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Comelec exec insists 'nothing wrong' with arrest 'warning'

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Commissioner Rey Bulay speaks during the Comelec briefing at their headquarters on April 22, 2022 during the announcement of the postponement of the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates this weekend. Garcia is joined by Commissioners Aimee Ferolino and Commissioner George Erwin Garcia Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/04/26/20220422-comelec-debate-jc-4041.jpg"/><figcaption>Commissioner Rey Bulay speaks during the Comelec briefing at their headquarters on April 22, 2022 during the announcement of the postponement of the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates this weekend. Garcia is joined by Commissioners Aimee Ferolino and Commissioner George Erwin Garcia. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATED) - Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rey Bulay believes there was nothing wrong with his statement that the military can arrest those who cause trouble during the elections. Bulay said he was addressing those who would like to incite election violence, and not Comelec critics, in his statement last Friday.&quot;I said nothing wrong. It was actually a spin. I browsed all the headlines after my speech, 90 percent of them correctly quoted what I said while only 1 only said Comelec exec threatens jail to critics. You graciously played my statement, was there a critic I mentioned?&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/23/22/comelec-exec-warns-critics-accusing-poll-body-of-bias">Comelec critics warned: Poll body can have AFP arrest, jail you</a></li></ul>&quot;What should I take back? I didn&#x27;t say anything wrong. What I said was, I am warning those who are commenting no less than violence by inducement. If you play my tape you’ll see it was referring to violence during the electoral process.&quot;Bulay on Friday said: &quot;Yun po nagko-comment ng public opinion na ang Comelec ay may sina-side-an, kinakampihan at mandadaya, ako po ay nagwa-warning sa inyo. We will not hesitate to call upon the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) na ngayon sa panahong ito ay nasa ilalim ng control ng Comelec na patulan at ipahuli at ipakulong kayo ’yung manggugulo sa eleksyon na ito.”(Those commenting that the Comelec is siding with somebody, favoring them and will cheat for them, I am warning you. We will not hesitate to call upon the AFP, which is under Comelec&#x27;s control right now, and have you arrested if you will cause trouble in this election.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/23/22/comelec-exec-warns-critics-accusing-poll-body-of-bias">Comelec critics warned: Poll body can have AFP arrest, jail you</a></li></ul>Bulay on Monday claimed the article was libelous.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/25/22/bulay-arrest-of-comelec-critics-a-warning-not-a-threat">Bulay says call to arrest Comelec critics a &#x27;warning,&#x27; not a &#x27;threat&#x27;</a></li></ul>&quot;I never said anything wrong, I’m not taking anything back. It was the spin on my statement that made everything wrong and it was done with malice. And my identity was posted all over the news because of that,&quot; he told ANC.&#x27;Comelec can&#x27;t command AFP&#x27;The Comelec cannot command the Armed Forces and can only deputize it, election lawyer Emil Maranon said Monday. Only the Philippine National Police can make arrests through a warrant issued by a court, Maranon added.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/25/22/comelec-cant-order-military-to-arrest-critics-lawyer">Comelec can&#x27;t order Armed Forces to arrest critics: lawyer</a></li></ul>&quot;Dapat po i-correct because unang-una po may maling impression sa publiko na bawal nang magtanong o magcriticize sa Comelec. It’s part of our freedom of expression and part of Comelec’s responsibility to answer this,&quot; he said.(It should be corrected because there&#x27;s a false impression to the public that they cannot ask questions or criticize Comelec.)The public is free to air their sentiments about the poll body, Comelec commissioner George Garcia said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/25/22/poll-commissioner-contradicts-colleagues-warning-on-arrest-of-comelec-critics">Garcia contradicts Bulay&#x27;s warning on arrest of Comelec critics</a></li></ul>&quot;Pwedeng-pwede po kayo magbigay ng inyong sentimyento sa Commission on Elections. Tama po &#x27;yan sa isang demokrasya, maganda po &#x27;yan,” he said. (You are free to air your views and sentiments about the Comelec. That is part of a democracy.)In a separate interview, Garcia said Bulay&#x27;s remark should be treated as “water under the bridge.”“If we can treat that in the meantime as already water under the bridge. It will always be the en banc as a collective body that will make the final decision on every matter brought before us,” Garcia said.Garcia said Bulay’s comments have been misinterpreted.“Ang intensyon lang naman niya ay parang sinasabi niya doon sa manggugulo na kakasuhan but they will still have to undergo the process, na-clarify naman po ni Comm. Bulay,” Garcia said. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2012726" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Comelec Commissioner Rey Bulay believes there was nothing wrong when he said those who would cause trouble during the elections face arrest.