Comelec to Erap: Show proof of ‘massive selling’ of CF cards

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday dared the camp of former President Joseph Estrada to show evidence to back its allegation of massive selling of compact flash (CF) cards used by precinct-count machines to read votes during the May 10 automated polls. The Estrada camp should present its basis for the “very serious allegations" it is hurling against the Comelec before the poll body starts any investigation, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez told reporters on Saturday. “These are very serious allegations na hindi pwede natin basta-basta lamang hahabulin nang walang basehan. Kailangan natin ng basehan para ating maimbestigahan (These are very serious allegations that we can’t just pursue without any basis. We need to have some basis for us to investigate)," he said. Jimenez said the Comelec will act on these accusations—which he dismissed only as speculations—only if the Estrada camp shows proof of the alleged offer by unidentified persons before the elections to sell pre-programmed CF cards that would be deployed to favor certain candidates. “Aaksyunan po natin ‘yan as soon as makita natin kung ano ‘yung nirereklamo. Hindi po tayo puwedeng umaksyon sa kuru-kuro lamang (We will act on that as soon as we find out what the complaint is all about. We can’t act on mere speculation)," he said. Estrada’s campaign manager, former ambassador Ernesto Maceda, said in a press conference on Saturday that people offering pre-programmed CF cards have approached their camp to help them win the elections. (See: Estrada camp hits ‘massive selling’ of CF cards to cheat in May polls)
Based on GMA News' partial, unofficial count, Estrada trails by some five million votes behind frontrunner Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in the presidential race. (See: Eleksyon 2010 Dashboard) Last Friday, independent presidential candidate Senator Jamby Madrigal likewise said that pre-programmed CF cards caused her to lose votes — even less votes than Vetellano Acosta, earlier disqualified by the Comelec but whose name was included on the ballot list. (See: 'Preprogrammed' compact flash cards got me fewer votes, Jamby says) Jimenez appealed to all candidates to show hard evidence first before coming up with allegations against the poll body. —JV, GMANews.TV