Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I. Cheating 8
Samuel Ong
Marieta Santos
2
(including her former boyfriend T/Sgt. Doble)
Marieta Santos
Michaelangelo Zuce
3
Rey Sumalipao
Zuce
4
“Louie” in Garci Tapes, commitment of Comelec
officials to support GMA, meaning of “he can deliver”
Mendoza
Balutan
Dalidig
5
contents of his October 5, 2005 affidavit
Timeline 113
CONCLUSION 171
6
directly possible through President Arroyo’s
use of Comelec, Cabinet members, executive
officials, and the military 171
RECOMMENDATION 180
Recommendations 203
7
FINDINGS ON ELECTORAL FRAUD and
GRAFT AND CORRUPTION
I. The Cheating
We find that the occurrence, chronology and convergence of significant events,
emerging from the wealth of data and material made available to the Filipino public
and the CCTA, clearly show a pattern of pre-meditated, and successful, electoral fraud
in the 2004 presidential elections in favor of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and
subsequent thereto, a tenacious continuum of acts combining all possible survival
methods and devices – from misleading and untruthful propaganda maneuvers, to
legalistic subterfuge and, later, even unconstitutional steps – to cover up the fraud
and permanently escape accountability to the nation.
8
For the Secretary’s consideration and/or further instruction, please.”1
(Annex A-1, Affidavit of Michaelangelo Zuce dated August 1, 2005;
emphasis supplied)
But even before the above advice-request was acted on, Presidential Adviser
Rufino had already submitted a memorandum to President Arroyo, dated October 10,
2002, explicitly requesting public funds (from the Office of the President) for
implementation of activities in furtherance and promotion of her 2004 election project
plan and machinery, as she had instructed. The memorandum reads:
“As per instructions of Her Excellency during her visit in Iligan City
last September 26, 2002 and the need to precisely approximate the
electoral pulse and secure a workable game-plan for the 2004 elections,
our office shall undertake the aforementioned consultation.
Apparently, the Arroyo 2004 election plan and machinery had even then already
started grinding because Garcillano was then appointed head of the special
consultation project (funded through the office of Presidential Adviser Rufino) – titled
“Nationwide Consultation of Election Officers Under The Stewardship Of Atty.
Garcillano” – under which project Garcillano had begun recruiting regional directors
and election supervisors of the Comelec in critical provinces of Mindanao to support
the 2004 election of President Arroyo, as well as investigating possible allies and the
opposition.
1
At the top right-hand corner of this memorandum of Assistant Secretary Bayam is the hand-written note of
Presidential Adviser Rufino which states: “Noted. Prepare letter to ES. CPLA” [Note: “ES” is standard
abbreviation in Malacañang for “Executive Secretary.”]
9
The self-explanatory January 8, 2003 report of Garcillano to President Arroyo
hardly disguises the illicit nature of this Comelec official’s activities in the
implementation of the publicly funded “consultation project.” Quoted below are some
excerpts, incriminatory on their face –
The undersigned was scrupulously careful planning the meetings with our
field workers least he awakens the suspicion of political leaders and even
his superior officers that he is pressuring the field personnel for the
future political exercise. Initial planning was done at the Regional
Directors Office in Cagayan de Oro City with the Regional Attorney, the
Provincial Election Supervisor of Misamis Oriental and selected staffs
participating.
xxx xxx xxx
On November 27, 2002, the discussion with the newest province in
Mindanao, Zamboanga Sibugay. Atty. Jay Balisado made a significant
revelation that the present governor – Governor Hoffer is losing his hold
over his constituents, much less his political leaders. It is (the) Vice
Governor who now calls the shot. His observation is concurred by
Acting Assistant Regional Election Director of Region 9.
This is, however, not a cause for us to worry or should not disturb us. The
oppositions in the province are far behind. We just employ a carefully
crafted strategy to rally the support of the electorate. Of course, we have to
work hard to get the full and unqualified support of C-personnel in the
field. Let us make them feel that when they look back they have that debt
of gratitude and residual loyalties to us.
xxx xxx xxx
Maguindanao where threat of death is literally a flick of a finger away
is still a toss up between the Governor Ampatuan and Zacaria Candao.
If Secretary Datumanong will throw his hat again, Matalam will be
another problem. We already have Congressman Dilangalen who had
been showing tempestuous attitude in congress defending the
deposed president. President GMA, however, can tilt the balance
towards the LAKAS-NUCD.
10
NORTH COTABATO
TAWI-TAWI
The fight here is even. But with PGMA at the helm of the
government, that fact will spell the difference.
Atty. Cirilo Nala, Jr. is the new Provincial Election Supervisor of the
Province who used to be Regional Attorney for Region 10. He has a
confident touch of the intricacies of the operation. Davao del Norte,
Compostela Valley and South Cotabato were not represented. We will
try to pick up workers who are cautious and know their business. In
other words, we will select the most skilled tightrope walkers who
would not throw our cause down the drain.” (emphasis supplied)
So far, only a portion of Zuce's declaration and documentary evidence has been
contested. We refer, specifically, to the prepared statement issued by Ahmad Bayam
at a press conference to which he was reportedly escorted by police, led by PNP CIDG
chief Senior Supt. Asher Dolina2, at the Richmonde Hotel, Pasig City on August 6,
2005.
2
"Bayam was escorted to the press conference by plainclothes policemen led by Senior Supt. Asher Dolina, chief of
the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for the National Capital Region. Although
he arrived at the Richmonde Hotel in Pasig City with them, Bayam acted as if he did not know the police officers. 'I
don't know these people. I don't know why they're here,' he said, referring to the officers, who stood about a meter
away from him in the room where he was talking with reporters." ("Zuce draws new fire … Ex-Palace aide denies
memo on delivering 'electoral pleasure'," Donna Pazzibugan and Norman Bordadera, PDI, August 7, 2005, p. A1)
11
‘Michaelangelo Zuce alleged that I issued a memorandum to
Secretary Jose Rufino endorsing the appointment of Atty. Virgilio
Garcillano. I categorically deny that I ever wrote any such
memorandum,’ Bayam read from a prepared statement.
Bayam said the signature in the memorandum was not his, and
showed reporters his signature on his passport.
Bayam said he knew Zuce since their desks were adjacent to each other
when they were working at the office of Rufino. But he denied he knew
Garcillano.
This could be the reason former Malacañang aide Ahmad Bayam turned
around and belied the allegations made by witness Michaelangelo Zuce
against President Macapagal-Arroyo.
‘We think he was forced to testify against Zuce. We heard his family
has been receiving threats,’ PMSC vice chair Ali Montaha Babao said
yesterday.
xxx xxx xxx
The problem for the PMSC is Bayam himself was talking about bringing
down the administration just last month.
‘Zuce exposed anomalies that could finally lead to the ouster of (Ms.
Arroyo). And here is our chairman saying Zuce is not a credible
man,’ Babao had said in an earlier interview.
12
xxx xxx xxx
In the group’s press conference last month, Bayam himself
announced they were aligning themselves with the group of retired
Gen. Fortunato Abat in pushing for a revolutionary transitional
council to take over from President Arroyo.” ("Family Threatened?
