Filipino Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri with wife Audrey inside the Philippine Senate building in Pasay city, south of Manila

A Philippine opposition senator yesterday resigned amid persistent allegations he cheated in 2007 elections although he insisted he had done nothing wrong.
Juan Miguel Zubiri said he wanted to spare his family any further damage to their name from the accusations.
“I did not cheat, I did not ask anyone to cheat for me and my family and I will never tolerate any form of electoral fraud,” he told the Senate.
Zubiri was one of two candidates of then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Lakas-Kampi party to win in the 2007 senatorial election.
The 10 other seats in that vote were won by the then-opposition.
President Benigno Aquino III, whose Liberal Party won a 2010 general election, has pledged a campaign against corruption, particularly singling out suspects linked to the previous administration.
Zubiri’s resignation came a few weeks after a former election officer admitted helping to pad votes for Arroyo’s candidates in the 2007 election.
Lintang Bedol is currently serving a six-month sentence for refusing to answer questions about his role in the alleged fraud until this year. He has requested witness protection. DPA