Republic of the Philippines HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Quezon City FIFTEENTH CONGRESS First Regular Session HOUSE RESOLUTION No.

1475 _____________________________________________________________________________ _Introduced by Reps. TEDDY A. CASIO and NERI JAVIER COLMENARES RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COMMITTEE ON SUFFRAGE AND ELECTORAL REFORMS TO CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, ON FORMER GOVERNOR ZALDY AMPATUANS CLAIM OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE 2004 AND 2007 ELECTORAL FRAUD TO ENSURE, AMONG OTHERS, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYOS VICTORY AS PRESIDENT WHEREAS, on July 13, 2011, former governor and Maguindanao massacre suspect Zaldy Ampatuan released a two-page document declaring his willingness to testify that then First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo directed his father Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. to rig the 2007 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Then President Gloria Arroyo was not the only politician who benefited and manipulated this system of cheating in the ARMM, he wrote, adding that Ampatuan Sr. was specifically asked to ensure that three opposition senators should get zero votes. He also claimed that he has information that can pin Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the 2004 election cheating which will lead to the closure of the Hello, Garci scandal. He also asserted that President Benigno Aquino III was targeted because the Arroyos thought he had a chance of winning the presidency in the future because of his lineage; WHEREAS, Ampatuan is a credible witness on the 2007 electoral fraud having been one of those charged with manipulating the elections. According to the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), the Ampatuans were able to secure 194,000 votes for Arroyo against Fernando Poe, Jr.s 60,000 in the 2004 presidential election. In 2007, Maguindanao gave a 12-0 sweep for the administrations Team Unity (TU) even if its slate suffered major setbacks in the whole country, the group said in its 2009 report. During the aftermath of the Maguindanao massacre, police looking for hidden weapons used by the Ampatuan private army found around 3,000

voters IDs and other election materials partially burned in the house of Anwar Ampatuan; WHEREAS, his offer, as long as it will not be in exchange of his exoneration in the infamous Maguindanao massacre in 2009, should be seized by the government as an opportunity to shed light on the questions and scandals surrounding the 2004 and 2007 elections. The Commission on Elections has already expressed interest in summoning Ampatuan to probe the 2007 election fraud; WHEREAS, Ampatuans testimony would be crucial not only in holding Arroyo and her allies accountable for the Hello Garci and other cases of electoral fraud as well as help lawmakers craft measures to combat cheating; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on former governor Zaldy Ampatuans claim of involvement in the 2004 and 2007 electoral fraud to ensure, among others, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyos victory as president.

Adopted,

TEDDY A. CASIO Bayan Muna Party-list Party-list

NERI JAVIER COLMENARES Bayan Muna