Please refer to Gerry de Belen, 0917-5811028

LACSON: MAKE COMELEC OFFICIALS, BETS IN CHEATING FIRST TO BE CHARGED WITH ELECTORAL SABOTAGE

Operators, election officials and candidates involved in cheating operations in the May 14 election deserve the distinction of being the first to be charged with the relatively new crime of electoral sabotage – and the higher their rank, the better.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson stressed this Wednesday as he said it is high time the cheating culture in the Philippines be finally stopped.

“I would love to see a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official and a candidate, winner or loser, do the rest of their lifetime in jail, the higher, the better. The cheating culture in our country must stop,” Lacson said.

Lacson himself appeared to be a victim of such cheating in Zamboanga del Sur, where he placed fourth or fifth in the tally of the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel). At the time, Namfrel had tallied 46.08 percent of the votes, and Lacson got 60,812 votes.

But after a long delay, the final provincial canvass figures showed Lacson got 80,880 votes, ranking only 15th and overtaken by the Team Unity “tailender” candidates.

Sec. 42 of Republic Act 9369, the new election law, defines electoral sabotage as a special election offense that penalizes any person, election inspector or canvasser who tampers with the votes with life imprisonment.

The new provision of the law, which was passed only last January, also metes life imprisonment for any individual found to be in conspiracy or connivance with the members of the election inspectors or canvassers involved.

Lacson said he sympathizes with his fellow Genuine Opposition (GO) senatorial and local candidates whom he said look helpless in the face of “influential and scheming” political opponents.

Such influential opponents, he lamented, continue to refuse to accept defeat, in spite of clear rejection by their constituents.

He cited as examples the vice gubernatorial contest in Batangas, the mayoral contest in Biñan town in Laguna, and the controversial 12-0 vote in Maguindanao province, as well as the “special operations” in Davao City.

“These contests present themselves as good case studies. I urge all those concerned to apply the full force of the newly passed election law which detains without bail and penalizes with life imprisonment the cheaters and their beneficiaries,” he said.

o0o