ROXAS: "REMEMBER MUSA"

Senator Mar Roxas said the sacrifice of a slain teacher who revealed alleged election anomalies in a hotly contested poll area must not be in vain.

Roxas has filed a Senate Resolution honoring Musa Dimasidsing, school district supervisor of the Department of Education, who was murdered after exposing alleged poll fraud in Maguindanao.

"To make light of the crime of poll fraud is to make light of the sovereign will of the people in choosing their leaders. Our debt to Musa Dimasidsing, who stood by the truth and in turn defended the people's right to vote, is immeasurable," Roxas said.

He made the statement after the mild sentence meted out by the Comelec to Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol, who was sentenced to only six months in prison and fined a measly P1,000, despite evidence linking him to poll fraud.

Despite threats to his life, Dimasidsing testified that ballots for last May's elections were tampered with. He was shot to death by still unidentified gunmen last June 9.

"The unresolved murder of Dimasidsing is a blot on the nation's soul and a stern reminder that electoral reforms are needed to strengthen Philippine democracy," Roxas said.

Dimasidsing, he said, "should be remembered for refusing to let election fraud pass despite risks to his own life."

Roxas' resolution also calls for the Senate to urge the relevant agencies to immediately resolve the case, and for the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an inquiry into the hazards confronting teachers who undertake poll duties.