Pedestrian Observer GB: Lintang Bedol Contempt Sentence Angers Solons

Amita Legazpi of GMANews.tv reported on Bedol’s “failure” to post bail, will spend night at the Comelec instead of the Manila city jail all because the commissioners “failed to meet” on the specified time for the bail motion consultation. It seems that the uproar by some solons on the “light” (do they want a death penalty for indirect contempt?) sentence may just trigger another “angry” stance from comelected politicians of not seeing the leech errr Lintang Bedol free lodging at the jail.

This indirect contempt is getting to be very interesting with Bedol’s lieyer errr lawyer raising the legal issue of questioning the jurisdiction of the comelec panel. I say such action and legal mumbo jumbo should earn Bedol and his lawyer another contempt sentence should the judicial court they submitted their legal question concur with the comelec.

This is a side circus and I would not be jumping in joy and happiness at seeing Bedol finally getting what he deserves for insubordination and open defiance complete with bragging of his arsenal like a typical warlord that bows to no one.

While I tend to agree with the solons that fraud is the issue, Bedol’s contempt should be dealt with accordingly and not linger on as a side freak show that will veer the issue away from electoral fraud and Musa Dimasidsing’s murder. "Bravo" to this newly comelected senators like Escudero who I quote from an Inquirer article:

Sen. Francis Escudero pointed out that the Comelec had penalized Bedol merely for his nonappearance before the commission en banc.

“What about the things he did and did not do in his responsibility as a Comelec official?” said Escudero.

Ok, bravo unto you Mr. Senator but it was clear that Bedol was sentenced on 4 counts of contempt based on the following “acts and omissions” as reported by the same Inquirer article:

Failure to attend the scheduled canvassing of Maguindanao’s provincial CoCs (certificates of canvass) on May 22, and the rescheduled canvassing on May 30.

Failure to attend the Task Force Maguindanao hearing on June 14.

Refusal to submit a written explanation for his absences and the unlawful assumption of custody of the Maguindanao municipal CoCs and other accountable election documents used in the May elections that should have been delivered to the Comelec main office in Manila.

His “plain admission” that the documents were lost while in his custody, and his media pronouncements “flaunting disrespect [for] the authority of the Comelec over him,” challenging the institution to file a case against him in court, “regaling the public through the media ... with a boast of possession of an armory of long firearms and sidearms, displaying in public for all to see in his front-page colored portrait in a national broadsheet and during a television interview.”

The Comelec used as evidence against Bedol the June 26 front-page story of the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoting him as saying that he would face his accusers only in court, and its accompanying photo showing him with a pistol strapped to his waist.

Enough of the grandstanding and attention seeking stance please……. I sure would like to see our “leaders” reserve their energy on ferreting out the truth and gathering evidence on the murder of Musa Dimasidsing and the Maguindanao electoral anomalies so as not to give the weasels at the comelec a reason not to pursue their investigation for “lack of evidence”. Yeah right, they can shout and have a tantrum that only angers and incite the people but just the same may turn out to be plain hollow grandstanding of attention seeking political personalities. No wonder justice sucks in the land of cheats where we see that the decision was on the issue of contempt and they want Bedol sentenced on electoral fraud….. Geeez don’t they get it?

If these leaders have not allowed Garci to make a mockery of the electoral process when they had a chance we would not have a bedol to contend with…… Also what's up with whoever that genius commissioner who said that said punishment for a "high official" such as Bedol even with a day in jail is humiliating enough only shows that justice is selective in the land of cheats. They just showed their true intent in citing Bedol for contempt was not about the law but their inflated ego and power trip. Don't they get it....... a lowly flying voter (although I believe they are not in demand anymore as in the past owing to the ability of cheats with guns to force the teachers to fill up the ballots and stash the same in the ballot boxes seems to be the name of the "game") or a commisioner should be treated the same in accordance with what the penalties prescribed by the law on the criminal acts one is found guity of committing.

Lisa Hontiveros an Akbayan representative would want to impeach Abalos which I think should have been done a long time ago. If she is intent on doing so, she should include all the commissioners. These body has time and again failed the people. The only way to make the electoral process credible is to seriously look into abolishing the present electoral system and start anew on a clean slate.

Let me end this with a quote from Fidel Umaga's comment on the earlier entry titled Leech errr Lintang Bedol Gets Jail Time and Fine!:

Consider briefly the major issues against the latest member of Malacanang's TEFLON GANG, firstly, Bedol allegedly lost the first copy of the COC from maguindanao that allows the Comelec to use secondary evidence and paves the way for the shaving of KoKO Pimentel's advantage against Migs Zubiri and the latters eventual proclamation by Comelec as the 12th winning senator during the last election and secondly, by exhibiting such highly contumacious act before a quasi-judicial body. These acts were CLEAR and AUDACIOUS travesty of the law, committed by a provincial Comelec offcial. Yet the government response to them is no different from having caught a thief who after having broken into a home, committed rape while in the course of his robbery and escape with some valuables of his victim. When caught, the police made a big media event about the thief being caught and later sent to prison for the theft but made no mention about the rape . When asked about the rape, the authorities evaded the querry by saying; Sir, iba yung rape kaysa theft or robbery!

In Lindang Bedol's situation, the crime of election fraud is naturally different from the case of contempt against him but what is the government doing about this fraud?

Another Hello Garci being shoved down our throats?Once more, the public grievance is being addressed under the doctrine of the RULE BY LAW and not by the RULE OF LAW.

The tragedy of them all is that while the authorities seem to be aware that we know that they are trying to pull our legs, the charade continues because it appears that everything is ok to all sundry!

No wonder, tuloy pa rin ang patayan at abduction sa ating paligid!