Palace exec under duress, says colleague," Edson C. Tandoc Jr.,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, August 10, 2005, p. A2; emphasis supplied)
Even granting the benefit of the doubt to Bayam's above disclaimer, we note
that Garcillano has not denied the documents attributed to him by Zuce, despite the
incriminating nature of the admissions in his reports, including the sycophantic tenor
of his letter-application to President Arroyo as Comelec Commissioner. If Zuce were to
be believed, the annexes to his affidavit – the foregoing-quoted memorandums of
Bayam and Rufino and the reports of Garcillano to President Arroyo – regarding
activities in violation of the Constitution, elections laws and criminal laws, would all
comprise official documents. As such, these materials would be presumed as
authentic, and their contents would be presumed as well to be true and accurate
reports, until and unless Zuce's credibility is persuasively destroyed. We note,
however, that Zuce has not been sued for libel, falsification of public documents, false
testimony, or perjury.3
On November 11, 2003, about nine months after submitting his above-quoted
report, Garcillano wrote President Arroyo to offer his services anew for the 2004
elections – proudly waving pointblank his record as a servile, partisan Comelec official
in her favor in the 2001 elections – in exchange for his appointment as Commissioner
of the Comission on Elections. His letter reads:
3
On the contrary, Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez (a majority representative and GMA supporter) confirmed in her
privilege speech on September 5, 2005 that she can no longer in conscience hide the truth that there was indeed
electoral cheating in Cebu during the 2004 elections and that what Zuce testified to in the Senate is true. We quote
from the House journal:
“… Rep. Martinez disclosed … that in the last elections, after all the problems they had
encountered in the provincial election in Cebu, she had a conversation with Secretary Joey Rufino.
xxx xxx xxx
Rep. Martinez manifested that she was prevailed upon and advised not to divulge
her conversation with Secretary Rufino but she felt that the sin of omission would be hard
to countenance … She stressed that she had to tell the truth and inform the Filipino people
that the witness named Susie was in fact telling the truth.
xxx xxx xxx
Even as she does not know whether or not the Members could still countenance the
foregoing, Rep. Martinez expressed belief that they now understand why she is on the side of the
Opposition and is voting for the impeachment of the President.” (House of Representatives Journal
No. 14, September 5, 2005; emphasis supplied)
13
the votes of the LAKAS/NUCD senatorial Candidates in Mindanao
during the 2001 Election. After that election, Your Excellency
generously shared your time and honored us with a dinner in the palace.
It was then that Your Excellency mentioned for the first time your
honor’s intention to make me one of the Commissioners.” (emphasis
supplied)
On this letter of Garcillano appears the hand-written marginal note of
Presidential Adviser Rufino to President Arroyo that reads:
“H.E. PGMA He will be a great asset for you. He has proven track
record & can deliver! Part (of) The Antidote Group. TY, (signature)”
(emphasis supplied)
Less than two months after, on December 30, 2002, President Arroyo
announced to the nation that she is not running for President in the elections of 2004.
Ten months later, on October 1, 2003, President Arroyo announced that she is
running for President in the elections of 2004.
A little over four months thereafter, on February 11, 2004 – amid strong,
publicized protestations from high government officials and media due to his unsavory
reputation as an elections “operator” – President Arroyo issued an ad interim
appointment to Garcillano as Comelec Commissioner, just months before the 2004
elections.4
The foregoing materials render undeniable the fact that at the time Garcillano
was given an ad interim appointment as Comelec Commissioner in February of 2004,
just months before the May 10, 2004 elections, President Arroyo not only officially
knew that Garcillano was, for more than a decade already, a corrupt partisan serving
the interests of the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP to which her political party KAMPI belonged,
but as a matter of fact was and had been in active connivance with Garcillano since at
least 2002 in the bribery and recruitment of, and exertion of influence-peddling and
pressure upon, local Comelec officials and employees for the purpose of supporting
her in the elections of 2004. Thus it is evident that the plan to commit electoral fraud,
willful and systematic, was locked in place with the appointment of Virgilio Garcillano
to the highest level of the very constitutional body paid by the Filipino people to
safeguard their sacred choice of national leaders.
4
The magazine Newsbreak reported: “Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. has charged that Garcillano was
involved in a vote-padding and shaving scheme in Northern Mindanao during the 1995 senatorial elections, which the
senator lost. Garcillano was then regional director of Region 10.” Newsbreak also reported in the same article that
“Abalos is a former official of the President’s party, Lakas-CMD.” (“Recipe for Instability,” Aries Rufo, Newsbreak,
http://www.inq7.net/nwsbrk/2004/may/24/nbk_3-1.htm) Manuel Barcelona, the other Comelec Commissioner
appointed by President Arroyo, was, like Garcillano, bypassed by the Commission on Appointments in 2005 in the
wake of the Garci Tapes scandal. (“Palace on Garci: We can’t find him, either,” Manila Standard Today, June 20,
2005, p. A2)
14
B. Implementation of Electoral Fraud/
The Garci Tapes
The documentary and testimonial materials – and the “Garci Tapes” – reveal the
means and methods by which the electoral fraud was implemented.
While certain portions of the populace, specially officials of the incumbent
administration, are convinced that these alleged wiretapped conversations between
Garcillano and the President and many others should be ignored for the reason that
these would be inadmissible in a court of law under our legal system, available
evidentiary materials provide overwhelming logic and factual reason and basis to
consider the literal import and moral significance of their contents for the purpose of
having each Filipino determine for himself the common-sensical truth as to whether or
not, indeed, the incumbent President subverted the electoral process – for which act,
were it not for the peremptory, anti-people sabotage of the impeachment process by
her political allies in Congress, she would have been removed from office and, in due
course, prosecuted, imprisoned, and compelled to pay indemnification.
It will be noted, after all, that no person or entity has ever come forward to
claim violation of his/her/its right to privacy under the Anti-Wiretapping Law. Neither
President Arroyo nor Garcillano have cried foul. No one has dared file suit in court for
the recordation of his/her voice through wiretapping – not the ranking AFP generals,
not the ranking police officials, not even the “Gary” Ruado whom Bunye positively
identified as the House staff member (of Rep. Ignacio Arroyo) who was wiretapped, and
of course not any Comelec official or staff.
Secretary of Justice Raul Gonzalez did announce to the nation (through the
Manila Standard) that wiretapping charges will follow the filing of sedition charges
against former NBI Deputy Director Atty. Samuel Ong, declaring: “I’ll stake my
reputation here.”5
‘The person who heard (Ong’s statements) can testify; the admission of
the person who is holding the tapes that that is the mother of all tapes –
as a declaration against interest – that can be used as evidence,’
Gonzalez said.”
5
emphasis supplied
15
a. The reason why no wiretapping charges
were ever filed against Ong
Neither the police, nor the military, nor the NBI, has attempted any arrest for
violation of the Anti-Wiretapping Law.
The reason is plain and clear. For anyone alluded or referred to in the Garci
Tapes to complain – in or out of court – that his conversation was wiretapped will be to
admit the genuineness of, and actual occurrence of the illegal acts exposed in, the
Garci Tapes conversations. No matter that an admission may refer to only a portion of
these Tapes, it would nonetheless be explosive evidence that wiretapping indeed
occurred and the Garci Tapes do exist.
It is this catch-22 situation that has allowed Filipinos access to these Garci
Tapes that otherwise would have remained secret and suppressed. But most
importantly, the situation has fortuitously recorded, for all Filipinos to hear, the sound
and silence of guilt on the part of all those incriminated therein.
“The story of the tapes began a few months ago when Doble, in a
drinking bout with his buddy Lito Santiago (also formerly of the
PAOCTF), spilled the beans about the wiretaps. What the police have so
far discovered, says Supt. Asher Dolina of the Philippine National Police
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, is that Doble is a good
friend of Santiago’s, who was until recently the driver of former National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Samuel Ong. It was Ong
who releases the three-hour version of the “Garci” tapes on June 10,
saying that the recording was given to him by ISAFP agents.
It would seem that Santiago told his boss Ong about the recording. Ong
supported the candidacy of Fernando Poe, Jr. and had an axe to grind
against the NBI. The NBI official then told his friends in the FPJ-Erap
(Joseph Estrada) camp; one opposition source says former Estrada
Cabinet member Horacio “Boy” Morales was among the first to know. At
any rate, Ong and his friends worked on Doble, using a combination of
money and pressure to get him and his MIG6 21 colleagues to provide
copies of the recording. This answers the question of why the tapes are
being released only now: because it was only in that drinking session
when their existence became known, at least outside of Doble’s MIG 21
circle.
6
i.e., Military Intelligence Group
16
Some opposition sources sat that Doble was paid P2 million by the Erap
camp (as the ISAFP agent himself confirmed to the police when he was
put under investigation). The CIDG says there is a paper trail of the
money, as Doble used it to purchase, among other things, a motor
vehicle. Ong was also supposedly paid for his efforts. Whether other
ISAFP agents or officers were also paid is unknown. It is possible they
were because intelligence sources say Doble could not possibly have had
the access to the whole three-hour wiretaps; at most, he could copy only
those conversations that he himself has recorded and annotated.
