The elections in Maguindanao province, now under martial in connection with the November 23 massacre of 57 people there, will push through as scheduled next year despite the turmoil, the head of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Monday.

“Whatever it is, hindi pwedeng magkaroon ng no elections. We will not allow it. Kapag nag-no elections tayo, that’s the end of democracy,” Comelec Chairman Jose Melo told reporters in an interview.

(We cannot not have elections in Maguindanao. If that happens then that’s the end of democracy.)

He said the worst-case scenario is if people in Maguindanao would not go out on May 10, 2010 to vote – a situation that could lead to the declaration of failure of elections in the province.

Article 6 of the Omnibus Election Code states that a failure of election is declared if the voting in any polling place was not held on the date fixed or was suspended before the closing of the voting “on account of violence, terrorism, fraud, or other analogous causes.”

At present, the poll body is not even mulling on transferring its office in Maguindanao from Shariff Aguak, the provincial capitol, according to Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer.

Melo said he would leave the situation in Maguindanao to security officials.

“Hindi ko masydong iniintindi yun. Basta ang akin lang maging normal ang situation so that we can hold elections. Responsibility na yun ng administration to see to it na ma-normalize ang situation doon,” he said.

(I’m leaving the situation in Maguindanao to the administration. I just want them to make the situation there normal so that we can hold elections.) – Kimberly Jane Tan/LBG/KBK, GMANews.TV

Where is Lintang Bedol? Even the Commission on Elections (Comelec) does not know the whereabouts of its Maguindanao election supervisor who became infamous after he was accused of manipulating the results of the 2007 senatorial elections in favor of administration bets.

Bedol’s absence has prevented the poll body from pushing thru with the cases against the elections supervisor who was accused by the Genuine Opposition (GO) in 2007 of manipulating the provincial poll results in favor of Team Unity bets. In particular, the GO accused him of shaving the votes for senatorial candidate Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III in favor of administration candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri.

“The cases we are filing against him are being delayed because of the failure to serve summons and subpoenas,” lawyer Ferdinand Rafanan, chief of the Comelec’s Law Department, told reporters at the weekly news forum, Kapihan sa Senado on Thursday.

The Comelec earlier found Bedol guilty of indirect contempt after he defied orders for him to appear in investigations on the alleged fraudulent results of the 2007 midterm polls in Maguindanao that delivered a 12-0 sweep to administration bets. The poll body sentenced him to six-month imprisonment and slapped him with a fine of P1,000.

Bedol was also charged with failure to account for election documents, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, and gross insubordination, among others, before the Office of the Ombudsman in Davao City on January 16, 2009.

In February 2009, the Comelec received information that Bedol was already in the United States.

Opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson claimed in February that Bedol was still enjoying protection from Malacañang.

“Bedol is being protected by you-know-who. If Bedol talks, mayayari silang lahat. Alam naman natin. Parang Garci ‘yan all over again. Garci in 2004, Bedol in 2007 [If Bedol talks, his protectors will be in trouble. We all know that. It's Garci all over again. It was Garcillano in 2004, it was Bedol in 2007],” Lacson said. – AMITA O. LEGASPI/ARCS, GMANews.TV