Ex-first couple faces non-bailable poll rap

CONJUGAL FATE Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and husband Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo face a possible case of electoral sabotage. INQUIRER PHOTO

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, may be detained without bail if the joint investigating panel of the Department of Justice and Commission on Elections (Comelec) finds probable cause that they masterminded the rigging of the 2007 senatorial polls in Maguindanao.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Tuesday echoed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s declaration that the “direct knowledge” and “first-hand account” of former Maguindanao Administrator Norie Unas, the latest government witness on the 2007 election irregularities, would be a strong piece of testimony against the Arroyos.

The former first couple are facing a possible case of electoral sabotage, a heinous crime that is nonbailable and punishable by life imprisonment.

“There can be no other case. If you look at the magnitude of the votes involved, it is definitely tantamount to electoral sabotage,” Brillantes told reporters in an interview.

Both Brillantes and De Lima, who were election lawyers of opposition candidates in 2007, earlier said they would not take part in the final decision that the joint panel might reach on the cases against the Arroyos.

Unas, a former senior aide of Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., submitted an affidavit on Monday to the joint panel claiming that shortly before the 2007 elections, he heard Arroyo ordering his boss to ensure a 12-0 sweep of administration candidates in the province and to commit fraud if necessary.

He said he later accompanied Ampatuan to Mike Arroyo’s office, where the two men allegedly discussed the cheating operations that would be undertaken.

New witness to back Unas

A new witness is to appear before the Senate to bolster Unas’ claim that the Arroyos were directly involved in the manipulation of election results in Maguindanao in 2007, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Tuesday.

According to Lacson, the witness was directly in contact with Malacañang while he and his fellow “election operators” were preparing fake election returns (ERs).

“He was part of the ‘special ops’ of Ampatuan,” the senator told reporters. “His contact is from Malacañang in producing fake ERs.”

For some reason, the witness has chosen to show up before the Senate committee on electoral reforms, and not the joint panel of the justice department and the Comelec.

“He wants it here [in the Senate]. Witnesses have their own preferences,” Lacson said, adding that the account of the new witness would corroborate Unas’ sworn statement.

“It will be detailed, including how they maneuvered the votes against opposition candidates, where they got the fake ERs, where they were transported,” the senator said.

He said the new witness had worked with Unas and would “detail how the fake ERs coming from the Comelec were transported to Bukidnon and later to Maguindanao.”

Electoral sabotage

Brillantes said the possible charge of electoral sabotage against Arroyo and her husband would also be boosted by the admission of 15 election officers in Maguindanao that there were irregularities in their respective areas.

He noted that there were at least 20,000 votes in every town in the province.

Republic Act No. 9369, or the Automated Election Systems Act of 2007, states that electoral sabotage is committed when a person tampers with votes involving a national office, when the tampering is done on an election document involving at least 5,000 votes, or when the total tampered votes exceed 10,000.

Brillantes also said Comelec lawyers were convincing the detained former Maguindanao Election Supervisor Lintang Bedol to provide more information on the alleged rigging of the 2007 polls.

“We are asking him to submit a supplemental affidavit since we believe he knows more than what he already stated,” Brillantes said.

Bedol had earlier claimed that municipal election officers were getting instructions from Unas during the 2007 polls. But Unas denied this, saying the poll officers had reported directly to Bedol, who was their superior.

Brillantes said Unas’ claim that Bedol had a direct hand in the ground operations was logical because the latter was the supervisor of the Comelec personnel.

Bedol is detained at the Philippine National Police’s custodial center in Camp Crame, where he is serving a six-month jail term meted on him by the Comelec for indirect contempt. He surrendered to authorities in July.

‘Strong’ evidence

In Malacañang, President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said it was up to the justice department to evaluate Unas’ testimony but expressed belief that the evidence against Arroyo was “very strong.”

“Mr. Unas is the first person to identify and testify and to have personal knowledge that then President Arroyo ordered a 12-0 [sweep] in the 2007 elections. That will have to be appreciated or evaluated by the Department of Justice,” Lacierda said at Tuesday’s news briefing.

“This is personal knowledge. Under the rules of evidence, personal knowledge is very strong evidence,” he said.

Lacierda took exception to the statement made by Arroyo’s legal spokesperson, lawyer Raul Lambino, that Unas could not be considered a credible witness.

“Perhaps Attorney Lambino needs to answer [the question] ‘Where were you when Mr. Unas heard the statement of [then] President Arroyo giving those orders to [then] Governor Andal Ampatuan’ instead of saying that he’s not credible because he was [part] of poll fraud,” Lacierda said.

He also said a number of the witnesses to the alleged poll fraud in 2004 and 2007 were Comelec officials.

“There was fear and apprehension at that time to come out,” Lacierda said. But now, he said, “they decided to come out and reveal what they know about those elections.” With reports from Christian V. Esguerra and Norman Bordadora