Samuel Ong
The foregoing story is authenticated on its major points by former NBI Deputy
Director Atty. Samuel Ong himself, the man who went public on June 10, 2005 with
the “mother of all tapes” on the heels of the June 6, 2005 press conference at which
Presidential spokesman Bunye had presented the tale of the two tapes.8
Following this June 10 exposé, the PNP charged Ong with serious illegal
detention, i.e., that he had kidnapped and detained T/Sgt. Vidal Doble at the San
Carlos Seminary. A warrant of arrest was subsequently issued. To counter the
charges, Ong executed an affidavit, dated August 10, 2005, which affidavit he later
submitted by letter to the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security at the
hearing of December 8, 2005.
In this affidavit, Ong recounts how he learned that the ISAFP had wiretapped
telephone conversations between Garcillano and President Arroyo showing the rigging
of the 2004 presidential elections in favor of Arroyo; how T/Sgt. Vidal Doble, a member
of the ISAFP wiretapping team, had given him copy of these tapes; how he gave
donations amounting to P1 million for Doble’s security; and how, thereafter fearing for
their lives, he, Doble, Santiago (the ISAFP intermediary), and Marieta Santos (who
7
“The Tale of the Tangled Tapes,” Sheila Coronel, PCIJ i Report Special Edition (Year 2005)”
8
It was at this press conference that Spokesman Bunye announced the existence of a “destabilization plot” arising
from tape recordings of genuine conversations between President Arroyo and a “political leader” which were spliced
to make it appear that they were rigging the 2004 elections. [Please see June 6, 2005 in timeline under “Continuing
and Continued Deception and Cover-Up”]
17
turned out to be Doble’s girlfriend) had sought sanctuary at the San Carlos Seminary.
In this affidavit likewise, he vigorously refutes the charge of the PNP that he had
kidnapped ISAFP T/Sgt. Vidal Doble.
Affidavit of former NBI Deputy Director Atty. Samuel Ong dated August 10,
2005, submitted to the Senate, wherein he recounts how he learned that the
ISAFP had wiretapped telephone conversations between Garcillano and
President Arroyo showing the rigging of the 2004 presidential elections in favor
of Arroyo; how T/Sgt. Vidal Doble, a member of the ISAFP wiretapping team,
had given him copy of these Garci Tapes; how he gave donations amounting to
P1 million for Doble’s security; how, thereafter fearing for their lives, he, Doble,
Santiago (the ISAFP intermediary), and Marieta Santos (who turned out to be
Doble’s girlfriend) had sought sanctuary at the San Carlos Seminary through
the help of Bishop Teodoro Bacani.
5. A few days later, Lito handed to me a tape with markings on it. When
we played the tape, I was shocked to hear the voice of a woman
which sounded like that of Pres. Arroyo talking to another man
concerning manipulation of election results. I asked Lito to ask
Doble who took the recording but Lito told me that Doble already
informed him that it was he and other ISAFP Agents who wiretapped
the calls made to Commissioner Garcillano of Comelec and that
several of the calls were those of Pres. Arroyo.
6. Sometime later, Lito told me Doble confided to him that the ISAFP is
equipped with highly sensitive monitoring equipment that can wiretap
telephone and cell phone conversations.
18
7. Also, according to Doble, there were 14 of them assigned to
wiretap conversations of some personalities especially some
opposition personalities and even government officials and that one
of such officials was Comelec Commissioner Garcillano whose cell
phone number was provided to them by their boss.
8. Lito also informed me that after Doble gave the tape to him, Doble
expressed concern about his family in case something happened to him
because of his act of releasing the tape to us. Considering the sensitive
nature of his revelation and the risk he took, I contacted some good
Samaritan friends of mine to help provide him and his family with
financial assistance, I was elated when they were able to raise P1 Million.
10. Because of my plan to make the tape public, I asked Doble to take a
leave of absence from ISAFP. Since we were fearful of Doble's and my
security, Doble agreed to have a video taken in a QC Hotel where I was
temporarily billeted. We proceeded to the Hotel and during the video
recording, Doble narrated the circumstances behind the taking of the
tape recording and his entrusting the tape to me through Lito. With
Doble at the time were his brother and his wife, whom he introduced to
me as Mayet. After the video recording, I handed Doble the amount of P1
Million which, I told him, were donations from well meaning friends who
admired him for his courage and civic responsibility.
11. Because I believed I had the duty to make the contents of the tape
public since they involved public interest, I had earlier made copies of it
and one of which I sent to Sen. Tatad whom I knew had access to some
Catholic Bishops. I also sent a copy each to two ranking military officers
who are both known to me. However, I did not indicate that the tapes
came from me in view of the confidential and explosive nature of its
content. Before taking steps to make the tape public, I had to look for
someone who could arrange for sanctuary for us and Mr. Doble.
12. Sometime after, I was introduced to Rez Cortez who, I was told
personally knew prominent bishops and priest. Cortez brought us at the
Sto. Domingo Church as a sanctuary. Lito, Doble, Mayet and I stayed
there overnight.
13. The following day, Rez Cortez and Sen. Tatad arranged for my
meeting with Bishop Bacani for me to reveal what I knew about the
tapes.
19
14. On June 9, 2005, Sen. Tatad and Rez accompanied me to the
San Carlos Seminary. Sen. Tatad and Cortez first briefed Bishop
Teodoro Bacani. Later, I was ushered to a room where I revealed to
Bishop Bacani that the tape was indeed given to me by Doble
through Lito. The revelation was caught by video through Rez
Cortez.
17. I arrived at the San Carlos Seminary at around 4:00 P.M. on June
10, 2005. At the front of the dormitory building where I waited to be
brought to my room, a GMA van arrived and I saw reporter Arnold
Clavio. He approached me and requested me to join him inside the GMA
van for an interview. I joined him inside the van and he proceeded to
interview me over radio station DZBB.
20. When I went up to the room I was informed that Doble and
Mayet were also billeted in a room on the second floor. Lito was
also provided with his own room.
21. I talked to Lito and Doble several times during our three-day
stay at the dormitory but I was not able to talk with Mayet.
22. On the first day, Doble and Mayet went to take their dinner at
the dining room. Thereafter, Lito often brought their food and
water to their room.
23. During our stay there, I also saw Mayor Binay, Susan Roces,
Sen. Serge Osmeña and other known personalities and they asked
me questions about the tape in the presence of Bishop Bacani and
another priest of the seminary.
24. I categorically deny the claim of Doble that I had any armed
20
men at the San Carlos Seminary guarding him. The only man I had
there was Lito who is a buddy and close and long-time friend of
Doble. In fact, neither Lito nor I was armed while Doble brought
with him his 45 caliber pistol because he said he needed it to defend
himself against anyone that might be sent by Pres. Arroyo or the
First Gentleman to liquidate him because of what he did.
25. Doble and all of us were free to roam along the corridors and vicinity
of the dormitory as, in fact, we had conversations among ourselves and
sometimes with some priests at the reception area located at the corridor
of the second floor. I also did not notice any security personnel of Mayor
Binay in the area as the only other male persons I saw in the building
are Bishops Bacani, some priests and office personnel of the San Carlos
Seminary who hold office at the ground floor of the building.
26. On the night of June 12, 2005, Lito left the San Carlos Seminary.
27. Sometime around 12-1 P.M. of June 13, 2005, I was told that
Doble was fetched by Bishop Socrates Villegas from the San Carlos
Seminary upon the request of the woman claiming to be Doble’s wife
and their two children who were supposedly at the main entrance to
San Carlos Seminary.
28. I was then brought out of the seminary by Bishop Bacani and other
bishops and taken to a safe house in the south.
The criminal case for serious illegal detention against Samuel Ong and Rez
Cortez was dismissed last April 20, 2006 by the Makati Regional Trial Court, where it
was filed by the Department of Justice following the charge of the PNP. In dismissing
the case, Branch 139 Presiding Judge Benjamin Pozon declared: “After personally
evaluating the [DOJ] resolution and the evidence…this court finds no probable cause for
the issuance of warrant of arrests against the accused.”
The dismissal by the Makati court signifies that police authorities had no basis
to accuse Ong of anything in the first place. To us, this confirms that the leadership
of the police authorities in this country deliberately allowed themselves, and thereby
their foot soldiers, to be used to harass Samuel Ong into silence.
