By Genalyn D. Kabiling
Malacañang is counting on the Commission on Elections to investigate alleged irregularities in the 2016 elections, including the possibility that President Duterte should have obtained more than 16 million votes during the ballot count.
If the allegations are proven true, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said those involved in the poll fraud must be held accountable before the law.
“Walang duda ang kampo ni Presidente na mas maraming boto ang nakuha si Presidente kaysa sa 16 million so posible po ‘yan,” Roque said during a press conference in Palawan.
“Pero hinahayaan ni Presidente na mag-imbestiga muna ang Comelec at tingnan natin kung mayroon ngang mga election violations na naganap,” he added.
Roque noted that the preliminary investigation into alleged election offenses is under the jurisdiction of the law department of the Comelec.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III on Tuesday bared alleged irregularities in the last elections, including supposed early transmission of votes and foreign access to election servers, and called for an investigation into these issues.
Sotto warned that the accuracy of the 2019 elections would be in peril if authorities are unable to clear the doubts on the legitimacy of the 2016 poll results.
