Honestly, I thought Bedol would get off the hook. But then again, Comelec sure did one heck of a clean-up strategy to make the 2007 midterm elections seem spotless.
May I just say that Abalos and his cohorts are really, really obviously stupid . It puts the legal, political and electoral systems to shame that these men (I don’t know if there are any women in Abalos’ commissioners) pretend to dispense justice when in fact they’re twisting it to benefit their boss. Isn’t it clear, isn’t it incredibly suspicious that Bedol would walk away from all his evil deeds by merely giving a thousand peso fine and being jailed after just 6 months?
From Inquirer.net:
According to the 21-page decision, Bedol is guilty of:
• Failing to attend the scheduled canvassing of the provincial certificates of canvass (CoC) of Maguindanao on May 22, the reset canvassing on May 30, and the continuation of a hearing of Task Force Maguindanao on June 14 despite due notice;
• Unlawful assuming custody of the municipal CoC and other accountable election documents of all Maguindanao towns which should have been delivered to the Comelec offices in Intramuros;
• Disrespecting the Comelec by challenging the poll body to file a case against him in court; and
• “Regaling the public through the media with boast 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 and in a combative mode.’”
The people in this country (whether some would give a damn or not) doesn’t need his meager money nor do we want to see him disappear and go to jail for a measly 6 months. No, we do not want that. Personally, I want something heavier, graver than his sentence. Rep. Hontiveros of Akbayan suggests that he should have been charged with electoral sabotage which would give him a life imprisonment. And while we’re at it, why not give his boss the same treatment? That is, if someone can dethrone her from her glorious fake manifesto.
And what about the case of electoral fraud in Maguindanao, the stolen and the missing documents and allegations of TU’s dagdag-bawas? We should not stop inquiring about these things just because Bedol got sentenced. The bigger picture here isn’t sending that baboon to jail; it’s giving our political, electoral and moral systems a push back to being democratic and right. What good would it do us if we see Bedol alone in jail without ALL his cohorts? Wala.
Anak ng tinapay naman o…do they really think Pinoys are too stupid to see what’s going on here? The Comelec is only trying to do a little damage control, that’s all. It doesn’t solve anything!