Marieta Santos
We note that the testimonies under oath of Marieta Santos before the Senate
coincide with and affirm the foregoing story of Ong on very crucial points. In her said
Senate testimonies, Santos categorically --
21
(a) affirmed the truth of the story of Samuel Ong that he is in possession of the
“mother of all tapes” (i.e., the Garci Tapes) because they were given to him by
ISAFP personnel T/Sgt. Vidal Doble;
(b) stated that the said T/Sgt. Vidal “Jeff” Doble, her boyfriend at the time,
admitted to her that he was among the ISAFP MIG 21 personnel who had
worked on the wiretapping of Virgilio Garcillano’s conversations with President
Arroyo; that in fact she was able to enter the ISAFP’s Blue Room where, Sgt.
Doble and other ISAFP personnel admitted, they did the wiretapping of
Garcillano; that she personally saw the special equipment used for wiretapping
cellphones, like Garcillano’s;
(c) stated that her boyfriend T/Sgt. Vidal Doble admitted to her that he will give
the tapes containing the wiretapped conversations about election fraud between
President Arroyo and Garcillano (i.e., the “Garci Tapes”) to Angelito Santiago9,
who will give it to (former NBI Director) Samuel Ong, who in turn will make the
same public on June 5, 2004; that they were all together when she did see her
boyfriend T/Sgt. Vidal Doble get the tapes out of MIG 21, ISAFP Compound,
Camp Aguinaldo and deliver the same to Angelito Santiago, which the latter in
turn gave to (former NBI Director) Samuel Ong;
(d) through her positive familiarity with them, identified the voice, names and
faces (from photographs) of several ISAFP personnel involved in the wiretapping
that resulted in the “Garci Tapes;” and
(e) recounted how her boyfriend T/Sgt. Vidal Doble had received from Samuel Ong
at the Imperial Palace Suites an amount which Santiago said was P2 million,
after Ong had received the tapes from Doble and after he (Doble) was videotaped
exposing the ISAFP wiretapping.
We quote the statements of Marieta Santos to the Senate under oath on December
8, 2005 and January 19, 2006:
“THE CHAIRMAN. Ang unang tanong pala, bakit kayo nandito ngayon?
9
Santiago was then the driver of Samuel Ong, according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (“The
Tale of the Tangled Tapes,” Sheila Coronel, PCIJ i Report Special Edition (Year 2005)”
22
sabihin sa lahat na wala po silang kasalanan, pare-parehas lang
pong biktima.
THE CHAIRMAN. Ms. Santos, ang hinahanap natin dito ngayon ay sino
ba at saan nanggaling… Saan nanggaling ‘yong tape na sinasabing
nasa possession ni Atty. Ong, ano? Mayroon ka bang nalalaman
patungkol dito sa-- saan ba nanggaling itong tapes na ito?
23
ano, pwede kang makakita ng tape pero ang laman noon ay iba
‘yung pinag-usapan natin? Paano mo ngayon masabi sa Komite
na ‘yung tape na ‘yun ay ‘yun na nga ang may conversation si
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at si Garcillano. I mean,
paano naming mapaniwalaan na ‘yun na nga ang dine-describe
mo na tape?
THE CHAIRMAN. Papaano niya nasabi sa inyo kung nasabi man niya
na papaano niya nakilala na ‘yung nag-uusap na babae at
lalake ay si PGMA at saka si Garcillano. Paano niya nalaman
na sila na nga ‘yun?
24
MS. SANTOS. MIG 21 po.
MS.SANTOS. Opo.
25
sino.
26
THE CHAIRMAN. Paki-describe mo nga kung ano iyong blue room.
MS. SANTOS. Iyong blue room po, marami po silang mga gamit doon,
madaming computers. Tapos may mga ginagamit sila doon na
hindi ko po alam kung ano iyong mga tawag doon pero
maraming equipment. Hindi ko lang po alam kung anong mga
pangalan noon. Pero kung makikita ko po sila ulit,
MS SANTOS. Opo.
27
MS. SANTOS. Mayroon po.
SEN. EJERCITO ESTRADA (J). … O ‘yon lang may kaugnayan kay Vidal
Doble?
SEN. EJERCITO ESTRADA (J). Ilang beses ka labas pasok doon sa Blue
Room?
SEN. EJERCITO ESTRADA (J). Dalawang beses. Kailan ito, noong dala
nila si Sgt. Doble sa—galing sa San Carlos Seminary?
28
MS. SANTOS. Galing kami ng San Carlos Seminaryo, tapos by June
siguro 2005. (ibid., IV-2, January 19, 2006, 12:19 p.m.; emphasis
supplied)
xxx xxx xxx
THE CHAIRMAN. Kaya ko naman tinatanong Mayet yan sapagkat may
lumalabas na balita na si Doble ay nabayaran...
MS. SANTOS. Opo nakita ko pong ibinigay. Ang sabi 2 million, sabi po.
29
MS. SANTOS. “P’re, para sa iyo ito.”
MS. SANTOS. Opo. Basta ang sabi po ni Lito Santiago, “P’re, para sa
iyo ito.”
THE CHAIRMAN. Nung, syempre nung inabot ni Doble yung tape kay
Lito Santiago at kelan nagkaron ng desisyon na yung tape na iyon
ay ilabas sa publiko?
30
MS. SANTOS. Opo. (ibid., VI-1, 10:54 am; emphasis supplied)
31
SEN. LIM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And make it of record also that
our witness, Ms. Marieta Santos, manifested immediately…
(Marieta Santos, t.s.n., Senate Committee on National Defense,
January 19, 2006, page 1, IV-1, 10:59 a.m.; emphasis supplied)
THE CHAIRMAN. Yes. Thank you. Now, can we continue with the
tapes? …
MS. SANTOS. Kilala ko ‘yong boses. Si Kuya Ben po. Code lang
‘yon.
32
MS. SANTOS. Telepono po. Minsan sa…
33
THE CHAIRMAN. Oh, tatlong escort mo?
MS. SANTOS. (Laughter) Hindi po. Noong kinuha po nila kami doon.
34
MS. SANTOS. Po?
SEN. ENRILE. Eh, bakit ‘yung mga opisyal, eh under ni Doble, gano’n
ba?
MS. SANTOS. Hindi po. ‘Pag may time na gusto kong kausapin si
Doble, tumatawag po ako dun sa opisina nila.
35
SEN. ENRILE. Ano ba ang organization ni Doble? Saang organization
s’ya kasama?
“SEN. ENRILE. Office uniform, with blue pants. On this first picture,
Marieta Santos marked the Body of Sergeant Doble of MIG-21
and a certain Technical Sergeant…(t.s.n., Senate Committee on
National Defense, January 19, 2006, p. 6, VII-1, 11:29 a.m.;
emphasis supplied)
And the third picture is a group picture of men, some of them are
without any shirt. And in this picture Ms. Marieta Santos marked
the likeness of a person which she named as Sergeant Velasco of
MIG-21 and another person whose likeness appears here as
Master Sergeant Villedo.
36
Committee on National Defense, January 19, 2006, p. 1, VIII-1,
11:39 a.m.; emphasis supplied)
SEN. ENRILE. Ito ‘yong Dave — may I see the picture, please? (Secretariat)
THE CHAIRMAN. Ito ‘yong Dave na driver ni Colonel Sumayo?
MS. SANTOS. Opo.
SEN. ENRILE. Ito ‘yong Dave na nasa first picture, hindi ba?
MS. SANTOS. Opo.
SEN. ENRILE. So, this is Dave in the first picture na minarkahan mo?
MS. SANTOS. Opo.
SEN. ENRILE. Opo. At ito ‘yong driver ni...
MS. SANTOS. Colonel Sumayo po.
SEN. ENRILE. Group Commander of MIG-21, Sumayo?
