Bro. Eddie V wants Eddie G out of race

Evangelist and presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday to disqualify businessman Eddie Gil from the presidential race to minimize confusion among voters in the May elections.

Villanueva also urged the Comelec to drop Gil’s Isang Bansa, Isang Diwa party from the list of recognized political parties.

Villanueva’s lawyers, who filed the two petitions last Jan. 30, questioned the lack of progress in both cases. They filed another motion yesterday, this time asking the poll body to immediately resolve their two earlier petitions.

Lawyer Jordan Pizarras said the Comelec should have summoned Gil three days after the motions were filed.

"The Comelec acted so expediently on the case of (presidential candidate) Fernando Poe Jr. Why can’t they act on our cases the same way?" he asked.

Pizarras also told reporters that the Comelec should prove that it is able to conduct credible elections since according to a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations, 75 percent of Filipinos believe the Comelec cannot hold credible elections.

He said the Comelec should rule on their motions as soon as possible.

"If they deny the motions, then we can proceed to the Supreme Court," said Pizarras, who is also the official legal counsel of Villanueva’s Bangon Pilipinas Movement.

Villanueva’s lawyers had filed the motion for Gil’s disqualification based on two grounds.

"First, he does not have ample machinery to conduct a nationwide campaign," Pizarras said. "This was proven by the incident in Cagayan de Oro City, where he was held for issuing bouncing checks."

Pizarras, who said he considers Gil a nuisance candidate, added that the businessman’s candidacy was meant to confuse voters. He noted that Gil claimed during a radio interview that people can vote for him by writing the name "Bro. Eddie Gil" on the ballots.

Gil "would only mock the electoral process. The Comelec should not have taken his candidacy seriously," Pizarras said.

Villanueva and Gil both put the nickname "Eddie" on their respective certificates of candidacy.

Pizarras said the motion to de-recognize Gil’s party is based on a provision of the Omnibus Election Code that authorizes the poll body to delist a political party if it fails to garner at least 10 percent of total votes cast in an election.

"During the 2001 election, Gil ran for senator and got less than 50,000 votes, which is less than one percent of the more than 12 million votes cast," he said.

Comelec has allowed Gil’s presidential bid because he belongs to a recognized party, according to Pizarras, and "with the delisting of his party, Gil should be excluded from the list of official candidates."

‘Demolition job’

Pizarras also called for the relief of two Comelec lawyers who allegedly committed a "demolition job" against Villanueva. He identified the two lawyers’ surnames as Valesa and Corpus, both from the office of Comelec Commissioner Florentino Tuason.

Pizarras said the two lawyers deliberately violated election laws during a training seminar for absentee voters at the Department of Foreign Affairs two weeks ago.

"Trainees in the seminar told us they were taught to consider the entry ‘Eddie Villanueva’ as stray votes because it seemed to be a combination of the first name and last name of two presidential candidates," Pizarras said.

Pizarras explained that only the Board of Election Inspectors has the power to appreciate the ballots cast. "So Valesa and Corpus have arrogated unto themselves the power of election inspectors with what they did," he said.

Pizarras added that he considers the acts of the two Comelec lawyers as "highly anomalous and open to the charge of being partisan, malicious and intended solely to mislead the public."

He clarified that their primary interest is to have fair, honest and just elections; finding out the identity of the mastermind behind the alleged demolition job is secondary.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Who else can be behind this demolition job but those who put them in the position?" Pizarras said.

He said the entry "Eddie Villanueva" is clearly a vote for his client since "Eddie" is part of his nickname "Bro. Eddie," as stated in the certificate of candidacy.

Pizarras said a provision of the Omnibus Election Code states that election inspectors must give paramount consideration to the "expression of the people’s will" in appreciating the ballots.

"Unequivocally and categorically, Eddie Villanueva is a vote for Eduardo ‘Bro. Eddie’ Villanueva," he said.

Pizarras said Valesa and Corpus "must be immediately dealt with according to law, relieved from their duties and be charged administratively."

He also urged election inspectors to clarify the issue as soon as possible to prevent confusion and the waste of votes during the May elections.

Meanwhile, Villanueva vowed to be the "unifying force" for the country. He cited that his solo flight — he has neither a vice presidential running mate nor senatorial candidates — means that he is not an enemy of anyone who may be elected for a lower position.

Villanueva said that his allies are "good forces," comprising most of the population who have longed for change. He also pointed out that he has not been directly involved in political factions that have locked horns during the run-up to the May elections.

Villanueva, a student activist-turned-evangelist, expressed confidence that he will put up a good fight against the "formidable machineries" of other presidential candidates.

"Bangon Pilipinas possesses a formidable machinery of its own... composed of millions of volunteers who have a passionate love for the country and a deep hunger for change," he said.

Villanueva also vowed to "break corruption" once he is elected, since his campaign machinery, "devoted as it is to national transformation and recovery," will be with him throughout his entire presidency.

He plans to address the ballooning budget deficit and the low revenue collection through "the serious restoration of morality and righteousness in government."

Villanueva also said he will professionalize the police and the military; re-engineer the judiciary to ensure that laws are enforced fairly; and impose "absolute transparency" in all government transactions to eliminate corruption.