GMA LAWYER: AMPATUAN, BEDOL NOT CREDIBLE / BEDOL NOW IN DILG CUSTODY
PHOTO COURTESY OF PINOY-AKO ONLINE - GMA, BEDOL, AMPATUAN]
MANILA, JULY 19, 2011 (STAR) By Paolo Romero - A lawyer of former President, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo questioned yesterday the credibility of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol.
The two have offered to testify about fraud in the 2004 and 2007 elections, during Arroyo's watch. Arroyo's legal spokesman Raul Lambino said powerful forces were manipulating them.
Lambino said the disclosures of Ampatuan, one of the principal defendants in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, and Bedol are part of the Aquino administration's efforts at "mind conditioning."
"What is the integrity and character of these two (Ampatuan and Bedol)? It's very clear that they want to be saved from the serious criminal charges they are facing," Lambino said.
He claimed prosecutors and judicial officers are affected by a barrage in the media against Arroyo and cannot act objectively as the public has accepted the administration's line.
Lambino said the claims of Ampatuan and Bedol were made through unsigned affidavits that were provided to the media.
The two had given interviews to television networks.
Lambino said Bedol was reportedly transported in a private plane from his hiding place even as the Commission on Elections – which has an arrest order for the former election official - could not locate him.
Lambino described the claims of Ampatuan and as hearsay.
"Who prepared the affidavits for them?" he said. "This is a well-funded, well-organized, well-orchestrated publicity against the former president."
He cited reports quoting Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo as saying that Bedol may surface today.
"This shows Robredo may know more than he's letting on," he said.
Lambino said the administration should not go after its foes using "trial by publicity" or "impeachment by publicity."
Aside from being accused of electoral fraud, Arroyo is facing two plunder complaints for allegedly misusing P325 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and for the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
Meanwhile, San Juan City Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito urged the Bureau of Immigration to issue a hold departure order against Arroyo in the event the non-bailable offense of plunder is filed wirh the Sandiganbayan.
He said it is imperative for the concerned authorities to "seriously watch over the moves of Mrs. Arroyo," who returned to the country from Europe last Saturday with her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, a lawyer, however, said Arroyo is not a flight risk.
"I think an accused has no choice but to face the charges, as there are adverse consequences to not doing so. A hold departure order is probably not needed at this stage of the proceedings as it seems the risk of flight by the accused seems quite low," Angara said.
House Deputy Minority Leader and Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, a former justice secretary, also said there is no basis for a hold departure order against Arroyo.
Datumanong said the charges hurled against Arroyo are baseless.
'Bedol now in DILG custody' By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated July 19, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - After years of hiding, former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol is now in the custody of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission on Elections (Comelec) insiders said yesterday.
The sources, who asked not to be named, revealed that the DILG had taken custody of Bedol, who is facing six months in jail for direct contempt slapped by the Comelec for his failure to submit the election documents from Maguindanao in the 2007 midterm polls.
The sources, however, could not tell if Bedol surrendered or was arrested.
Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes confirmed that Bedol was already in the custody of a "government official" whose "credibility is high." He declined to say if it was Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo who was holding Bedol.
In a press briefing yesterday, Brillantes noted the "government official" phoned him at around 8 a.m. to inform him that Bedol was to be brought to the Comelec sometime yesterday afternoon.
But for security reasons, Bedol would be brought to the Comelec today instead.
"He is supposed to be brought here to the Comelec. He is around and I think he will be brought here for purposes of compliance to our own warrant of arrest," Brillantes added.
According to Brillantes, they intend to secure Bedol's sworn affidavits confirming earlier pronouncements of massive cheating in the 2004 and 2007 polls.
"I know for a fact that he is already in custody but I'm not in a position to state as yet. We will be able to talk to him once they bring him here. We want to hear what he has to say," he said.
In 2007, the Comelec issued a warrant for the arrest of Bedol. He was supposed to serve six months in jail and to pay a fine of P1,000.
Last Friday, the Comelec issued an "alias warrant of arrest" to replace the 2007 warrant that had already expired.
Brillantes said the new warrant had already been circulated to law enforcement agencies.
The warrant indicated that Bedol may be jailed in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig or in any other detention facilities determined by the Comelec.
"He has to be turned over to us because we are the ones that issued that warrant. That's the only warrant issued against him," he added.
When it gets hold of Bedol, the Comelec will try to get his affidavit concerning his earlier pronouncement of massive election cheating.
Brillantes maintained that Bedol's role in electoral fraud in 2004 is not yet clear to the Comelec.
In the 2007 elections, Bedol was supposed to be in custody of the election returns, certificates of canvass and statements of votes from Maguindanao but he failed to submit them to the Comelec. He claimed the documents were stolen.
But according to Brillantes, Bedol's credibility somehow diminished when he falsely accused Comelec commissioner Rene Sarmiento of involvement in cheating in the 2007 polls.
Bedol said in a television interview that Sarmiento went to General Santos City with former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos and retired commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer to authenticate as genuine fake election documents used in Maguindanao.
But Brillantes and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who were both lawyers of the opposition then, had belied Bedol's allegation against Sarmiento, saying that the latter did not go to General Santos.
"As far as I'm concerned, he said something that I am sure was wrong. It was not true so his credibility had actually lessened a little. I know he knows so much because he was there in Maguindanao. He should know what happened. But I want to listen to him first," Brillantes said.
Brillantes said the Comelec may create a "panel or committee" to validate Bedol's allegations.
"When he comes here, we'd like to talk to him. We'd like to ask if he already executed documents, affidavits, sworn statement regarding his pronouncement to the media. But his confinement will be for the fact that he was in contempt of this commission and he has to serve his sentence of six months (imprisonment)," he added.
No sanctuary
Meanwhile, Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) co-chair Sister Mary John Mananzan yesterday said they will not give sanctuary to Bedol.
"Sorry but we do not grant the requests of all the people who come to us. First of all, we have to interview them. We (need to) see their integrity, what is their concern for the country because we could not give sanctuary to all of them," Mananzan said in an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas. The AMRSP had provided sanctuary to countless activists and whistleblowers.
At the height of the $329-million national broadband network-ZTE scandal, the AMRSP provided sanctuary to Rodolfo Lozada Jr.
"The Department of Justice (DOJ) is capable of giving them protection. So, on our part, we are very selective as to whom we would give sanctuary. The people we help are those with integrity and we do not want to be dragged into politics," she added. With Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe
Palace asks Arroyo to face charges By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated July 17, 2011 12:00 AM
Manila, Philippines - Malacañang said yesterday that former President, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should face the charges against her now that she is back in the country.
In an interview with dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said they received reports that members of the media waited for Arroyo to give a statement upon her arrival at the airport.
"We respect (her silence) at the moment why she's not giving any statement. But like what (Arroyo ally and Zambales) Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said, she (Arroyo) should answer all the allegations being thrown against her," Valte said.
She said the ultimate objective of the administration is to obtain justice for the allegations of corruption and electoral fraud against Arroyo. She is also linked to the misuse of funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol has alleged that massive fraud was committed in the 2004 general elections in Maguindanao and that Arroyo was the principal beneficiary. Valte said "moving on" should not mean forgetting about past misdeeds in the government.
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