MS. SANTOS. Opo. (ibid., Sntupaz,VIII-1, 11:39A.M.; emphasis supplied)
Affidavit of Marieta Santos dated July 23, 2005, submitted to the Senate
Committee on National Defense and Security, corroborating the sworn statement of
Ong, affirming Doble as the source of the Garci Tapes; confirming his videotaped
admission thereof at the Imperial Hotel (as voluntary, contrary to statements that the
ISAFP had forced her and Doble to sign at the ISAFP office and contrary to the re-
enactment that Doble was forced to execute); disclosing her having sought sanctuary
at the San Carlos Seminary with Doble, Ong, and Santiago for fear of their lives
following Ong's exposé; declaring that the PNP's charge that Ong kidnapped Doble is
untrue; and recounting the statements of Doble's wife on the speakerphone as well as
Doble's report from her that the ISAFP had picked up their family from North Cotabato
as leverage --
"1. I am the "girlfriend" of Vidal Doble y Dayola and stayed with him
at the San Carlos Seminary from June 10, 2005 until June 13, 2005;
xxx xxx xxx
2. Sometime in April 2005, Lito Santiago (hereinafter "Lito," for brevity)
fetched Vidal Doble (hereinafter "Jeff'), his brother Rey Doble (hereinafter
"Rey") and me near the corner of Camarilla Street and 15th Avenue,
Cubao, Quezon City, and drove us to Salakot, a restaurant along Timog
Avenue in Ouezon City;
37
Lito. Atty. Ong … told us to meet him at the Imperial Suites, a hotel
at the corner of Timog Avenue and Tomas Morato Extension in
Quezon City;
4. Lito drove us to the said hotel and led us to a room on the fifth (5th)
floor. After a short while, Atty. Ong joined us in the room. Atty, Ong, Lito
and Jeff talked about taping a video explaining how Jeff obtained the
cassette which he previously gave to Lito. Then, Lito took a video of
Jeff while the latter talked about the cassette tape which was taken
from the files of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines {ISAFP};
6. In the morning of Friday, June 10, 2005, Lito drove Jeff and I to the
San Carlos Seminary In Makati, where we arrived between 12:00 noon
and 1:00 p.m. We were informed that Atty. Ong was to make public the
cassette tape, and that staying in the San Carlos Seminary would assure
our security...
xxx xxx xxx
8. After chatting wlth us for a short while, Bishop Bacani and Rez Cortes
told us to feel at home and left us. Jeff, Lito and I walked around the
compound, then, sat in the reception room and watched television. At
mid-afternoon, we tuned in to the news channel while Atty. Ong delivered
a televised statement concerning the cassette tape, from the Metropolitan
Club in Makati;
xxx xxx xxx
10. Between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. of the same day, as Jeff and I were
walking along a corridor upstairs, I noticed a familiar face and told Jeff
that I had seen that man before. Jeff looked around and told me that
the person behind us was an ISAFP agent. At that instant, I noticed
Bishop Bacani running up the stairs and shouting "Jeff, may
nakapasok. May ibang tao!;"
11. Jeff and I rushed downstairs and looked for Lito. After hearing
what had just happened, Lito suggested that we transfer from room
to room during our stay, as it would be safer for us that way. Lito
then led us back upstairs and brought us to another bedroom;
12. In our new room, Jeff inquired about our safety, Lito replied that
"Huwag kayong matakot. Nagpadala na ng security si Mayor Binay
para bantayan tayo. Nagbabantay na ang dalawa sa ibaba."
38
13. For the duration of our stay and to ensure our safety, Atty. Ong,
Bishop Bacani and Lito were the only persons allowed inside our
room. We were, however, free to go wherever we wanted. Thus, I
would periodically go downstairs to the kitchen and get food for Jeff and
me. Downstairs, I conversed several times with Ate Demy, who was the
seminary cook, and with Bishop Bacani's driver. Contrary to the sworn
statements which Jeff and I were made to sign, Atty. Ong had no
other men in the compound except for Lito, and at no time were our
movements restricted nor were we ever prevented from leaving our
room. In fact, Jeff had his gun with him. We were also free to
communicate with the outside, as in fact we did, as we had our
cellular phones with us at all times;
14. It is also not true that our movements were closely monitored
and guarded, nor we followed by armed men even to the extent of
accompanying us to the comfort room. The truth is that the comfort
rooms were inside the rooms which we occupied; hence, it would not have
been possible for anyone to accompany us there. The only guards I saw
were downstairs and were sent there to ensure our safety:
15. On Monday, June 13, 2005, between 10:30 - 11 :00 a.m., Jeff
received a call from his wife Arlene on his cellular phone, which
conversation I heard, as Jeff's speakerphone was on. I heard Arlene
say, "Dad, kung itutuloy mo iyan, kalimutan mo na kaming pamilya
mo. Di bale na ako, pero isipin mo yung mga bata." Immediately
after that conversation, Jeff looked troubled and told me that his
wife and children were taken by the ISAFP from Kidapawan City in
North Catabato and were being held in Manila as leverage to try and
persuade him to go with them. Jeff then said that he had to leave the
seminary soon, as his children were in danger. He asked if I could stay
behind, to which I replied, "Anong gagawin ko dito?;"
16. A short while later, Bishop Bacani entered our room and asked if Jeff
and I were married, as he had heard a woman over the radio, claiming to
be Jeff's wife and asking him to surrender to the ISAFP. Jeff and I
answered that we were not married, to which Bishop Bacani replied.
"Naku, mai-iskandalo ang mga pari niyan." He then asked if it was true
that we were kidnapped we answered that we were not. Ang sabi ko
pa, "Nandito po kami para proteksyonan kami. Nanganganib po kasi
ang buhay namin" Bishop Bacani then said that it was not proper for an
unmarried couple to be in the seminary, and brought me to the seminary
kitchen where he said, "Makipag-kwentuhan ka muna diyan."
39
Santiago and Santos, for fear of their lives, following Ong’s June 10 exposè of the
Garci Tapes.
“Mr. President, for the record, the materials that had been so far
mentioned and now is being entered into the record of the proceedings,
and will be remanded to the custody of the secretariat, Mr. President,
had been transmitted by a handwritten letter from Samuel Ong—again,
for the record.
And I would like to read this, and this is dated 30 November 2005, and
the letter reads as follows:
“Sir:
In connection with the ongoing Senate inquiry into the Hello
Garci tapes, I am transmitting herewith the following, to wit:
1. Reproduction copies of the two Hello Garci tapes, master tapes, and...“
This is the tape, Mr. President, and I am entering into the record and
asking for custody of the secretariat.
40
ending in the possession of Atty. Samuel Ong, Mr. President,
members of the committee and ladies and gentlemen.” (t.s.n., Senate
Committee on National Defense, VIII-1, December 8, 2005 11:14 A.M.
2; emphasis supplied)
Affidavit of Bishop Teodoro Bacani dated August 15, 2005, submitted to the
Senate – affirming the story of Samuel Ong regarding the latter’s having voluntarily
sought sanctuary, together with T/Sgt. Doble, Angelito Santiago and Marieta Santos,
at the San Carlos Seminary through his (Bishop Bacani’s) help and the intercession of
Rez Cortez, for fear of their lives after Ong’s June 10, 2005 exposé of the Garci Tapes,
and contradicting the PNP’s charge that Ong kidnapped T/Sgt. Doble --
4. Much later, Mr. Ong arrived and I also had him brought to a room
of his own far away from the room of the couple, whom I later to
know later was a certain Sgt. Doble and Marietta Santos.
41
recognize him in the dark.
6. Sgt. Doble and his companion mostly kept to their room and there did
not seem to be any direct contact between him and Mr. Ong or Mr.
Cortez, the latter two having kept to their side of the house, while Sgt.
Doble and his companion kept to their room. Once in while I would
check on Sgt. Doble and Marietta to find out if they were alright. At
no time did they ever intimate to me in any way that they were
being detained against their will. Marietta even ventured at least
once to come and get food from our refectory. They feared rather
that government forces might get them, and so they even
transferred to another room where they would not be exposed (I was
told) to sniper fire or observation from the neighboring buildings.
7. On June 11, I bade goodbye to Sgt. Doble and told him that I
would be going to somewhere to officiate at a wedding, and that I
would return at around noon the following day. Again, he showed
no sign that he wanted to leave Bahay Pari. That would have been a
perfect opportunity for him to leave our place and obtain his
freedom if he wanted to. I could even have even brought him out of
our place.
