In a bid to train the spotlight away from the House of Representatives with the recent expose of Senior Supt. Rafael Santiago and his men of switching ballot boxes right at the Batasan Complex on orders of his superior, Rep. Winston “Winnie” Castelo of Quezon City today filed unnumbered House Resolution.
In that resolution, Castelo wants the three House Committees on Government and Public Accountability, Public Order and Safety, and Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms to jointly conduct a summary inquiry, in aid of legislation.
“This ‘ballot switching’ in so far as it was undertaken right at the heart of the Batasan Pambansa Complex puts the august body in the fertile ground of serious social stigma. If push turns to shove, we might expect to discover a well-orchestrated system of electoral fraud perpetuated supposed-to-be highly accountable public officials,” Castelo pointed out.
In his resolution, Castelo said, “the House of Representatives can muster courage and marshal its wisdom toward a summary inquiry into the true event of 2005 where ‘ballot switching’ at Batasan Pambansa complex is alleged to have been undertaken in the interest of truth”.
It seems that the solon has vented his dismay but otherwise believes that ‘electoral integrity’ is the most fundamental issue that confronts the Filipino people’.
“To my mind, let us just go through the democratic ritual of giving all stakeholders a fair chance to be heard in a public hearing that may be called for the purpose so that it will also erase any doubt in the public mind that Congress as an institution is in cahoots,”, Castelo added.
“All told, this is in keeping with P-Noy’s moral crusade to rid bureaucracy of the wangwang culture”, Castelo finally pointed out. 30
