By Wendell Vigilia
Former presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor today accepted defeat in the senatorial race.
“I concede to ease the tension … and to dismiss any notion that there may be illegal acts committed to attain my victory,” he said in a press conference with his wife July Rose and four children.
Defensor is at No. 15 based on the latest results of the national canvassing by the Commission on Elections.
A call for a clean, honest, quick, and transparent counting of the votes
We, the senatorial candidates of the Genuine Opposition, strongly denounce the numerous cases of actual and attempted eelctoral fraud,cheating, manipulation, and sabotage in relation to the senatorial elections and the ongoing counting of votes.
In particular, we vehemently object to the inclusion of the very questionable “election results” from Maguindanao in the national canvass in view of reports that these “results” were fabricated and that no actual election ccurred there. We also condemn the actual and attempted cases of vote-shaving/vote padding (dagdag-bawas) that have been carried out agfainst us and that are being medrely dismissed as “an honest mistake” or “a clerical error” without any thorough investigation.
Click here for DZMM interview with Sarmiento.
Inquirer update: I will not resign as commissioner – Sarmiento
The “Look of the Year” award should go to Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento when he was confronted by ABS-CBN News Channel correspondent Ricky Carandang with the video he got of election returns being transported to Maria Cristina Hotel in Iligan City last Monday.
That “look” was captured vividly on TV and seen here and abroad.
It was nakakahiya. A Comelec official caught covering up for something that his people were trying to hide.
A sense of humor is the Filipino’s best coping mechanism. And that’s sharpened in times of crisis.
Lawyer Edwin Lacierda sent us the euphemisms and terms he learned during the 2007 elections which he didn’t learn in law school:
1. Clerical error. Getting caught cheating and explaining it away;
Comelec has declared the special elections generally peaceful and successful. Here’s Inquirer’s report: The watchdogs were no match for the cheaters and the just-ended elections…
Narinig ko noong Linggo si Miguel Zubiri, senatorial candiate sa Team Unity na nagre-reklamo bakit raw kung ang TU ang lamang ay sinasabi ng GO nandaya sila samantalang sila raw hindi nagre-reklamo kung lamang ang GO.
Noong Sabado kasi, nagulantang ang lahat nang nakapasok si Zubiri sa Magic 12 sa unang pagkakataon. Si Koko Pimentel ang nawala na napunta sa number 14. Si Ralph Recto ang umakyat sa number 13.
Nangyari yun dahil pumasok ang mga boto galing sa Cebu. Ngunit kahapon, bumalik na si Koko Pimentel sa Magic 12 dahil pumasok na rin ang mga boto galing sa Quezon City.
ABS-CBN correspondents Ricky Carandang and Noel Alamar recorded on camera a deplorable act by a Comelec official: taking custody of blank election returns and bringing them to his hotel.
The Comelec official, identified on TV as Jubil Surmieda of the Comelec’s legal department and Reanult “Boy” Macarambon, who was mentioned in the Hello Garci tapes scandal in 2004.
Confronted with the evidence (a video-tape of the transport of the ERs to the hotel), Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento can only say, “I stake my name on it.”
What’s the value of Sarmiento’s name now?
The public drama involving businessman Mark Jimenez and wife Carol brings me back to my interview with the controversial former adviser of President Estrada in 1999 when I did an article about him for I-Magazine of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
It was a weird interview, one that I can say was the most unforgettable in my many years in journalism.
The interview was arranged by his sister. She instructed me to just “tell the butler” about the arranged interview once I got to No. 6 Intia St. in South Forbes (Imelda Marcos used to stay there in 1992).
Related stories:
Inquirer: Go ready for poll rigging
Koko says he lost 230,000 votes to ‘barbers”
Jamby helps protect Trillanes votes in Lanao del Sur
Marawi went for GO and Kiram
Man-to man-guarding:Lomibao left Marawi when Biazon arrived
Malacañang is hoping that more Team Unity senatorial candidates will make the winner’s circle after Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri took the No. 12 slot in the latest Commission on Elections count.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said they are hoping that re-electionist Sen. Ralph Recto, who is in the 13th slot, would still make it as the votes from the South start to pour in.
The anti-fraud group Kontra Daya today warned that the inclusion in the national canvassing of questionable votes from Maguindanao and other fraud tainted provinces will further incite protest actions against the Comelec.
Another protest action is set on Wednesday next week at the Philippine International Convention Center where the national canvassing is being held. Last week’s rally drew a mixed crowd of opposition figures, militant groups and concerned citizens. Organizers estimate the rally to have peaked at around 3,000.
“There is already clear evidence that the elections in Maguindanao were rigged. The uncounted election returns and the highly improbable zero turn out for the opposition are the surest signs of election irregularities in the area. In the face of this glaring proof, canvassing of these votes will only demolish the credibility of the elections,” said Kontra Daya convenor Fr. Joe Dizon.