By Ira Pedrasa, abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 08/11/2011 1:48 PM | Updated as of 08/11/2011 6:14 PM
Koko Pimentel gets proclaimed as winner of the 2007 polls by Senators Pia
Cayetano and Francis Pangilinan of the Senate Electoral Tribunal. Pimentel is
joined by his family led by Aquilino Sr., right and his wife, Jewel, and kids.
Photo by Junny Roy for abs-cbnNEWS.com
MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) - The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) finally proclaimed Thursday afternoon lawyer Aquilino “Koko†Pimentel III as a winner in the 2007 polls.
The tribunal gave merit to Pimentel’s election protest, which raised questions of irregularity and fraud in the ballots and election returns obtained from precincts in Mindanao.
Based on the SET’s appreciation, Pimentel led by 258,166 votes from Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who announced his resignation August 3.
The tribunal studied a total of 384,680 ballots, of which only 69,811 were accepted.
The tribunal rejected a total of 254,222 spurious and fake ballots. These ballots were considered fake because of deformities in the watermark, no ultraviolet spots and after-glow spots, as well as chemical or solvent insensitive.
SET also said the fake ballots’ microprints were not readable even under a magnifying glass. It also noted these were shorter compared to the genuine ballots.
It also said around 60,000 genuine ballots were also rejected because they were prepared by 1 or 2 persons, based on the style and stroke of the hand-writing.
The SET’s findings put credence into allegations of new witnesses to cheating during the 2007 mid-term polls.
Suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol have signed affidavits saying they were ordered by Malacañang to pad the votes for Zubiri while reducing the votes for 3 opposition bets in Maguindanao and other controlled areas.
The tribunal also fast-tracked the appreciation of the ballots following Zubiri’s decision to drop a counter-protest. The latter had asked the SET to study a total of 73,265 poll centers.
After announcing his resignation in a privilege speech at the Senate last week, Zubiri subsequently pulled out his counter-protest.
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