Comelec violated own rules in vote vs Arroyo – lawyer

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) violated its own rules when it approved the filing of an electoral sabotage case against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her husband’s lawyer said Monday. Ferdinand Topacio, counsel for former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo, said the poll body committed the violation when it allowed Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. to participate in the voting on Mrs. Arroyo’s case. Brillantes, who once served as lawyer for complainant Sen. Aquilino “Koko" Pimentel III, should have inhibited from the voting in accordance with Section 1, Rule 4 of the Comelec rules of procedure, Topacio said. “It was unacceptable for him to sit in judgment of a case wherein he had represented the complainant. Aside from ethical and legal reasons, this violates the due process clause of the Constitution," Topacio said in a statement.

Section 1, Rule 4 of the Comelec rules of procedure states that “no member shall sit in any case… in which he has publicly expressed prejudgment as may be shown by convincing proof." Topacio said the poll body “disregarded" its own rules in its effort to “rush" the promulgation of the resolution recommending the filing of the case against Mrs. Arroyo, now a congresswoman representing the second district of Pampanga. “All fundamental rules of ethics, delicadeza and due process as guaranteed by the Constitution have been disregarded. This makes the said resolution vulnerable to a constitutional and legal challenge," he said. In a 5-2 vote last Friday, the Comelec decided to file an electoral sabotage case against Mrs. Arroyo based on the findings of a Comelec-Department of Justice (DOJ) joint panel that she supposedly ordered the rigging of the 2007 polls to favor administration candidates during her incumbency. Mrs. Arroyo is currently under police custody at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City due to her bone mineral disorder and hypoparathyroidism. - Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News