8. The following day, Sunday, was an uneventful. I again told Sgt. Doble
and companion that I was leaving to have dinner with my family. His
friend, Lito Santiago, asked to leave with me, and we left the premises of
the San Carlos Formation Complex uneventfully.
9. When, at around 8:00 A.M. the following morning (Monday), I was told
that the wife of Sgt. Doble was at the San Carlos Formation Complex
Gate, I confronted Sgt. Doble and Marietta, and asked them why they did
not tell me they were not husband and wife. They answered nothing.
10. When I heard allegations that Sgt. Doble was being detained
against his will, I set him apart, outside Bahay Pari, and then to San
Carlos Seminary, and then asked him to tell me if he had indeed
been detained against his will. In no way, whatsoever did he
indicate that he was detained by anybody against his will. In fact, it
would have been all to his advantage to say so if he had really been
detained. And at that time he was free to just walk out of the gate if he
had wanted to. Later on, he did leave with Bishop Socrates Villegas, who
came in to intervene.
11. While Sgt. Doble was away from Bahay Pari, Marietta Santos was
asked to leave Bahay Pari. She told me that Sgt Doble texted her,
asking her to leave because there might be some trouble. After
ascertaining from her that she could safely leave, I had her
accompanied to an exit gate. But before leaving, I interviewed her
and she repeatedly affirmed that she and Sgt. Doble were not
kidnapped. I got her to affirm the same in front of another priest
42
and another witness. She was able to leave safely, escaping
detection by government authorities.
12. It was very clear to me from the beginning of his entry in Bahay
Pari to the time that I last saw him in San Carlos Seminary after
having brought him there myself that Sgt. Doble was not detained
by Mr. Ong or other persons allied with him. In no way did Sgt
Doble signify to me or to anybody else in Bahay Pari that he was
being detained against his will. He willingly came and received
sanctuary in Bahay Pari. The ones he seemed to be wary of were the
government authorities.
Marieta Santos
In her December 8, 2005 testimony before the Senate, Marieta Santos re-
affirmed what she stated in her July 23, 2005 affidavit, corroborating the foregoing
statements of Bishop Bacani, to the effect that she, T/Sgt. Doble, Angelito Santiago
and Ong had voluntarily sought sanctuary at the San Carlos Seminary, and that it is
not true that Ong had kidnapped Doble. She added that in fact she, Doble and
Santiago had gone to San Carlos Seminary even ahead of Ong.
43
MS. SANTOS. Nauna po kami nina Lito Santiago po, si Technical
Sergeant Vidal Doble at saka po ako, nauna po kami kay Atty.
Sammy Ong.
(tsn, Senate Committee on National Defense and Security,
December 8, 2005, pages 1-2; 5; 7; III-1, 10:24 a.m.; emphasis
supplied)
The transcripts further show Marieta Santos' explanation under oath to the
Senate as to the reason why Doble later retracted his videotaped admission (that he
was the source of the Garci Tapes, taken by Ong at the Imperial Palace Hotel) – i.e.,
the fact (according to his wife) that ISAFP had taken his wife and two children into
custody as leverage.
"SEN. LIM. Ngayon, magbalik tayo sa paggawa nitong video clip, saan
ba ginawa ‘yan?
44
MS. SANTOS. Opo.
…
SEN. LIM. Bakit biglang nabaligtad ang pangyayari nung
mapasakamay si Sergeant Doble ng ISAFP iba na ang kanyang
dinedeklara na siya ay pinilit, na diumano hindi sa kanya
galing ‘yung tape. Alin ba ang totoo?
SEN. LIM. Ang ibig mo bang sabihin ‘yung pamilya ni Sergeant Doble
ang hinostage ng ISAFP kaya siya bumaligtad?
MS. SANTOS. Takot din po siya kasi hindi daw po sila pinapayagan
na lumabas. ‘Yong huli po na nag-uusap kami, ang sabi n’ya
sa akin, kung bibigyan uli tayo ng pagkakataon nai-invite sa
Congress, ‘yong nandoon ka, si Atty. Sammy Ong at saka si
Lito Santiago, at saka si Technical Sergeant Vidal Doble, doon
daw po magsasabi na siya ng totoo.
MS. SANTOS. Opo. (pages 4-7, IV-1, 10:34 a.m.; emphasis supplied)
Michaelangelo Zuce
Apart from the foregoing, there is the Senate testimony of Michaelangelo Zuce,
nephew-in-law of Garcillano himself and staff of Presidential Adviser Rufino,
categorically attesting to the genuineness of the Garci Tapes, even identifying the
45
wiretapped cellphone that he personally delivered to Garcillano for the latter’s use as
having come from Bong Pineda, which he picked up from Baby Pineda at the latter’s
Greenhills residence, already installed with a “SIM” card establishing the “hotline”
between Garcillano, Bong Pineda, President Arroyo and other politicians, and
identifying his own voice and nickname (“Louie”) and the voices of Garcillano and
President Arroyo when the Garci Tapes were played.
Testimony of Michaelangelo Zuce under oath before the joint hearing of the
Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, Committee on Games,
Amusement and Sports, Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of
Codes and Laws, and Committee on Finance on August 3, 2005
“THE CHAIRMAN. …So, may we now ask Mr. Zuce. Mr. Zuce, before
we play the tapes, ano ba ang nalalaman po ninyo dito sa isyu
ng wiretapping, ‘yong telepono, halimbawa, kanino galing
‘yon, kanino ibinigay ‘yon?
46
MR. ZUCE. Mayroon na po. Mayroon na po.
THE CHAIRMAN. Ang ibig sabihin alam na kung ano ‘yong number
noong kinuha na ‘yon?
MR. ZUCE. Ang sabi po niya ‘yon daw po ‘yong gagamitin nila, kung
baga hotline ho nila.
47
MR. ZUCE. Sila po ni GMA, Bong Pineda. Basta ‘yon pong mga
higher na – ‘yong higher po na mga…minsan mga politicians
po
MR. ZUCE. Importanteng tao kung baga.” (ibid., p. 4-5, I-3, 1:09 p.m.;
emphasis supplied)
SEN. EJERCITO ESTRADA (J). Alam mo kung sino ang kausap niya?
48
“Male: Hello.
Female: Hello.
Male: Good evening, ma’am. Good evening.
Female: Oo. The FPJ camp raw will file a case against the Board
of Canvassers of ano, duon sa Marawi and the military.
Male: Ano ma’am?
Female:The FPJ camp raw…
Male: Oo.
Female: …will ano, will file a case raw against the Board of
Canvassers and the military in Marawi.
Male: Hindi naman ho siguro nila maaano ang ating Board of
Canvassers. Pero ang military kasi si Gudani, sa kanila
si Gudani. I do not know why they will file.
Female: Oo, oo.
Male: Sa kanila si Gudani, ma’am.
Female: Oo.
Male: That’s why I have to work with General Esperon and
General Kyamko…
Female: Oo, oo.
Male: …na at that time, pinalitan namin si Gudani for awhile.
Female: Oo, oo.
Male: Kaya kwan, pero bakit nila pa-file-an ang mga military
na sa kanila lahat. Halos ayaw na ngang mag-give way
sa amin ang mga tao.
Female: Oo, oo. Meron…”
SEN. EJERCITO ESTRADA (J). Mr. Chairman.
49
Rey Sumalipao
Finally, provincial election supervisor for Lanao del Sur Ray Sumalipao – who is
incriminated in portions of the Garci Tapes, which portions Zuce authenticates --
likewise affirmed the genuineness of the Garci Tapes to the Senate, as Sen.
Panfilo Lacson had observed.
… “And for the record again, Mr. Chairman, I would like to point out that
he is the second person to confirm before this committee the
authenticity of the Garci tapes, at least, to the portions as stated in his
own affidavit. (tsn, hearing of Senate Committee on National Defense and
Security, November 17, 2005; emphasis supplied)
Except for what clearly appears to be trumped-up charges by the PNP against
Ong, Rez Cortez and others for the kidnapping of ISAFP T/Sgt. Doble, the foregoing
sworn verbal and written statements of Ong, Santos, Bishop Bacani and Zuce have
not been contradicted. Neither, we see, has any of these persons' credibility or motives
been put to doubt.10 Sumalipao, on the other hand, may be likened to a hostile
witness whose admissions, because against his interest, are not only credible but in
fact binding upon him. Furthermore, we observe that the ISAFP has repeatedly denied
its capability to wiretap (telephone conversations), only to subsequently admit that in
fact it can.
