Comelec calls for citizenâs arrest of Bedol

By Beverly T. Natividad Inquirer MANILA, Philippines--If the police canât do it, perhaps the citizenry can. Now considered as a âfugitive from justice," Maguindanao election supervisor Li ntang Bedol is now being offered for citizen arrest. As Bedol continued to evade an arrest warrant issued against him, Commission on Elections Acting Chairman Resurreccion Borra cited on Monday the right and the power of every citizen to arrest the poll supervisor on site and bring him to the nearest local police. âAny arrest is welcome for that matter as long as heâs incarcerated,â said Borr a in an interview. Despite media reports that Bedol has been able to dodge arrest in Maguindanao, Borra said as of Monday, the Comelec was awaiting a formal report from Chief Su pt. Joel R. Goltiao, the Philippine National Police (PNP) director of ARMM, reg arding the matter. âHe is a professional soldier so he has to make a professional report to tell u s of his compliance or non-compliance with Bedolâs arrest order,â said Borra. The ARMM police chief, he said, has not contacted any of the poll body commissi oners to apprise them of the situation. He added the Comelec needed Goltiaoâs o fficial report on Bedol to have a formal basis in evaluating and acting on the situation. Before government offices took a break for the long "All Saintsâ" weekend, the Comelec sent a resolution compelling Goltiao to carry out the warrant of arrest against Bedol issued last Oct. 23. The Comelec felt that Goltiao was âdilly-dallyingâ in his implementation of the arrest warrant. Talking to the media last Saturday, Goltiao announced that the ARMM police was unable to track down Bedol in Maguindanao. The warrant of arrest against Bedol was based on the Comelecâs August 2007 ruli ng which found him guilty of indirect contempt. His conviction was based, among others, on his failure to appear before the Comelec despite repeated summons t o answer questions on alleged cheating activities in Maguindanao. The Comelec is still set to file new charges against Bedol for various violatio ns of the Civil Service law.