Poll rigging probes take a heavy toll

Investigations into cheating allegations in two national elections in the space of three years—the 2004 presidential polls and the 2007 congressional and senatorial  elections—have taken a heavy toll on the integrity of the Philippine electoral system.

The first case, in which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was accused of rigging the results through interventions (in the Commission of Elections) in the tally of the poll returns (in the so-called Garci tapes scandal), severely undermined the legitimacy of her second government. That scandal rocked her administration for most of her second term, from 2004 to 2010.

The second episode, in the 2007 senatorial polls, claimed for its casualty Juan Miguel Zubiri, who resigned his Senate seat in the wake of allegations that he gained from the irregularities in the 2007 midterm elections. The 2007 poll results were probably less severely flawed than the results of the 2004 elections, but the polls were so badly compromised by the allegations  that Zubiri was prompted to give up his post. In a privilege speech, Zubiri said he was resigning  “because of those unfounded accusations against me.” Zubiri is the first senator ever to resign over allegations of  poll fraud. Whether the resignation makes Zubiri a more honorable member of the Senate than some of his colleagues as far as having been elected in an honest election remains an open question.

Zubiri has insisted he never cheated and said would run again in the 2013 senatorial election “to seek a fresh mandate.” On July 14. 2007, the Commission on Elections proclaimed Zubiri the winner in the neck-and-neck race for the 12th spot in the senatorial elections over opposition candidate Aquilino Pimentel III. According to the Comelec tally, Zubiri got 11,004,000 votes and Pimentel 10,984,807, or a margin of 19,292 votes. On July 30,  2007,  Pimentel filed a formal complaint with the Senate Electoral Tribunal challenging  Zubiri’s proclamation. Pimentel’s protest covered results in several precincts in Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte, Shariff Kabunsuan, Basilan, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Sur and Sulu. The SET is due to announce results of the recount of the votes shortly.

Zubiri ran on the ticket of the administration in the 2007 elections, in which then President Arroyo campaigned for a 12-0 result to keep control of the Senate for her beleaguered government whose legitimacy was challenged over the alleged rigging revealed by her telephone conversations with former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, in which she sought his intervention in the counting of results in Maguindanao. According to Zubiri, he decided to quit after former Maguindanao provincial poll supervisor Lintang Bedol surfaced more than two  weeks ago and claimed knowledge of supposed election manipulation in Maguindanao in 2007.

Intriguing is the fact that Bedol was  presented to the public by Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo after four years in hiding. Who hid him and for what reason is not clear.

In his  public appearance at the Commission on Elections, Bedol testified on alleged election irregularities and named Zubiri as one of those who benefited from the vote padding and shaving activities in Maguindanao in 2007. Bedol’s claims were affirmed by three other provincial election officials who claimed they were directly involved in tampering with the returns so that the Arroyo administration candidates would win over  the  opposition.

Zubiri said, “Before God and before man, I want to state that I did not cheat nor did I talk to anyone to cheat  on my behalf.”

Bedol’s accusations appeared to support similar accounts by suspended  Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Ampatuan was a political ally of  Arroyo, who gave the Ampatuan family a free rein in running the province and closed its eyes to  the abuses of the private armies of the Ampatuans.

The brief of Zubiri is that he had nothing to do with the activities of the Ampatuans related to election rigging. But he said, “It’s a heavy accusation if made by two high officials of a  province, like Mr. Ampatuan and Mr. Bedol. That means they know what happened, and  I told myself that I don’t want the people to doubt my victory.  I don’t want that said by the people because our name is very important to my family. ”

The Aquino administration sought to dissociate itself from the  complications stemming from Zubiri’s political  relationship with the Arroyo administration. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima  appeared baffled by the  unexpected resignation of Zubiri. She merely said the resignation was a “pleasant surprise” and added that it could hasten the resolution  of Pimentel’s electoral protest.

However, De Lima is not entirely uninvolved. She used to serve as Pimentel’s lawyer in the protest.  She said, “Personally, I have yet to be convinced of the true motives behind this surprising developments. It’s in fact a pleasant surprise for the cause of truth and electoral justice.”

For those who are used to hear this type of  political double talk, her remarks amounted to nothing more than hollow platitudes.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda made his own contribution to official nonsense by  saying Malacañang respected Zubiri’s decision to quit. “It represents a way forward to healing  the wounds of the past,” he said.

The reopening of the  2004 “Hello, Garci”  scandal through the testimony of the Ampatuans on vote rigging means that the administration is not interested in putting closure to the 2004 election episode.