Comelec-6 exec belies 'Oplan Mercury Rising'
Comelec Western Visayas director Renato Magbutay has denied the accusations of a poll watchdog composed of retired military and police officers that massive cheating will be orchestrated in the region with the help of the Comelec to ensure the victory of administration senatorial candidates.
“I do not know where they got that information. I have no knowledge of that,” Magbutay said in a telephone interview.
Bantay Boto on Tuesday claimed that at least 12 areas including five provinces in Mindanao and four in the Visayas will be the targeted for fraud on May 14.
The group said that under the plan dubbed “Oplan Mercury Rising” top Comelec officials in four regions in the Visayas and Mindanao and in 12 provinces across the country had specifically been ordered to make sure that three Team Unity (TU) candidates would bag the top three slots in these areas.
"Bantay Boto" include Bagong Katipunan (BK/Magdalo); Federation of Retired Commissioned and Enlisted Personnel (FORCES); Grand Order of the Unified Guardians (GOUNIG); Para sa Bayan (PsB); Philippine Guardians Brotherhood, Inc. (PGBI); Soldiers and Police for Peace and Progress (SPP); and Young Enlisted Soldiers with Active and Retired Military-Police for Solidarity (YES ARMS).
Bantay Boto identified the 12 areas as Ilocos Sur, Pampanga, Camarines Norte, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Eastern Samar, Lanao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Sharif Kabunsuan.
The group claimed that fraud in regions will be committed in Western Visayas, Region 11, CARAGA and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The Comelec officials including regional directors, assistant regional directors and provincial election supervisors were allegedly “ordered” to ensure that that top three senatorial slots will be occupied by TU candidates Michael Defensor, Jose Miguel Zubiri and Prospero Pichay.
“Who ordered us? And we don’t take that kind of orders. That is totally baseless,” said Magbutay.
He said Western Visayas could have been cited by the Bantay Boto because it has the fourth largest number of voters nationwide with 3,667,151 voters.