POC ethics committee to probe vote-buying?

MANILA, Philippines - It appears likely that the incident of vote-buying, exposed in the recent POC polls, will be raised before the Ethics Committee headed by IOC representative Frank Elizalde but a source said yesterday the harshest penalty for anyone found guilty will only be a reprimand under the Constitution and By-Laws.

The slap on the wrist for the perpetrator, however, comes with a heavy price as the proceedings will be brought to the attention of the IOC and the International Federation where the guilty party is affiliated. It will not preclude a motion to declare the guilty party a persona-non-grata and expel him or her from representing a National Sports Association in the POC General Assembly.

“The IOC process will require first, the case to be filed to the POC president who will then refer the matter to the Ethics Committee for investigation and conclusion,” said the source. “We understand a case will definitely be filed as this simply cannot be swept under the rug. There was a clear instance of attempted vote-buying and the Comelec has possession of an envelope that contains P45,000 in cash and a flyer listing a set of candidates in a ticket. The envelope was surrendered by Raymund Reyes.”

Reyes, the secretary-general of the Philippine Karatedo Federation, was given the envelope presumably by mistake since he is a known ally of first vice presidential candidate Joey Romasanta. Text messages sent to Wrestling Association of the Philippines president Juan Alberto Balde supposedly to set up a meeting point where the envelope would be given were saved and shown to the Comelec. Apparently, Balde was to be offered the bribe money in exchange for his vote but in a case of mistaken identity, the envelope went to Reyes instead. 

“Mr. Balde and Mr. Reyes look alike with the same build,” said the source. “It’s highly possible there was a mix-up of identity and instead of the envelope being given to Mr. Balde, it was given to Mr. Reyes. Mr. Balde showed the Comelec his text messages confirming he was being set up for a payoff. Mr. Reyes happened to be at the veranda of the Alabang Country Club, where the elections took place, when he was approached.”

Reyes turned over the envelope immediately to Romasanta, the Philippine Karatedo Federation president. Romasanta then submitted the envelope to reelectionist POC president Jose Cojuangco, Jr. who surrendered it to Comelec chairman Victorico Chaves. Comelec member Br. Bernie Oca said the attempt was “unacceptable” while Elizalde called it “stupid.” The other Comelec member was Ricky Palou.

Oca confronted the suspected vote-buyer with the envelope before the polls began. The suspected vote-buyer, a candidate, offered to withdraw but was dissuaded by other candidates in his ticket. The suspect later denied he was involved in the attempt and described it a demolition job. 

The elections were delayed about an hour as the Comelec deliberated whether or not to divulge the incident to the electorate gathered in a closed-door room at the Alabang Country Club. The Comelec eventually decided to disclose the facts of the case to set things in perspective. Oca mentioned only two facts – first, that money changed hands and second, he named the candidate singled out by Reyes as the alleged vote-buyer. An attempt to prevent the naming of the alleged vote-buyer was made by lawyer Victor Africa, president of the Philippine Fencing Association, on the grounds that it would influence the vote. But the Comelec went ahead to name the alleged vote-buyer because non-disclosure would make every candidate a suspect.

The source said there was a clear attempt to make Cojuangco a “minority president” with a silent campaign for abstention. But Cojuangco took 32 of the 40 valid votes, quashing the bid. Three votes were nullified as two had markings and another ticked five candidates, instead of four, for executive board member.

“There had to be Divine Intervention when Mr. Reyes was offered the envelope by mistake,” said the source. “Exposing the case probably led to the defeat of the alleged vote-buyer who if he won, would’ve been the only one in his ticket to win. From the results of the elections, it looked like the so-called reform ticket only had 12 solid votes. How tragic that the ticket calling for reforms was involved in an attempt to buy votes.”

Cojuangco’s ticket swept the elections. For chairman, triathlon’s Tom Carrasco edged weightlifting’s Monico Puentevella, 21-18. Romasanta beat boxing’s Manny Lopez, 24-16, for first vice president and soft tennis’ Jeff Tamayo outpolled cycling’s Bambol Tolentino, 24-15, for second vice president. Wushu’s Julian Camacho defeated squash’s Romy Ribano, 28-12, for treasurer and chess’ Butch Pichay outvoted golf’s Godofredo Galindez, 28-12, for auditor. The top four vote-getters for executive board member were judo’s Dave Carter with 29, canoe-kayak’s Jonne Go with 29, gymnastics’ Cynthia Carrion with 28 and sailing’s Judes Echauz with 23. Failing to make the cut were volleyball’s Generoso Dungo with 16, Africa with 13 and baseball’s Hector Navasero with nine.

“In the history of POC elections, it was the first time there was an incident of attempted vote-buying,” said the source. “It was also the first time a white paper was circulated and unfortunately, the target was a lady, Ms. Carrion whose nationality was questioned. The majority has spoken and now, we can look forward to the next four years with a fresh mandate for the administration.”