PPC accuses Puwersa of squid tactics over fate of Recto, Kiko

The People Power Coalition (PPC) accused yesterday the opposition Puwersa ng Masa (PnM) of employing "squid tactics" when it claimed PPC senatorial candidates Ralph Recto and Francis Pangilinan would be ousted from the winning circle of 13.

On the contrary, Conrado "Dodi" Limcaoco said Pangilinan now has more votes than those that still have to be canvassed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Recto, on the other hand, now has a 600,000 lead which, Limcaoco said, is already "insurmountable."

"In the case of Pangilinan, it is statistically impossible to be overtaken while it is statistically improbable for Ralph because his 600,000 (lead) is insurmountable" he said

"So I wonder why the opposition keeps on charging PPC with cheating when in fact Puwersa has been caught red-handed many times," Limcaoco added.

The PPC spokesman was reacting to the statement of PnM spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla who claimed the opposition has enough proof that PPC resorted to massive electoral fraud to ensure Recto’s victory.

Remulla also said they are confident re-electionist Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago would likely dislodge Recto and Pangilinan when votes from the former’s supposed Mindanao bailiwicks are canvassed.

But Limcaoco said it was Recto who was a victim of dagdag-bawas (vote shifting) and bawas-bawas (vote shaving) fraud in various parts of the country.

He said the attempt to cheat Recto was even done in his hometown of Lipa City and Gingoog, Misamis Oriental where he almost lost 20,000 votes.

"It’s a squid tactic," Limcaoco charged. "The opposition is trying to accuse us of cheating when in fact they are the ones doing it."

Limcaoco claimed PnM candidate Panfilo Lacson was caught red-handed padding the Taguig-Pateros votes by 100,000. Votes were also padded in favor of the opposition in Tawi-Tawi, he added.

The PPC spokesman said the opposition is trying to upset the imminent victory of Pangilinan and Recto by diverting the issue on the alleged cheating in the elections in various parts of the country.

"The PPC declares victory for Recto and Pangilinan. Only cheating can overturn their victory," Limcaoco said.

Recto, for his part, challenged the PnM to come up with evidence regarding its claim that he engaged in massive fraud or cheating during the election.

"They resort to all forms of gimmickry at the expense of decency," Recto campaign official Dave Torres said in a statement.

Torres described the opposition as "true political vultures" who feasted on the alleged vote padding in Lipa City only to be proven wrong when the Comelec opened the statements of votes. "These are the same people who earlier claimed but failed to present evidence that candidate Recto pointed the bad finger at candidate Jamby Madrigal of PnM during one of their campaign sorties," the statement read.

Their tactic right now, the statement said, is to project Recto to be at the tail-end of the senatorial race and claim massive cheating to condition the mind of the public that he won by cheating Enrile and Santiago.

PnM claims the remaining uncanvassed votes are from their bailiwick while PPC claims the returns from Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao are expected to deliver a huge margin of votes for the PPC.

"We expect to lead over (Gregorio) Honasan, Loi (Ejercito) and Lacson in Maguindanao and Lanao by over a hundred thousand votes," Torres said.