10
Despite the recent news that Zuce has been employed by Palawan City Mayor Edward Hagedorn for the Small
Town Lottery program of the government, Zuce has not recanted any part of his Senate testimony, affidavit or media
declarations.
11
It is public knowledge that it is Garcillano who is believed to be the man referred to as “Gary” in the Garci Tapes.
12
referring to Col. Pirino, as confirmed in the testimony of Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani on November 17,
2005
50
One”13 that the FPJ camp will file a case against the Board of Canvassers and the
military in Marawi --
Gary : Hello
PGMA : Hello
Gary : Good evening Maam, good evening.
PGMA : Oo…the FPJ camp raw will file a case against the Board of
Canvassers
of ano, dun sa Marawi…
Gary : Ma’am?
PGMA : …and the Military?
Gary : Ano Ma’am?
PGMA : Ahh…the FPJ Camp raw…
Gary : Uh-huh
PGMA : …will ano, will file a case against the Board of Canvassers
and the Military in Marawi.
Gary : Hindi naman po nila maaano yung ating Board of
Canvassers…pero ang military, kasi si Gudani…ah, sa kanila
si Gudani. I do not know why they will file.
PGMA : Oo, oo…
Gary : Sa kanila si Gudani Ma’am, in fact…
PGMA : Oo
Gary : Ah, that’s why we have – I had to work with General
Kyamko…na, at that time, pinalitan namin si Gudani for a
while.
PGMA : Oo, oo
Gary : Kaya kwan, pero bakit nila pafile-filan yun mga military na, sa
kanila lahat? Halos ayaw na nga mag-give way sa amin ng
mga
tao.
PGMA : Oo, oo
Gary : Uh, pero sa Board of Canvassers, Ma…
PGMA :Ah, meron silang – meron silang pinakidnap… (line cut)”
(emphasis supplied)
13
It is public knowledge that it is President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is believed to be the woman referred to as
“Code One” in the Garci Tapes.
14
from the VCD of excerpts of the Garci Tapes submitted to the CCTA on November 23, 2005 by CCTA witness,
expert sound engineer Jaime Sarthou (according to him, as downloaded by him from the PCIJ website) [hereafter,
the “Sarthou VCD”]
51
GENE. Boss, nakatanggap ako ng certification ngayon dito galing sa
mga bata natin sa Lanao. Nag-failure na naman pala dahil
kay Butani.
Putang-ina, sino ba iyong Butani? Bakit…
GARY. Iyon ang pinaalis ko.
GENE. Oo nga, bakit nandoon na naman, papaano ito? Putang ina,
tarantado talaga ‘to.
GARY. Oo, pinaalis ko iyan eh, pero after three days after elections
bumalik man diyan. Ang nandiyan si Colonel Tereno thru
Gen. Tiron at saka si Gen. Quiamco.
GENE. Eh ano ba and gagawin ko, gagawan ko ba ng memo o
ipapaschedule? Paano, gagawa ako ng memo sa inyo.
GARY. Pa-reschedule natin. … /lpp
GENE. Gagawa ako ng ano ha.
GARY. Oo, para sa commission en banc.” (emphasis supplied)
Testimony of Marine Brigadier General Francisco Gudani under oath before the
Senate Committee on National Defense and Security on September 28, 2005 –
affirming pertinent references in the Garci Tapes – attesting to how he was
unceremoniously pulled out of his mission of ensuring clean elections in Marawi,
Lanao del Sur for no valid reason at all at the height of the counting of votes
days after the May 10, 2004 national elections, thus directly corroborating the
pertinent contents of the Garci Tapes –
“[CHAIRMAN] So, the first resource person that will be asked to deliver
an opening statement is Brigadier General Francisco Gudani,
Armed Forces of the Philippines, Marines.
52
I come in compliance of a Senate summon to appear before this
august body. And I would like to make it as an attachment, Mr.
Chairman, sir, the letter.
xxx xxx xxx
I come in compliance of a Senate summon to appear before this
august body in order to manifest and truthfully declare what I
known in my capacity as the former commander Joint Task Force
Lanao.
53
GARY. Hello, good evening Ma’am.
GMA. Hello. The FPJ camp raw will file a case against the board
of canvassers of ano, doon sa Marawi and the military?
GARY. Ano, Ma’am?
GMA. The FPJ camp raw will file a case against the board of
canvassers and military in Marawi.
GARY. Hindi naman po siguro nila maaano ‘yong ating board
of canvassers. Pero ang military, si Gudani, sa kanila
si Gudani. I do not know why they will file.
GMA. Oo, oo.
GARY. Sa kanila si Gudani, ma’am. In fact, I have to work
with General Estaron and General Quiamco at that
time. Pinalitan nga si Gudani for a while. Kaya
kuwan. Pero bakit nila ipa-paylan (file) ang military, nasa
kanila lahat. Halos ayaw na nga mag-give way sa amin
ang mga tao.’
54
all armed forces unit commanders were on red alert without
giving me a relevant task to do during those days when
counting of votes during the 2004 national election was being
done. It is incomprehensible and illogical that I would be asked to
leave my unit when my presence as a commander was very
material. Like a jigsaw puzzle, I was able to resolve the enigma
when I was able to talk with a classmate from the Philippine
Military Academy who is now occupying also a top-level
position in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He informed
me by saying that after a lot of money has been given to
concerned individuals for them to deliver the necessary votes
in favor of President Gloria Arroyo and also my classmate told
me that Garcillano asked the provincial election supervisor of
Lanao del Sur, Recio Malipao15 if he could rig the election in
the place. Sumalipao, he could not rig the election with
Gudani around. All that I could say is that I did my best to do
my duty as a professional soldier so that the task given to us
to preserve the sanctity of the ballot would be performed. I
saw to it that this mission has been communicated to my
subordinate commanders, one of which – one of whom is present
here, the battalion commander of the 7th Marine Battalion, Colonel
Balutan. And I saw overtly and covertly. Ironically, what I got in
return was an order of relief from my post. What they did
worst is that I was replaced by an army colonel in spite of the fact
that almost all members of then joint task force Lanao were
marine soldiers.
15
referring to Rey (or Ray) Sumalipao, provincial election supervisor for Lanao del Sur (based on a later portion of
this testimony as well as his (Gudani’s) affidavit dated September 28, 2005, submitted to the Senate Committee on
National Defense an Security on September 28, 2005, and the testimony of Marine Col. Alexander Balutan before the
same Senate Committee on September 29, 2005)
55
I would like to personally say and quote the Bible, `I
would rather obey God rather than men.’
SEN. ENRILE. You have already taken an oath and that is part…
56
We were receiving complaints from all parties because
our men were very strict. We only obey the instructions of
the Comelec that we will only allow as many watchers inside
the canvassing center. And it was on the third day, May 12 –
on May 12 of 2004, Your Honors, sir, that I was told to go to
Manila and by then I did not know the reason. It was only
now, sir, as I have stated in my opening statement, that it
was only lately when I found about why they had to junk me
out of the place.
xxx xxx xxx
SEN ENRILE. You said somebody told you to go to Manila. Who was
that, General?
xxx xxx xxx
MR. GUDANI. Your Honors, sir, actually, there were two of them,
General Quiamco and Admiral De Leon, the then flag officer in
command.
SEN. ENRILE. But were you – did you not argue with them that you are
beyond their jurisdiction, you were under the jurisdiction of the
Commission on Election? During that time, all military personnel
were deputized by the Commission on Election and you are
subject to their control and command.
MR. GUDANI. Your Honors, sir, I was not able to argue with them.
SEN. ENRILE. And the Commission on Election did not object that you
were being knocked out from your place of work as deputy of the
Commission on Election during an election time? The
Commission on Election did not say anything at all?
