Former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada Thursday joined Manila mayoral candidate Lito Atienza in calling the Commission on Elections to place the entire city under its full control and supervision following the discovery of an alleged attempt to manipulate election result.

Estrada's spokesperson Margaux Salcedo said that the former president is backing the calls of Atienza to put Manila under Comelec watch and supports the former environment secretary's move to assure a peaceful and clean election in the city.

“Anything that will make the election fair, peaceful and clean is supported by President Estrada. We will support Mayor Atienza's decision and his call to place the city under the full control and supervision of the Comelec,” she told the Manila Bulletin in a telephone interview.

Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino party had earlier endorsed the comeback bid of Atienza for a record fourth-term as Manila mayor against incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim.

Aside from placing the city under Comelec control, Atienza said Thursday the poll body to reshuffle their personnel assigned to man Manila’s polling centers even as he appealed to concerned groups, including the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting to remain vigilant against all attempts to thwart the popular will of the people of Manila in the coming elections.

On Monday, a Manila City hall employee revealed an alleged attempt by supposed men of Lim to rig election results in the city by using pre-fabricated election results supposed to be transmitted to the Comelec through the Internet soon as the polls close in Manila on May 10.

Ronilda Reluya had issued a sworn statement testifying that she herself saw accomplished election returns for the May 10 elections which showed a landslide victory for Lim's camp from president down to the councilors.

Reluya, a computer operator at city hall’s electronic data processing unit under the Office of the Mayor, also testified that at least eight people carried out the scheme after all the EDP personnel were asked to leave the office. She said she discovered the anomaly as soon as she went back to work.

As the story developed, the Manila City Government is set to charge Reluya with Indiscriminatory machination for her supposed expose which city hall officials described as “malicious and full of lies.”

In a news conference, Lim told reporters that they are filing charges against Reluya after the Comelec said that the discovery of supposed election results in the City of Manila was not a threat to the forthcoming polls since the documents were fake.