I’ve been reading newspapers online this afternoon and a headline article in Daily Tribune really struck me – entitled, “FF Cruz, Rafanan caught on YouTube fixing deal”. So indeed, at the time that I googled it, there I found it but later when already at home, I googled again only to no avail. Had it been removed already?

That adds insult to injury. I remember that book authored by Justice Artemio Panganiban which was sort of banned as no more copies of it were made available owing to some contents therein that appear to perhaps ‘incriminate’ the then Chief Justice and in fact, Rene Saguisag has someone carved an argument out of it.

The video (assuming those persons were from FF Cruz and that one person in polo barong were COMELEC official, Chairman of Bids & Awards Committee Ferdinand Rafanan) is certainly out of taste. How indeed that there can be that much-vaunted transparency in every aspect of the bidding procedures if documents are apparently being signed in the comfort room – proceedings that are supposed to be not hidden from public view?

Full-dressed investigation of this incident perhaps, comes in order.

This will help to clear doubts, suspicions, and allegations that anomalies are beginning to occur as dubious activities are recorded to have happened in the most of unlikely places. Problem is, until the whole thing is investigated, anyone will always tend to think that some backdoor deals have been resorted to.

It will be recalled that the COMELEC has not passed all 7 bidders to the nationwide automation project for failing to the satisfaction of the pre-eligibility requirements set. Nevertheless, they were allowed to appeal and the results show that 4 from the 7 finally qualified. This includes the bidder in question as reportedly captured on YouTube video.

Quick to the draw, the bidder contractor as well as Chairman Rafanan himself ‘slammed’ the Tribune’s May 14, 2009 banner story on a controversial YouTube video clip as “brazen lie, misleading, malicious”. Apparently, F.F. Cruz admitted to have been the one in the video with his staff but that he says the signed documents were ‘in no way related to the COMELEC bidding on poll automation’. Reportedly, Rafanan denied being the one in the video as he branded the whole thing ‘malicious’.

Sure, we pray there are really not instances of whatever kind that could point to any kind of anomaly especially so that government contracts are in fact in progress and the official claim of doing things truly transparent as to be perfect or free from defects in the whole proceedings is always being bandied about. It would be sad if the poster boy himself will be caught with his hands in the cookie jar, in a manner of speaking.

Maybe, let this thing be put to rest with perhaps a quick investigation on whether something anomalous transpired in what appears to be a ‘toilet deal’ as one editor/publisher puts it. Otherwise, if there is any grain of truth to this, then how in God’s name can voters be sure that there will be no automated rigging in an automated set up, if this early, an anomaly rears its ugly head?

From where I stand, it behooves upon the COMELEC to clear its name by asking for an investigation into the case. In like manner, perhaps, it likewise behooves upon the concerned newspaper that carried it as banner story to show or prove to the authenticity of the video and the details around it. After all, P11.3 billion is a huge money basin and understandably enough, every bidder must strive to win a bid, by all means legal.

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