Arroyo lawyer calls for resignation of Comelec chief

MANILA, Philippines—By raising the possibility of jail time for the Arroyos, Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes has prejudged their pending poll fraud case and should resign, according to lawyer Inocencio Ferrer.

Ferrer, lawyer of Jose Miguel Arroyo, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s husband, said Brillantes’ statement to the media about the Arroyos’ alleged involvement in poll fraud, which was made before the filing of any case or a trial, showed the Comelec chief’s “bias, prejudgment, clear conflict of interest” as lawyer of the former president’s opponent in 2004.

“But more serious is the fact that other members of the collegial body known as Comelec have been pre-empted by Brillantes’ finding of Arroyos’ guilt with his telegraphed ruling, wish, desire or intention of sending the Arroyos to jail by Christmas 2011,” Ferrer said in a text message on Thursday.

“He should resign to protect the institution of Comelec,” he added.

Brillantes earlier said the investigation of massive poll fraud in 2004 and 2007 could be finished by December, raising the possibility that the Arroyos could end up behind bars by then if the probe panel  finds probable cause to charge them.

But according to Ferrer, Brillantes should know better than to make statements on the guilt of the Arroyos since the poll body is duty bound to hear cases involving election offenses.

“When Brillantes publicly announced that the Arroyos will spend Christmas in Jail… Brillantes placed the integrity of the institution of Comelec under a cloud of doubt—that Comelec can be used as a tool versus former opponents in the past or previous election controversies involving the clients of Brillantes,” he said.

The Comelec chief should act on cases with the cold neutrality of an impartial judge, he said. But with his recent statements, Brillantes is disqualified from ruling on any case that could be brought against the Arroyos, he added.

“Brillantes must shield Comelec as an institution against political pressure even coming from PNoy (President Aquino), who appointed him,” he said.

Ferrer also noted that Brillantes used to lawyer for Arroyo’s opponent, Fernando Poe Jr., as well as the Ampatuans of Maguindanao, and should therefore have no role in any election-related complaint filed against the Arroyos.

He also said that Brillantes, in backing Norie Unas as poll fraud witness, had insulted the victory of Team Unity senators who won in 2007 on their individual merits.

The Comelec chief also insulted the families of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre by coddling Unas, who was allegedly implicated in the planning of the killings, according to Ferrer.