ANGELES CITY – “Yes, there was massive cheating… but after the elections while the former mayor was still in his post.”
Thus said Mayor Edgardo “Ed” Pamintuan as he assailed former Mayor Francis “Blueboy” turned the tables on the latter on charges of election irregularities in the city.
This developed as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) second division stopped the recount of votes as it discovered massive tampering, mainly double shading, resulting in the spoilage of ballots.
In a press conference, Pamintuan said “so far four boxes have been opened and there is an indication that cheating has indeed occurred.”
“But the cheating has apparently occurred after the elections, during and within the 46 days that former Mayor Francis Nepomuceno was still in office after his defeat,” said a visibly-irked Pamintuan.
The Comelec’s second division earlier ordered the recount of votes involving 37 priority precincts determined by Nepomuceno in connection with the electoral protest he filed a few days after the elections.
Pamintuan said that he was informed by City Administrator Atty. Dennis Albert Pamintuan, who was at Comelec yesterday, that the recount was halted due to “massive tampering, mainly double shading, or shading of both my name and Nepomuceno’s, resulting in spoilage of the ballots.” He added that “only the ballots which favoured Nepomuceno were not spoiled.”
Pamintuan said that in Barangay Malabanias, one of the contested precincts, his votes of 479 was shaved after the tampering, resulting to only 95 votes during the recount. He added that Nepomuceno’s orginal votes of 180 votes increased to 195.
“But worse,” Pamintuan added,”388 ballots were voided mainly due to double-shading when only 10 were originally spoiled.”
Pamintuan said the trend on the four other ballot boxes have the same pattern.
The officer- in-charge of the revision has reportedly suggested to go instead to the compact flash cards (CFCs) used by the PCOS machines, to which the Nepomuceno camp objected, said Pamintuan. The CFCs contain the image of the orginal ballots used during the elections.
“Of course, Nepomuceno also alleged that the CFCs have been pre-programmed and configured to favour me. This is a charge that is technically impossible. It is a charge that actually questions the entire automated elections, which were otherwise hailed as the most efficient system used so far, resulting in the speediest and most peaceful Philippine elections ever,” said Pamintuan.
“Further, Nepomuceno is questioning and putting to doubt the entire results of the last national elections, including the election of the President and all others who won,” added Pamintuan.
The mayor also assailed Nepomuceno for questioning the integrity “of all the teachers who served during the elections, and even his own poll watchers – none of whom raised any case of irregularity during the elections.” He added that even the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has in fact attested that no irregularities were committed during the elections.
“Very clearly, this is a hare-brained operation. It’s crude and a product of nincompoops and ninnies who thought they could overturn the entire system, and thwart the true will of the people. These simpletons refuse to admit that they have been rejected by the people and decisively trounced in the elections,” said Pamintuan
“They were still in power 46 days after the elections, meaning all the ballot boxes were still in their custody. They were also the ones who identified the supposed questionable precincts – the precincts which they have tampered precisely,” added Pamintuan. “I repeat, after the opening of the four ballot boxes, there were indications of cheating which happened after the elections, and the cheating was against me.”
Pamintuan urged the Comelec to dig deeper in the case and expose and prosecute the cheats. He assured his constituents of continued service at the city hall.
