Bedol to get public attorney for poll sabotage case

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has tapped the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to represent former elections officer Lintang Bedol for the electoral sabotage case he is facing before the Pasay City regional trial court.

In a resolution released recently, the CA’s Seventh Division has assigned the PAO to provide legal assistance to the detained former election supervisor in Maguindanao after his lawyer, Reynaldo Princesa, has noted respond the court’s repeated notices.

Bedol is facing charges along with former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan for allegedly staging a 12-0 victory for the administration senatorial candidates in the province in the 2007 polls.

Bedol, who was arrested in Maguindanao in 2007, is detained at the Philippine National Police custodial center in Camp Crame.                        

The CA is hearing a petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General questioning an earlier ruling of the Pasay court favoring Bedol.