ILOILO CITY - Fresh from a proclamation for a new term in office, Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas Sr. has called on the Ombudsman and the Commission on Human Rights to release the results of separate investigations conducted on the January 17 armed assault on the provincial capitol.

Tupas said he hopes the two agencies will release their findings soon to determine the liabilities of those involved.

The CHR had conducted an investigation and sought the testimonies of witnesses to determine whether members of the assault team violated the rights of those at the capitol. The Ombudsman conducted its own investigation to determine whether police and civilian officials committed any violations in their implementation of the Ombudsman order to dismiss Tupas and provincial board members Domingo Oso and Cecilia Capadosa for graft.

The provincial board of canvassers on Monday proclaimed Tupas who won with one of the largest margins in a gubernatorial race in Iloilo.

Tupas was declared winner with a margin of 208,000 votes over administration candidate Roberto Armada of the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats. Tupas got 404,484 votes against the 196,441 votes garnered by Armada who had conceded defeat. Also proclaimed was Tupas' estranged nephew, former Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico, as vice governor. Suplico won with 332,357 votes against his uncle's running mate, provincial board member Domingo Oso, who got 228,049 votes.

Tupas was proclaimed winner despite a motion to suspend the proclamation filed by the People's Graft Watch of Iloilo because of the pending graft cases against him.

"I've been vindicated. With this huge win, all administrative cases filed before the elections become moot and academic and have become extinguished," Tupas said , referring to jurisprudence that absolves officials of administrative cases when they are reelected.

Tupas said the January 17 police siege on the provincial capitol was among the main reasons why he won by a large margin.

The governor's camp had distributed thousands of copies of a 39-minute compact disc containing a compilation of video footages and photos of the assault which aimed to implement a dismissal order of the Ombudsman against Tupas and two provincial board members for graft.

The assault has been widely criticized for the use of excessive force especially after the footages showed policemen dispersing supporters of the governor and heavily armed members of the Regional Mobile Group breaking glass doors, shoving employees and Tupas' supporters aside and pointing guns at the governor's children.

The Court of Appeals had issued a permanent injunction against the implementation of the dismissal order. The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed on technical grounds a petition filed by Armada questioning the CA ruling.

The governor's win has entrenched the Tupas family as a political clan in Iloilo with three of his children also winning positions in the city and province of Iloilo.

The eldest son, Niel Tupas Jr., won as representative of the 5th District of the province against his cousin Enrique Suplico Jr. His brother, Raul Tupas, ran unopposed and was reelected as mayor of Barotac Viejo town.

Their youngest sibling, Nielex was elected as councilor of Iloilo City, one of only two opposition candidates who entered the winning circle dominated by the camp of President Macapagal-Arroyo's staunch allies Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., his son Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr. and Mayor Jerry Trenas.*NPB

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