Miriam to Comelec: Stop proclamation of winning Senate bets

Cheated again.

This was the cry of opposition Sen. Miriam Santiago yesterday as she asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to prohibit the partial proclamation of some senatorial candidates and declare a failure of elections.

Santiago, who claimed she lost the 1992 presidential election to former President Fidel Ramos because of electoral fraud, again asserted that widespread fraud was committed in the May 14 local and congressional elections.

"The Comelec should declare a failure of elections at the national level. If fraud could occur in one province, the likelihood of it happening in all 78 provinces is highly possible," she said.

However, Santiago said she is not inclined to file a protest before the Comelec although she maintains she was a victim of electoral fraud.

"I will continue to assert that I won as a senator, the same as I won in 1992. I will not file an election protest as it is very expensive and very emotionally devastating," she said, obviously referring to the electoral protest she filed when she lost the 1992 presidential elections to Fidel Ramos.

Claiming votes for her were credited to another candidate, Santiago blamed the dagdag-bawas (vote shifting) operation on administration senatorial candidate Ralph Recto, who is now occupying the 13th and last slot in the official tally.

She accused Recto of committing vote shifting in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Northern Samar, Sultan Kudarat and Tawi-Tawi.