditional politician who could not accept defeat,” he said.