Borra lawyer says Pimentel misleading public

The lawyer for Commission on Elections Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said yesterday Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is "misleading" the public into believing that the Supreme Court indicated that specific Comelec officials may have committed illegal acts when they awarded the aborted poll automation contract to the MegaPacific Consortium (MPC) in 2003.

In a statement, lawyer Gabriel Villareal said that while a "slim majority" of Supreme Court justices had ruled that Comelec commissioners gravely abused their discretion in awarding the contract to the MPC, "it does not mean that they were motivated or moved by any criminal design."

"The fact that the Supreme Court ordered the Ombudsman to conduct an investigation only proves that there is no evidence, much less proof, of criminal motivation and design. This has yet to be determined in the ongoing investigation," Villareal said.

He said a review of the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines (ITFP) vs Comelec case will show that a "clear majority" of the justices "did not ascribe criminal liability on any of the Comelec officials."

"Yet, (Pimentel) would like the public to believe that, because the SC annulled the contract, Comelec officials are criminally liable. This smacks of demagoguery. Sadly, (Pimentel) has stooped to this level to apparently whip up a mob against the Comelec and its officialdom," he added. — Mike Frialde