45 days after E-Day: Hocus-pocus in Maguindanao? Abalos, Bedol in trouble

The more it insists on counting the votes in Maguindanao province, the more the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is showing its slip in trying to stage a magic act there. Militant poll watchdog group Kontra-Daya made this claim Wednesday as it scored Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. and Maguindanao poll head Lintang Bedol for leading the act. “It is so obvious that the Comelec made a hocus-pocus in Maguindanao. Abalos, Lintang Bedol and other Comelec officials have no credibility at all to claim that what they have now are authentic election documents," Kontra-Daya spokesman Fr. Joe Dizon said in a statement Wednesday night. Even more brazen, he said, was that the Provincial Board of Canvassers tasked to authenticate the election documents is composed of Bedol’s men. All these, he said, are part of Abalos’ “shameless efforts" to put Team Unity senatorial candidate Miguel Zubiri in the 12th slot. Dizon also contested Abalos’ claim that witnesses and whistleblowers file their protests before the Comelec, saying they are already too scared to do so. “How can the witnesses of fraud testify against Bedol’s men? Their lives are already at risk. For them, going to Maguindanao is like committing suicide," he said. Dizon reiterated his group’s request to the Senate to investigate the unresolved “Hello Garci" scandal and the massive fraud in the recent mid-term elections. “Electoral reforms will prove futile unless an honest-to-goodness investigation on the Hello Garci tapes would have been conducted," he said. SC cautions Comelec on counting ‘tainted’ vote Also on Wednesday, Chief Justice Reynato Puno told the Comelec to give the Supreme Court "reasonable time" to resolve the petition of Genuine Opposition bet Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel before recanvassing votes in Maguindanao. In an ambush interview, Puno said the Comelec should heed the high court's cognizance of Pimentel's petition pending the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the Comelec's recanvass of Maguindanao votes. "We will cross the bridge when we reach it. But we are hoping that they would give the Supreme Court all the reasonable time to resolve the request for a temporary restraining order," Puno said. Pimentel, who is vying for the 12th slot in the senatorial race against administration bet Juan Miguel Zubiri, said the decision of the Comelec to continue with the counting would render moot any decisions that the Supreme Court might reach. The chief magistrate said he expects other justices to decide on the petition for TRO following this afternoon's oral arguments. "We will hear the oral arguments and thereafter we will decide whether or not we will issue the TRO or not... I would ask the members of the Court if after the hearing they are ready to resolve the prayer for the TRO," said Puno. For his part, senator-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said in an interview following an oath-taking before Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna that the special canvass being conducted by the Comelec might only eradicate the true mandate of the voting public. Last Tuesday, following an en banc session, the Supreme Court issued a resolution ordering the Comelec, Zubiri and the Office of the Solicitor General to file their comments not later than 12 noon Thursday to give the magistrates enough time to review their positions before the oral arguments. In deferring action on Pimentel's petition for TRO, the high court said that petitioner's suit "entails a determination of factual and legal matters," thus respondents Comelec and Zubiri, must also be heard before a TRO could be considered. "Accordingly, and considering the presumptive regularity of the Comelec's assailed actions and the processes emanating therefrom, it is only fair that the Court, before it considers the propriety of issuing a TRO, accords the Comelec an opportunity to be heard by way of a written comment," the Court ruled. The Court likewise directed the OSG to appear and participate during the oral arguments. Pimentel earlier asked the SC to restrain the Comelec from implementing its June 6 order to initiate proceedings for the declaration of failure of elections in Maguindanao or from using any documents from that province in any canvass or recanvass for senator. Petitioner also asked to compel the Comelec to declare the winner for the last slot in the senatorial race based on the results of the national canvass excluding the province Maguindanao. He also assailed the Comelec's June 15 and June 18 orders of the Comelec authorizing Task Force Maguindanao to meet with various municipal election officers to go on what he called a "fishing expedition" to look into the alleged accountable election documents in their possession and determine if these can be included in the canvass for senators. Without the canvassing of the Maguindanao votes, Pimentel would win over Zubiri by at least 120,000 votes. Zubiri, on the other hand, claimed that Pimentel's lead would be wiped out once the Maguindao votes are counted. Pimentel insisted that the Comelec cannot declare a failure of elections in Maguindanao considering that no single "interested party" has filed a verified petition for declaration of failure of elections in the said province. He said the poll body's June 6 order initiating proceedings for the declaration of failure of elections in Maguindanao is in violation of the Omnibus Election Code, which states that "the Commission shall, on the basis of a verified petition by any interested party and after due notice and hearing, call for the holding or continuation of the election not held, suspended or which resulted in a failure to elect." - GMANews.TV