Comelec exec in Hello Garci tapes gunned down

MANILA, Philippines – The man who replaced the slain Commission on Elections (Comelec) legal department director was himself shot as he was walking back to his office from a restaurant in Intramuros, Manila yesterday.

Lawyer Wynne Asdala, 55, died while undergoing an operation to remove a bullet from his left shoulder at the Manila Doctors Hospital at around 3:40 p.m.

Superintendent Rogelio Rosales Jr., Ermita police station chief, said police cannot determine the firearm used in the killing because no shell was recovered from the scene.

It was possible that the bullet shell was lost or that the killer used a .38 caliber revolver, which does not eject the shell, he added.

The gunman had a bonnet on, while the driver of the getaway motorcycle was wearing a helmet, witnesses told police.

Rosales said investigators are considering coincidences in the killing of Asdala and his predecessor, Alioden Dalaig, who was shot dead on the night of Nov. 10 as he was crossing the street to a casino at the Hyatt Hotel in Ermita, Manila.

“Both of them are Muslim brothers,” he said. “Both belonged to the Comelec’s Legal Department, in fact Asdala replaced Dalaig when he was killed last November. They both died of a single gun shot to the left side of the chest.”

Rosales said he has ordered his men to determine if the deaths of the two Comelec officials were related and connected with their work.

“We want to know what cases they were both working on,” he said.

Rosales said Asdala and a woman companion were returning to the Comelec office at Palacio del Gobernador at around 12:40 p.m. after having lunch when two men on a motorcycle blocked their path at the corner of Andres Soriano (Aduana) and Cabildo streets near the Manila Cathedral.

“We will also determine whether the ambush on Asdala was related to the killing of Dalaig,” he said. “There could be a possible link between the two crimes.”

One of the men pulled out a gun and shot Asdala at close range, but spared his companion, Rena Ballo, a stenographer at the Comelec, police said.

Two Comelec security personnel rushed Asdala to the hospital.

The suspects fled on board a red motorcycle without license plates toward Port Area.

The killing of Dalaig remains unsolved.

Asdala in ‘Hello Garci’ tape

Asdala, who was Maguindanao provincial election supervisor during the 2004 presidential elections, was heard in the “Hello, Garci” tape twice discussing with then elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano the alleged request of then Sen. Robert Barbers to raise his votes in Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

However, Asdala denied talking with Garcillano about padding the votes of Barbers, PCIJ added.

Asdala said Garcillano had called him to ask who was leading in Talitay town in Maguindanao, but could not remember the name of the candidate that interested Garcillano, according to PCIJ.

He could not have intervened in Columbio town in Sultan Kudarat, where the elections supervisor was Lintang Bedol, PCIJ said, quoting Asdala.

Asdala denied he knew Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pax Mangudadatu, who along with his son Rep. Suharto Mangudadatu was mentioned in the “Hello, Garci” tape as asking him to help Barbers in Talitay, according to PCIJ.

Bedol has a pending case for his alleged participation in electoral fraud in Maguindanao during the 2007 senatorial elections. The Comelec has ordered the arrest of Bedol.

Disbarment case vs Asdala

In 2003, a disbarment case was filed before the Supreme Court against Asdala and two other lawyers for alleged violation of the Omnibus Election Code, a Comelec resolution and their oaths as lawyers.

“Under consideration is this complaint filed by Aleem Amerroddin Sarangani against Attorneys Wynne B. Asdala, Paca-ambung C. Macabando and Tingara-an M. Bangkiro for having allegedly violated sections 231, 261 and 262 of the Omnibus Election Code; sections 9 and 10 of Comelec Resolution No. 2962, dated Jan. 5, 1998; and their respective oaths of office,” read the SC document.

“It is not disputed that complainant Sarangani was a candidate for the position of governor, Lanao del Sur in the elections of May 11, 1998, while respondents Asdala, Macabando, and Bangkiro are members of the Philippine Bar, who acted as chairman, vice chairman and third member, respectively, of the provincial Board of Canvassers for the Province of Lanao del Sur during the same elections.”

On June 24, 2003, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines board of governors approved and adopted a resolution suspending from the practice of law Asdala, Macabando and Bangkiro for issuing a certificate of canvass of votes without authority from the Comelec.

On Aug. 11, 2003 Asdala and Macabando asked the SC to set aside the IBP resolution.

“Given the above, we deem it best to remand this case to the IBP for further proceedings to determine the authenticity of the document upon which complainant anchored his complaint: the Certificate of Canvass and the Proclamation of the Winning Candidates for Provincial Governor and Provincial Vice-Governor,” read the SC decision.

“Wherefore, the instant administrative case is ordered remanded to the IBP for further proceedings in line with foregoing discussions, and for the IBP to act thereon with dispatch. So ordered.” – With Evelyn Macairan, Sheila Crisostomo, Dino Balabo