by magnolia_eic | Jul 29, 2011 | Headlines, National News
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will jointly investigate the alleged fraud in the 2004 and 2007 elections. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. agreed on a joint investigation during a closed-door meeting wherein they also started mapping out the mechanics of the probe.
“What we have right now is an agreement in principle between Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to hold a joint investigation. Maybe in the next few days, they will thresh out the rules of engagement,” said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez. He said the entry of the DOJ should allay suspicion of whitewash by the Comelec. Jimenez added that Sec. de Lima would create a special DOJ task force or team for this purpose.
The DOJ has already started building its case based on allegations of poll fraud raised by former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol. (COMELEC)
by magnolia_eic | May 25, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
AN alleged victim of vote-shaving in the May 10 automated elections, administration standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro Jr. has called for an investigation into allegations of fraud by an unidentified witness.
Teodoro, fourth in the ongoing tally of the presidential race, said he wanted a deeper inquiry into the claims of the masked witness in the interest of truth and to remove taints on the credibility of the country’s first automated elections.
“In the interest, therefore, of transparency which is a standard that we cherish in governance, I request all concerned to take the necessary steps in order to determine the truth of the allegations made by the whistleblower because if proven correct, they seriously affect the integrity of the election. If, on the contrary, there is no closure to this controversy, there will always be a lingering doubt on the outcome of the election,” Teodoro said in a statement Friday.
Teodoro has conceded to front-runner Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
The witness, described by Makati Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr., as a “koala bear,” said the votes of Teodoro, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino’s Joseph Estrada and Bangon Pilipinas’ Eddie Villanueva were shaved to benefit dilaw, or yellow, Aquino’s campaign color.
by magnolia_eic | May 20, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
THE House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms would meet anytime this week to conduct probes on allegations of poll irregularity, reports confirmed.
Speaking for Speaker Prospero Nograles, Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr. invited committee members to investigate and clarify the alleged anomalies of the May 10 automated polls, same quoted reports bared.
The move also earned the support of election watch-dogs who gathered reports of irregularities and anomalies.
Locsin added that the committee would hold its sessions and would not take a break until June 30.
Meanwhile, many people have agreed that the recent automated elections went generally well and eliminated the processes where possible electoral fraud could be done. (PIA-Bohol)
