ELECTIONS Commissioner Rene Sarmiento yesterday said the arrest warrant issued against former Maguindanao provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol five years ago remains in effect and any law enforcement agency can effect his arrest.
The arrest warrant was issued in October 2007 for an indirect contempt case filed by the en banc of the Commission on Elections in June that year.
He said those coddling Bedol may face charges of “obstruction of justice.”
Bedol appeared in a TV interview Wednesday, and affirmed claims of cheating in the 2007 senatorial elections made earlier by Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and a suspect in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre.
Bedol claimed former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo was the brains behind the manipulation that gave the then administration senatorial slate a 12-0 landslide win in the region.
He also implicated Sarmiento, former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalo, and former Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer in the alleged electoral cheating in Maguindanao.
Sarmiento belied Bedol’s claim that he was an “accessory” to the authentication of the Task Force (TF) Maguindanao of the alleged fake election returns in the province during the 2007 midterm polls.
Sarmiento said he could not understand why Bedol decided implicate him.
“Posibleng out of spite, may axe to grind, ako na lang ang naiwan na commissioner…kung titingnan ang resolution ng en banc against Bedol, ako na lang ang natitira,” he said.
Abalos denied Bedol’s claim he got a direct order from Arroyo to rig the election and ensure a 12-0 winning slate for the administration senatorial candidates.
Asked to categorically state whether he was asked by Arroyo to rig the elections, Abalos said, “Siguro naman out of respect na lang sa position wala talagang lumapit sa akin.”
On Bedol, he said, “What do you expect from someone who is fugitive from the law?”
He asked Bedol to “be honest to your self.”
Abalos said cheating takes place every election although he said the extent and degree of fraud or cheating varies. He, however, said this cannot be considered as so serious to gravely affect the integrity of elections. If there was cheating, it took place only at the precinct or the municipal levels, he said.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Ampatuan can be tapped as witness but only as far as cases related to the alleged irregularities in the 2007 polls, and not on the Maguindanao massacre where he is among primary suspects.
De Lima said the statements of Ampatuan and Bedol on the electoral cheating should be given attention considering the magnitude of the allegations.
“That’s the consistent contention of Koko Pimentel. They allegedly added votes to (Sen. Juan Miguel) Zubiri that were taken from other candidates including the President himself and Senators Ping Lacson and Alan Peter Cayetano. That’s definitely dagdag-bawas,” she said.
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