INQUIRER.net Eleksyon 2007

Pimentel hails Comelec decision on Sumalipao

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

MANILA, Philippines—Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Thursday hailed the decision of the Commission on Elections to bar Comelec regional director Ray Sumalipao from taking charge of the Aug. 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

In a statement, Pimentel said that Comelec Chair Jose Melo’s decision was “correct and timely” and urged Melo to consider firing other Comelec officials allegedly involved in poll cheating.

Pimentel said Melo’s actions were in stark contrast to the moves of resigned Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., who he said not only ignored petitions by concerned citizens to rid the Comelec of cheats but even promoted the targets of criticisms to higher posts “as if it were a state policy to reward election mischief carried out in the name of the political survival of President Arroyo and her administration.”

“I hope that the relief of Sumalipao signals the start of a no-nonsense move to rid the Comelec of cheaters and scalawags, pursue much needed electoral reforms and restore credibility and public trust in the electoral process,” Pimentel said.

He said Sumalipao, whom he described as a “protégé” of former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, had yet to shake off the stigma of his participation in the alleged rigging of ARMM poll results during the 2004 presidential election and the 2007 senatorial polls.

Pimentel claimed Sumalipao had a hand in the supposed tampering of senatorial vote results in Maguindanao province, where votes for administration candidates were allegedly padded to give them an “incredible 70 percent to 90 percent of the votes and opposition bets credited with statistically impossible zero votes in some towns.”

Pimentel’s son, Koko, lost the 12th spot in the senatorial race to Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, supposedly due to the Maguindanao votes.

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