BY AUBREY MAKILAN
Posted 5:53 p.m. July 3, 2006 

Supreme Court petitioners on the anomalous Mega Pacific election automation contract believe criminal charges should be filed against Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials involved, including Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos, and not just Commissioner Resurreccion Borra. 

Augusto Lagman, head of the Information Technology (IT) system of the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and one of the complainants in the case, expressed dismay that Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez only recommended to the House of Representatives Borra's impeachment for his participation in the voided P1.3-billion contract supposedly for the automation of the May 2004 elections. 

Citing the Supreme Court decision on the automated machine anomaly that said there are individuals in the Comelec "capable of entering into void and illegal transactions," lawyer Harry Roque said this means that "criminal individuals (are) manning the Comelec." 

Instead of impeachment, Lagman said, criminal charges should be filed against the commissioners involved including Abalos who had command responsibility. Roque agreed, saying only the president of the country and Supreme Court justices have immunity from suit and not election commissioners. 

Aside from Abalos and Borra, other commissioners who signed the contract were retired commissioners Luzviminda Tancangco, Ralph Lantion, Mehol Sadain and Rufino Javier. 

Lagman added they sense a cover up in the ombudsman decision by singling out Borra. Borra testified at a Senate hearing that there was cheating in the May 2004 elections. He also said the ombudsman decision was already ready by December 2005 before Gutierrez entered the office but was only released on June 30. 

Although the Supreme Court nullified the contract in January 2004, it did not prevent the Comelec from paying Mega Pacific. Lagman said the government continues to pay P3 million for storage alone of the machines that Mega Pacific refused to take back. 

He also questioned the credibility of the election commissioners involved in conducting the 2007 elections. Bulatlat