Philippine former presidential candidate charges first gentleman for election fraud

Philippine former presidential candidate Eli Pamatong on Tuesday filed charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and public officials for allegedly conspiring to manipulate the elections in 2004.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, former senator Robert Barbers and lawyer Aleuden Dalaing of the Commission on Elections' (COMELEC) law department are also in Pamatong's charge list.

Pamatong, who was declared a nuisance candidate by COMELEC in last year's polls, charged the first gentleman and the officials for "subversion of the people's will" and "abuse of authority."

Pamatong said they conspired to snatch the victory from the late candidate Fernando Poe Jr. during last year's election as revealed in the "Hello Garci" tapes.

Pamatong said Bunye should be charged for presenting an audio recording allegedly containing the wiretapped conversations of Arroyo and former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Pamatong's suit against Arroyo's husband and the others came less than a week after he sued COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos and two other officials of the poll body.

Source: Xinhua