The Comelec fire

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

According to its Chairman Benjamin Abalos, the fire that gutted the Spanish-era building of the Commission on Election in Intramuros, Manila early Sunday morning was not likely to have a direct impact on the elections this May. But even if that claim were true, the two-story wooden building still housed the following offices:

Comelec executive director, deputy executive director for operations, deputy executive director for administration, the education and information division, the records division, statistics office, administration services department, the Comelec library and the Commission on Audit.

Any fire hitting any establishment is still bound to affect its operations. Even if it was a simple accident, the awful timing of the fire, just two months before the elections, gave the opposition a quick reason to accuse the administration of having a hand in this incident. Defenders of the ruling administration will say that the nature of an accident such as a fire is that it can never be predicted.

However, if there is one thing that the Comelec can be faulted for, it could be the glaring lack of fire prevention equipment in such an old wooden firetrap that is still being used as the offices of a government agency handling such critical duties the Commission on Elections. If these people took their jobs, and the data they hold seriously, they would have taken the proper preventive measures to avoid such a common "cleansing" accident.

Reports of the battle-ready, but obviously fire-retarded Marine security detail mysteriously missing when the fire started, will also add fuel to the flame of speculation. Conspiracy theories cannot be avoided, especially with the Comelec still smarting from its alleged involvement in the last Presidential elections. This fire could have very conveniently destroyed evidence that could reveal the truth regarding those controversial election results.

If the government wants to quash these speculations that this fire was not a convenient accident, it must take pains to proceed with a thorough and unbiased investigation to rule out sabotage or arson. For added credibility, it might be a good idea to get independent third party expert investigators involved. Granting those investigators full access to "crime scene" and the evidences, and expeditiously relaying the results of that probe to the public would certainly help quell loose talk about the real cause of this suspicious fire.

Otherwise, the opposition should be able to capitalize on this incident to convince the public that the administration's dirty tactics department is not a figment of the imagination and that it has started to kick its operations into high gear.*