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CONTROVERSIAL Maguindanao elections supervisor Lintang
Bedol was found guilty of indirect contempt and was
meted out up to six months imprisonment and a fine of
P1,000 by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on
Tuesday.
But the
Akbayan party-list group branded the sentence
“insulting” as it accused Comelec officials of treating
Bedol with “velvet gloves.”
The
Comelec en banc issued a 21-page resolution that found
Bedol guilty of contempt because of his failure to
attend the hearings on the allegedly fraudulent
elections in Maguindanao.
Elections Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, who heads Task
Force Maguindanao, said that besides the indirect
contempt case, Bedol is also facing administrative
charges for allegedly violating the Civil Service Code
and a criminal case for infidelity in the custody of
accountable documents.
However,
party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan criticized
the Comelec decision, saying, “For an extraordinary
swindler whose fraudulent acts during the 2004 and 2007
elections have been committed with impunity, the
sentence is grossly insufficient and insulting.”
Hontiveros added, “The Comelec is clearly treating Bedol
with velvet gloves, proving once again that the
commission is coddling election saboteurs.”
The poll
body turned over Bedol to the custody of the Manila City
Jail on Tuesday right after the sentencing. He could be
released on a P15,000 bail.
Bedol
failed to attend the scheduled canvassing of the
provincial certificates of canvass (COC) of Maguindanao
on May 22, failed to attend the reset schedule of
canvassing on May 30, and again failed to attend the
continuation of the hearing of Task Force Maguindanao on
June 14 despite due notice.
The
Comelec en banc also found Bedol guilty of unlawfully
taking custody of the municipal COCs and other
accountable election documents of all Maguindanao towns
that should have been delivered to the Comelec head
office in Intramuros, Manila.
Bedol
was held in another count of contempt as he was seen in
the media “flaunting disrespect to the Comelec’s
authority, challenging the poll body to file a case
against him in court,” the resolution added.
In
addition, the resolution said that Bedol also “regaled
the public through the media with boasts of possession
of an armory of long firearms and side arms, displaying
in public, for all to see . . . a shiny pistol tucked in
a holster on his waistband while in a combative mode.”
Bedol’s
lawyer, Andrei Bon Tagum, branded the decision “harsh,”
saying that he would immediately post bail for his
client.
Tagum
emphasized that the Comelec cannot find his client
guilty of indirect contempt for failing to participate
in a fact-finding activity. He said that the Comelec, as
Bedol’s employer, should have initiated administrative
proceedings like insubordination against Bedol, but not
contempt.
He added
that the evidence against his client was mere hearsay,
as they were only based on media reports.
In an
interview with reporters on Tuesday, Bedol said he was
not afraid of the Comelec decision and that he had been
more scared of his cataract surgery.
Ferrer
said the decision against Bedol showed that the Comelec
“deserves the respect not only of the Filipino voters,
but more so by its employees, including Bedol, who is
considered a high-ranking official of the Comelec.”
He said
the decision “demonstrates that the Comelec deserves the
respect not only of the voters, but more so by its
employees. And Bedol is a high-ranking official of the
Comelec.”
“We want
to show that we mean business,” said Ferrer. “Every
election, this thing happens . . . . We want the results
of the elections to be credible and acceptable. As of
now, nobody loses in our elections, just cheated.”
“I think
this is just the start,” Ferrer said, adding that other
Comelec field officers are set to be summoned to
Intramuros to be investigated. |
