I MUST admit that I have close ties with Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, but none with Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri.
I have been monitoring closely the election protest and counter-protest between the two these past years. Not because of my friendship with Koko but because of my interest in Mindanao, having lived in Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro for a number of years. The closest I have been to the Zubiris was when I caught a glimpse of Bukidnon Gov. Jose Zubiri Jr. in 1986 when he visited our barrio in Bukidnon, campaigning for Ferdinand Marcos in the 1986 snap elections against Cory Aquino.
When I first heard allegations of massive electoral fraud in Maguindanao and Lanao, I gave Zubiri the benefit of the doubt. I was willing to believe that the cheating occurred without Zubiri’s knowledge or consent. Surely, he could not have orchestrated the fraud. After all, as a member of the Spice Boys in the House of Representatives, wasn’t he the face of the Philippines’ new politics? But that was then. Four years after the fraud, what does Zubiri know and what has he done?
After Zaldy Ampatuan’s recent confirmation of electoral fraud in Maguindanao in the 2007 elections, Zubiri has been quoted as saying, “If there was indeed cheating, I did not sanction it.”
But through the long years of Pimentel’s protest, it has been convincingly shown to the Senate Electoral Tribunal and to Zubiri that there was massive fraud in the elections in Maguindanao in 2007. Not only was there massive fraud, it benefited him with 195,923 votes against Pimentel’s 67,111 votes. It is now impossible for Zubiri to claim that he doesn’t know about the fraud. It is impossible for him to claim that he did not benefit from it. It is impossible for him to deny that he is now a sitting senator because of fraud.
And yet he clings to his Senate seat.
Zubiri knows that fraud occurred. He knows that he won because of the fraud. He knows that he is a senator because of that fraud. He may not have been a party to the fraud, yet he is perfectly willing to accept the fruits of the fraud.
What do honorable men do when they know that their victory was secured through fraud? They would refuse to accept the victory and instead acknowledge the real winner. Honorable men would refuse to taint their names with any hint of fraud. Honorable men would zealously guard the legacy their parents had bequeathed them. Honorable men would protect their family name.
Zubiri has often been addressed as the “Honorable Senator of Mindanao.” But he is not a senator. He is certainly not a senator voted by Mindanao. The only honorable thing for him to do is to resign and keep the honor in his name.
—BOMBIM CADIZ,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City