DZIQ: ‘I am not blackmailing Sen. Cayetano’ —Comelec chief

MANILA, Philippines—“I won’t attempt to bribe or even blackmail a senator of the republic.”

This was what Commission on Elections chief Sixto Brillantes told Radyo Inquirer Tuesday regarding Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim that the poll chief was “sending emissaries to him” to get the nod of the Commission on Appointments.

“I won’t blackmail him just for one vote,” Brillantes said in Filipino. “I won’t do that, in fact, I wanted to talk to him and explain my side because he’s been very vocal in objecting my appointment.”

Cayetano has accused Brillantes, one the country’s leading election lawyers, of being an “election operator” who apparently wielded such a strong influence at the Comelec that he was able to get favorable rulings for his clients.

For the full interview, listen to Radyo Inquirer, DZIQ 990 AM.