Sen. Aquilino Pimentel 3rd on Monday challenged the Commission on Elections -Department of Justice (Comelec-DOJ) panel to file electoral sabotage charges against former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr.
Pimentel said that there are two or three persons who claimed that Abalos knew of the electoral fraud carried out in select provinces in Central Mindanao, specifically, Maguindanao.
“Show us that you are not selective on who will be charged and erase doubts that you are trying to protect someone,” Pimentel told officials of the poll body.
He said that Maguindanao election officer Lintang Bidol, election consultant Ahmad Mamucao and Bong Serrano said in their affidavits that Abalos had full knowledge of the shady operation.
In fact, Pimentel added, Abalos briefed the poll operators on what to do and told them to report to him directly.
Pimentel, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms, recalled that Mamucao was introduced to a certain Alex whom he claimed was the first cousin of former Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who resigned from his post last August amid allegations of poll fraud.
At a Senate hearing, Mamucao testified that after the meeting in 2007, former Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas gave him P17,000 and told him that they will haul some boxes from Bukidnon. He said that Unas told him to meet a certain Rudy and Alex.
Inside the Bukidnon warehouse, Unas said that he noticed a large tarpaulin campaign banner of Zubiri giving him the idea that he is in the Zubiri farm.
“The Comelec-DOJ panel should expand their investigation to determine what is the participation of Sen. Zubiri who claimed that he knew nothing about the operation,” Pimentel said.
“Removing bad eggs should be prioritized by Comelec Chairman [Sixto] Brillantes Jr. With this, they can show to the public that they are not just making ‘praise’ releases,” he added.
