Sotto asks JDV, former Iloilo rep to tell all on ’04 poll fraud

MANILA, Philippines—Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto III has asked former Speaker Jose de Venecia and former Iloilo City Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr. to also reveal what they know about the election fraud in 2004.

In a late morning press conference on Monday, Sotto said the two men were part of the National Board of Canvassers that examined the certificates of canvass (COCs) submitted by election officials throughout the country.

Sotto said he is making the appeal in line with the recent revelations of several police officers who admitted replacing genuine elections returns kept in the Batasan building with fake ones allegedly supplied by elections commission Roque Bello.

Sotto is already engaged in a word war with Sen. Francis Pangilinan who, he said, should not be making comments about the 2004 poll fraud since he merely replied “noted” to objections raised by the opposition about authenticity of the canvass.

Sotto said that aside from Pangilinan, who was chair of the canvassing board, he recalled De Venecia and Gonzalez also dismissing complaints from the opposition.

“They were either saying there was no evidence or that there was lack of evidence. But the evidence was right under their noses.  That’s why we were asking that they open even just one (election return) because we had information that (ERs were altered) in Pangasinan, Cebu, Autonomous Region in Mulsim  Mindanao and, in fact, even Iloilo,” Sotto told reporters.

Sotto said the opposition was tipped that in one barangay in Cebu for instance, “the voting population was 3,000 and the ER reflected 3,500 votes.”

“Why didn’t they examine the ERs? Eh, noted, eh,” Sotto said sarcastically.

“Siguro ang magandang panawagan sa kanila, kung anong nalalaman nila tungkol dito, mga alam nilang mga nangyari nung panahong yun, sino man ang nakausap nila, mas maganda come out na and tell us, “ Sotto added.