Abalos offer to turn state’s evidence a ploy–De Lima

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos’ ploy of offering himself up as a state witness against two former Mindanao election officials accused of poll fraud was apparently aimed at skirting his “possible indictment,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Sunday.

De Lima seemed unimpressed by Abalos’ manifestation asking the Pasay City Regional Trial Court to allow him to take the witness stand in connection with the election sabotage case the Comelec had filed against lawyers Lilian Radam and Yogi Martirizar.

Radam and Martirizar served as provincial election supervisors of North and South Cotabato, respectively, during the 2007 midterm elections.

The two surfaced at the Department of Justice (DOJ) a few weeks ago and claimed that Abalos had personally directed them to ensure the victory of the 12 pro-Arroyo administration candidates in the 2007 senatorial elections.

“With the right environment now for truth and accountability… it’s back to square one for the cases involving Radam and Martirizar,” De Lima said in a text message, noting that new witnesses had come out to disclose their participation in alleged poll anomalies.

“Abalos cannot just try to go around it and escape possible indictment by offering himself as a ‘witness’ versus Radam and Martirizar,” she said, adding: “It’s actually a battle of credibility.”

De Lima said she would let the joint DOJ-Comelec fact-finding team and preliminary investigation committee determine who should be charged and admitted as state witnesses in the investigation of the 2004 and 2007 election irregularities.

“What is clear is that the ongoing joint investigation throws wide open the allegations, both old and new, regarding poll fraud in the 2004 and 2007 national elections,” De Lima said.

Last week, De Lima said another “major” witness would surface in the next few days to spill the beans on the operators of the alleged election cheating.

She said the witness had already approached Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes to inform him of the supposed election anomalies.

“The witness has already prepared an affidavit. He (Brillantes) said he will inform when the witness would come out,” she said.

De Lima said a “corroborative” witness would also come out to give additional information on the purported rigging of election results.

De Lima met with the members of the joint DOJ-Comelec fact-finding panel to check on developments in their evaluation of the testimonies of witnesses who had come out and submitted their sworn affidavits.

“Once the preliminary investigation starts, then we may start sending subpoenas to those (accused) by the witnesses behind the poll irregularities,” she said.

According to De Lima, the panel members would fly to Maguindanao this week to meet with 12 Comelec officials in the province and take their testimonies.

At least 11 individuals, including Maguindanao massacre suspect Zaldy Ampatuan and three former senior Comelec officials, had already submitted sworn affidavits on the alleged election irregularities to the DOJ-Comelec panel.