About Those ERs….
Much has been said since I broke the story about those election returns for the Lanao de Sur special elections being hidden in the Maria Christina Hotel in Iligan City in Lanao del Norte for “safekeeping.” Election Commissioner Rene Sarmineto has launched a vigorous defense of himself and his officers, Renault Macarambon and Jubiel Surmieda, who were in charge of securing the ERs from the provincial treasurer’s office in Lanao.
But some key questions remain unanswered by Sarmineto and his lieutentants:
First is that Sarmiento claims that he gave a verbal order to Surmieda to take the ERs from the provincial treasurer and “secure” them. He says that the ERs would be safer in the hands of Surmieda and Macarambon than with the municipal treasurers, who they were supposed to be given to under the law. Granted for the sake of argument that he was right, and that since Lanao del Sur was under Comelec control he had the legal authority to make that call…the written order was sent to the provincial treasurer at 1:30 in the afternoon of Sunday, 27 May. By Surmieda and Sarmiento’s own admission, the ERs were removed from the treasurer’s office at around 10:00PM on Saturday 26 May and around 9:30 AM on Sunday 27 May, well before the order was formally given. Sarmiento says he gave a verbal order to Surmieda and company on the evening of 26 May, but there is nor evidence to support this. Certainly, the provincial treasurer’s office was not given an order. A high ranking Comelec offical in Lanao speaking on the condition that I wouldn’t identify him admitted that there was a violation of the law here. Was the provincial treasurer supposed to just take his word that he gave a verbal order? And if an order were indeed issued, why did Macarambon and Surmieda find it necessary to bring a municipal treasurer with them Sunday morning, to sign for the ERs when they picked up the second batch? Why couldn’t they have simply produced the order? Was it because there was actually no order at the time they were removing the ERs and that it was issued after the fact in an attempt to cover their asses after the people in the treasurer’s office blew the whistle on them?
Second, why would Sarmiento entrust the collection of the ERs to Macarambon, who was prominently mentioned in the Garci tapes, and Surmieda who sources tell me is known as a protege of the infamous Virgilio Garcillano? Was there anything in their records that would override concerns that they were part of the vote engineering machinery of the 2004 election? Sarmiento told me he didn’t know Macarambom was on the Garci tapes and that he had never heard any of the allegations that Surmeida was an election operator. In the 13 months since his appointment to Comelec was announced he didn’t know who his “trusted” people were? Granted that there was reason for him not to trust the municipal treasurers with such sensitive documents, were Macarambon and Surmieda the right people to entrust those documents with, given their notoriety? Is Sarmiento saying that the ERs were safer in the hands of the so-called Garci boys?
Third, why deny that the ERs were in the Maria Christina Hotel? Their vigorous–and even indignant–denials fell apart when confronted with irrefutable evidence that there were in fact, ERs being hidden in the hotel. Today on ANC he said he didn’t know there were ERs in the hotel. Was he lying or was he just so utterly out of the loop that he didn’t know? If he was lying then he must be guilty of something. If he didn’t know then that suggests that he’s hopelessly incompetent. And if he didn’t know, why deny so adamantly, with such certainty, that they were there?
Fourth, if everything that they were doing with those ERs was aboveboard, why are DZMM’s Noel Alamar and I getting so many death threats? Presumably, if they weren’t doing anything wrong, no one would be angry enough to threaten to kill me over that story. Could it be that the story sabotaged an operation to use those ERs to rig the election for some candidates?
There are two views about Sarmiento: Either he was really so ignorant that he didn’t see what was happening right under his very nose, or he was actually part of the cheating operation in Lanao’s special election.
I honestly don’t know the answer.
May 31st, 2007 00:24
A Magna Cum Laude from San Beda & an advocate of human rights, Rene Sarmiento is definitely far from being stupid.
Listening to his explanations on ANC w/ Tony Velasco & Pia Hontiveros earlier at 5pm, I got the sense that the guy was back pedalling on most of his answers. Sarmiento was trying so hard to sound convincing, desperately trying to win the hearts & minds, desperately trying to put integrity to what has become the most low-life, smut-ridden institution of the Republic: the COMELEC.
That there seems to be an under current in the COMELEC is undoubted, but, Sarmiento was simply playing dumb.
More power to you, Ricky !
May 31st, 2007 01:53
Ricky,
I think all the questions you posed were rhetorical.
