Comelec folder scam suspect transferred to law section

Former Comelec law department chief Ferdinand Rafanan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Tuesday defended the transfer to the Comelec law department of an election official linked to the P690 million ballot secrecy folder anomaly in the 2010 national elections.

Brillantes said that he would confront on Wednesday former Comelec law department chief Ferdinand Rafanan for issuing “misleading” statements that he had been replaced by lawyer Allen Francis Abaya, the official linked to the anomaly.

“It’s irritating. He’s saying that Abaya replaced him. That’s not true,” Brillantes said in an interview. “I don’t know what he wants. I will face him in the en banc,” he added.

Brillantes said the official currently in charge of the Comelec law department was Commissioner Rene Sarmiento.

He said that Abaya actually replaced Comelec law department deputy chief Josslyn De Mesa, who was also reassigned from the law department because, according to Brillantes, Rafanan asked for it because he was not getting along with De Mesa.

He said Rafanan and De Mesa were “fighting” and this was affecting the whole law department.

“It’s there in the [en abnc] resolution. [Abaya] replaced the deputy. De Mesa was Rafanan’s enemy. He wanted her out of the law department so we took her out of there,” Brillantes said.

Rafanan was reassigned to the Department of Justice-Comelec special committee investigating the alleged fraud during the 2004 and 2007 elections.

“I will ask [Rafanan] about what he’s saying. If he does not want it, then we’ll remove him from the special committee. We will assign them to another place,” Brillantes said.

“But he shouldn’t mislead and say that this was the motive for his assignment to the special committee. The motive there was for the law department to quiet down,” he said.

Brillantes said Sarmiento, not Abaya, would now be running the department and would be making the major decisions.

He said Abaya was charged administratively at the Office of the Ombudsman for the folder scam and the case was still pending. Brillantes added that Abaya had been suspended for six months.

“We will wait for the resolution. If [the Ombudsman rules that] he should be removed, then we will remove him. There’s no problem,” Brillantes said.

He added that these assignments were “temporary” and would only last for three months.

“Abaya is acceptable to the lawyers of the law department. They know him because he came from there. We asked around. We don’t have a reshuffle without any basis,” Brillantes said.