Comelec official involved in P700m secrecy folders anomaly urged to resign

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said Commission on Elections (Comelec) Executive Director Jose Tolentino should step down from office for his “continued involvement in different electoral anomalies.”

Pangilinan said Tolentio was figured prominently in the recent fiasco involving an aborted deal to purchase 1.87 million ballot secrecy folders at an alleged overpriced of P380 each.

The senator also mentioned Tolentino in what he described as “puzzling refusal” to purge ‘zombie’ registrants, and his alleged dubious involvement in the scandalous Mega-Pacific consortium.

”It’s a wonder why he’s (Tolentino) still there. Too much is at stake for our country to entrust its hope for a better future in inept leadership within the Comelec,” said the senator.

”This is precisely the kind of corruption that we’d like to put an end to after the elections. Let’s start now. Tolentino should resign. Our people deserve better,” Pangilinan added.

The Comelec en banc on Monday scrapped the nearly P700-million deal which has been previously awarded by the bids and awards committee to OTC Paper Supply, after Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel revealed the alleged anomalous deal on a radio interview Sunday.