First of all, there is no doubt that there was no previous order given. Knowing how convoluted and suable government officials are, the provincial treasurer would never release the ER’s on the mere say so of an election official.
In the legal profession, there is what we call the “common experience of man” to justify and explain rationally certain acts. In this case, the common experience of man would have been for Sarmiento to first issue a written order directing the retrieval of the ER’s to Comelec control before sending out his men. Otherwise, as common experience would likewise dictate, the provincial treasurer predictably refused to surrender them unless he saw a written order.
Second, another legal concept that the public, Noel and and you were able to discern but which Sarmiento miserably forgot was the concept of “res gestae” or “things done”. These are statements made spontaneously and naturally that they leave little for concoction and could not be misinterpreted in any way. When you asked Sarmiento if there were ERs in the hotel, he said no. That answer was as clear as day. No means there were no election returns. That statement was part of res gestae. And when you confronted them with the video, they had to backpedal and concoct a reversal. That was not an explanation but a prevarication. Obviously, in the public eye, Sarmiento was either lying or dumb. Either way’s conclusion could not be a charitable description of his coutenance on tv.
I pity the fellow as I am sure you do too because he came across someone who would be a ray of hope in a dingy “Tammany Hall”-like COMELEC. And this comes right after condemnable decision on the Jesse Robredo case which was issued by Brawner and Ferrer, the two new appointees to the COMELEC. But the more he talks, the more questions are only raised. So far, his answers are as incredulous as they are unfounded.
And by the way, that was great investigative reporting. Oh but next time, get a lawyer to go with you so you dont have to defer to false statements from operator-shyster who used the law to abuse and obfuscate.
Finally, while death threats are no laughing matter, congratulations are still in order! Now you have better bragging rights than Miriam Santiago who only eat death threats for breakfast. Mwahaha!
Keep safe, man! You got a long way to go!
May 31st, 2007 02:30
The incompetent excuse is being used over and over again. No one in their right mind buys it anymore. Sarmiento was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and yet he gets a warm welcome from no other than Abalos himself.
Just another commissioner gone wrong…
Ricky, you keep yourself safe. We commend you for bringing to light these incidents, and I admire you even more by sticking by your story and for not being intimidated by these thugs…
May 31st, 2007 03:12
[...] Ricky wrote in his recent blog entry regarding the incident and makes four points. [...]
May 31st, 2007 06:57
Just wanna say that what you did there, taking on the cheats (the enemy) in their territory is admirable.
You and Ellen have not yielded an inch in fighting the enemy - the Filipino people mustn’t let you down. Filipinos have got to follow your and Ellen’s lead. They gotta fight back the cheats.
May 31st, 2007 11:53
Ricky,
No one believes that Sarmiento is incompetent and Sarmiento himself knows that he is not incompetent. He is definitely not out of the loop even if he gives it as an excuse.
He lied straight to your face and to the Filipino people. He deceived all of us. His nice slow and kind-sounding voice deceived all of us.
He is part of the conspiracy of lying, cheating, stealing and killing… all for the sake of money and power.
The only way for him to save his name and his reptutation is to simply resign for “negligence, incompetence and plain stupidity”.
Greed has rooted so deeply in these people that they would do whatever-it-takes to steal more money and stay in power.
The COMELEC’s last hope… killed the COMELEC. The COMELEC has zero credibility.
Now their stalling-delaying tactics are cooking up more things.
But we the Filipino people know the TRUTH. THANKS TO YOU RICKY. KEEP SAFE.
May 31st, 2007 19:42
Good work Ricky!
May 31st, 2007 19:47
[...] (UPDATE) And Ricky Carandang says there are still unanswered questions regarding those ERs in Lanao del Sur. Read it and Atty. Lacierda’s comments HERE [...]
May 31st, 2007 19:56
I want to congratulate you for what you have done. You are the best reporter of all! You are willing to sacrifice your own life. I admire you most. I am just worried about your safety. but don’t worry I wont stop praying for you.
May 31st, 2007 22:38
I am praying for your safety. I admire your courage. Thank you for helping the public find justice in all this brouhaha involved in the recently concluded elections.
June 1st, 2007 06:36
You caught him off-guard. The poor man had to scramble for words and was boxed in. Ingat bro. There are people who will do anything and everything to prevent the truth from coming out. I linked your latest post to mine. Kudos to you and your team for a job well done.
June 1st, 2007 08:39
Ricky,
The problem with intelligent people like Sarmiento is that they believe their intelligence will let them get away with anything. The problem with stupid people such as Sarmiento’s lieutenants is that they believe they’re not doing anything wrong.
This leaves us with cunning people such as those who run the Comelec. Cunning people stay around for a long time.
It’s the cunning who hire people like Sarmiento and his officers.
Go after the cunning, Ricky!
June 1st, 2007 08:47
F Secor,
You don’t think those Comelec guys are just cunning linguists?
June 1st, 2007 10:21
Thanks for your courage. May your tribe increase.
I love to watch your program on ANC.
June 1st, 2007 13:19
For the last 2 weeks, the papers, the blogs, and the nightly news have been filled with a constant stream of reports like those above. Not rumors of cheating, but rather eyewitness accounts, which seem to me, as a foreigner, to describe an entirely fraudulent election system. In my observation, this is simply not a democratic process. With few exceptions, it doesn’t seem that the people have any say in choosing who will represent them in government. And the funny thing is, everybody seems to know it. We accuse them, they bluster out a weak denial, and we accept that and go on with our lives, knowing full well that the process will be repeated ad infinitum.
Some people get angry, but their anger never spills beyond the blogs and news interviews. Although it’s probably a hopeless daydream, how do you convert all this anger and indignation into a change in the system? There are (supposedly) 3 years until the next election. And the next one will be a big one. What are we doing now to push those few honest elected representatives to change the process? To implement whatever reforms they can to make cheating that much more difficult. This election was different, in terms of the volume of reporting and awareness of cheating, but it doesn’t seem to be having any effect on the outcome. Does anybody really care? Or is this just another “once every 3 years” gossip session?
June 2nd, 2007 11:07
you know the answer ricky. maybe you’re just too kind on sarmiento. the way i see it, he is part of the botched attempt to cheat in Lanao’s special election. and the public says he is an honest and upright public official, trusted by both the administration and the opposition?
to me, he has the same feathers as abalos et al.
but you have done a good job, ricky. the public needs journalists like you. keep it up!
June 2nd, 2007 12:56
Sarmiento sarmiento sarmiento…. a man who is trying to convince us that the color blue is really not blue but RED.
I’m sure, whoever he is working for - definitely he’s not working for the Filipino people - is so proud of him. Covering up for something that would go down in history as one of the things that ruined his government and his country..
Allow me to call him THE GREAT RENE “ROTTEN” SARMIENTO. His name is now at par with GARCILLIANO.. He must be so happy about this!
June 4th, 2007 00:41
You Da Man Ricky!
That Sumieda character you caught on camera was a superb specimen of a sub rosa election operator. Dark, menacing, aggressive, reptilian.
June 6th, 2007 17:17
wow…you have death threats now? they must have really wanted to cheat so badly. thanks forr sticking up sir. i hope you’ll be safe. god bless.
June 8th, 2007 11:03
Touché. Cunning linguist indeed. Allow me to proffer an alliteration: doctors of dissembling and dissimulation.
Many cheers for this garrulous gallimaufry!
B
June 15th, 2007 16:39
i’m one of the many who will pray for your safety. i love ANC and the brave men and women there. Even the DZMM anchors. we need more people like you.
God bless you and be safe always.Keep up the good work and we’re here to support you all.
August 3rd, 2007 11:09
This is a terribly sad story for a common Filipino to hear………..but then again we are so use to this kind of report.
Are we never going to be bless with sincere people who will run our God given possessions in government?
August 4th, 2007 11:19
i would like to commend you for doing an execellent job.i know that your not doing this for your own purpose,or just for your own good,but i know your doing this for the countries good.i do hope that as the day progresses,you”ll still stand beside us,for you to become the EYE,EARS,and the VOICE of the public.don’t mind those threats its just a sort of jealousis unto you.but what matters most is,you know your part,you know your line and you know your job…so,keep it up mr.ricky carandang.as young a i am,i do idolize you already.and also one thing more that you most also keep track is the fairness to your reports.ok?so,until here mr.carandng.i am an avid watcher of your shows..keep it up ricky.until here again god bless you and your family…and to ANC.til next time..ricky.
October 17th, 2007 16:32
We always watch your shows. You must be given a lot of shows pa para mas maraming exposes! You are really good in your craft kaya takot sila sa expose mo!!
All the best for you Ricky!