THE CHAIRMAN. Noted, Your Honor, and there are other personalities
that will be subsequently invited.
xxx xxx xxx
SEN. OSMEÑA. Didn’t the tape mention that it was the Commission on
Election or Garcillano himself who asked for the relief of General
Gudani?
57
SEN. LACSON. Yes, going back to my question and to your answer. In
other words, conclusion ni Garcillano na dahil hindi ka
sumusunod sa mga pinag-uutos nila, in spite of overwhelming
pressure, ang conclusion niya doon ka na agad sa kabila. He did
not even bother to conclude that you were just being non-
partisan. As an officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as a
deputy of the Comelec, pag hindi ka sa kanila, ang conclusion nila
doon ka sa kabilang kampo. Is that a correct observation, General
Gudani?
SEN. LACSON. Were you actually relieved of your – by the way, aside
from being a brigade commander, ano pa ba ‘yong ibang duty or
duties mo doon sa Lanao or sa Mindanao?
MR. GUDANI. … Your Honor, sir, Mr. Chairman, they say I was not
relieved. I say yes and no. I was not relieved…
MR. GUDANI. Yes, sir, Your Honor. I was not relieved because there
was no relieved order. But I say yes, I was relieved because there
was an order replacing me by a certain Colonel Perino of the
Philippine Army.
xxx xxx xxx
THE CHAIRMAN. Yes. And you were pulled out, I would not say
relieved, when you were pulled out from the area as Brigade
Commander, who replaced you as Brigade Commander?
xxx xxx xxx
MR. GUDANI. Mr. Chairman, sir, Colonel Cesario Atienza who was them
my Deputy Brigade Commander was the one working with Colonel
Perino.
58
xxx xxx xxx
MR. GUDANI. He was designated, sir, as the OIC, Officer-in-Charge of
Joint Task Force in my absence.
xxx xxx xxx
THE CHAIRMAN. Right. You were replaced by Colonel Perino as
commander of the task force but not as commander of the
brigade?
THE CHAIRMAN. Did you feel that without the relieve orders, you still
were responsible for the brigade? In the absence of a formal
relieve order. What if your brigade got intro trouble, ambush,
attack or simply fail to perform their duty. Who would have been
held responsible considering that there was no written order to
relieve you as brigade commander?
MR. GUDANI. Mr. Chairman, Your Honors, that was the very reason, sir,
why as per verification from my executive diary persisted or
insisted that I should be sent back immediately. I arrived Manila
12 May. I reported to the then Commandant General Teodocio
who accompanied me to the quarters of Admiral de Leon where I
was told to spend one week or about ten days in Manila, play golf,
go to Boracay..
MR. GUDANI. “Wala pala, sir, eh. Why are you allowing this to happen
to me?” In my opinion, sir, if you do this to my subordinate
commander, you have to kill me first. Relieving my subordinate
commander without my approval, you’ll have to kill me first. And
that is how…
59
THE CHAIRMAN. That happened to me many times in the past.
MR. GUDANI. And that is why I insisted many times to go back because
I note, Mr. Chairman, Your Honor, sir, that in the absence of a
relief order, I am still responsible whatever First Marine Brigade
then will do or fail to do.
xxx xxx xxx
SEN. ENRILE. Lieutenant Admiral de Leon still in the service?
60
MR. GUDANI. Mr. Chairman, I am arriving at that.
MR. GUDANI. That was my question to him, Mr. Chairman, Your Honor,
sir,
MR. GUDANI. So, when I asked Sumalipao, “How come you are taking
orders from Garcillano, is he assigned here?” And he said, “Yes.”
And I saw directives or memorandum to Sumalipao signed by
Garcillano.
61
Testimony of Marine Brigadier General Francisco Gudani under oath before the
Senate Committee on National Defense and Security on November 17, 2005 –
likewise affirming pertinent references in the Garci Tapes – reiterating that for about
ten days, at the height of the canvassing during the 2004 national elections, he was
relieved of his command by (Army Col.) Pirino and sent to Manila, such that one of his
battalion commanders was questioning the authority (of the latter)
“THE CHAIRMAN. How about the Pirino case? He was the one who
relieved you?
THE CHAIRMAN. Yes. How long were you out of your command?
THE CHAIRMAN. Ten days. And this was at the height of the counting…
MR. GUDANI. Again, Mr. Chairman, that is the main reason why Col.
Balutan and company were questioning the authority of …
MR. GUDANI. Yes, Your Honor.” (Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, t.s.n.,
Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, November
17, 2005)
Testimony of Marine Col. Alexander Balutan under oath before the Senate
Committee on National Defense and Security on September 29, 2005,
corroborating the testimony of Gen. Gudani, the fact that he was a “victim of
circumstances” in carrying out his duty of securing clean elections in Lanao del Sur,
and protesting how his superior was unjustly relieved
62
the last national – local elections under the leadership of General
Gudani, the 1st Marine Grigade.
16
from the Sarthou VCD (Conversation No. 36 in PCIJ’s version of the Garci Tapes [hereafter, “PCIJ Garci Tapes”])
63
ipadala sa ano, sa Zamboanga…para may bargaining chip
tayo
dyan…
Gary : M-hm
Boy : …eh damputin na natin yung pamilya din nya…
Gary : Ah, oo.
Boy : …sa mga – ano …makapagsalita.
Gary : Oo man.
Boy : Kasi delikado yan eh.
Gary : (From Visayan) Pero nagtrabaho ba talaga yan?
Boy : Huh?
Gary : Nagtrabaho ba yan?
Boy : Nagtrabaho yan, Sir…pero yung trabaho niya…anu yun…(Visayan
–
limpyo) malinis ang trabaho nila…Ang problema ang Catangan –
bako
yun…sabi…sabihin siguro niya na…binaligtad ni Catangan dun
sa itaas…
Gary : Mm..
Boy : …sa Provincial level
Gary : Ah… (line cut – continuation)
Boy : Hello
Gary : Hello…Uhh
Boy : Hello Sir…
Gary : Boy…
Boy : Yes, Sir.
Gary : Maghanap ka ng, ng… yung “well-meaning” na mga mag-anak
nya
wag mo munang, uh, i-pakikidnap yung
pamilya…uhh…”soft touch”
muna na pwedeng maka-persuade sa kanya, o ano,
makapag…(line
cut)”
Gary: Hello
Code 1: Hello, did you get my text about the Tipo-tipo?
Gary: Oho, oho Ma’am kwan ho, that’s what I’m being fearful
about. Kung si Rashma Hali yun, that’s why we’re asking
people to look for her so that we can control her.
Code 1: She’s probably already being held by them.
Gary: Ma’am?
Code 1: She’s being held by them already.
Gary: She is here, that’s why if it is possible we will ask her family
to call her up from Zamboanga.
17
from the PCIJ Garci Tapes
64
Code 1: O sige, ok.”
18
from the PCIJ Garci Tapes
19
from the PCIJ Garci Tapes
65
except kay Wahab Akbar. Kaya dapat si Wahab ang
mawarningan.
Ruben: Pero, ano ba pare yung pinakikitang ano ni Rufus na ano....?
Gary: Ah, pabayaan mo siya but it does not have anything to do with
the President.
Ruben: Ibig mong sabihin yung pinakikitang dinagdagan daw yung
boto ni Presidente eh....
Gary: Hindi naman nila matetestiguhan kung hindi sa kanyang
munisipyo.
Ruben: Yung Tipo-tipo di ba?
Ruben: Hindi ba yun ang pinepresenta ni Rufus na dinagdagan?
Gary: Yung pinapakita ni Rufus, tingnan natin sa Provincial
Canvass, kasi wala naman magagawa yan dun sa kanyang
munisipyo. Bahala siya, kaya nga ina-ano ko si Wahab, pina-
aano ko kay Wahab ngayon, dapat si Presidente ma-kwan
niya kay Wahab para si Wahab ang kumuha ng tao na yan
kung hindi, ipakukuha ko ang pamilya niyan.
Ruben: Uh-hum.
Gary: Oo nga, pero ang problema niyan, wala naman kay
Presidente dyan. Last resort, pakukuha ko ang pamilya nyan.
Ruben: Yun na lang ang dapat gawin dun.
Gary: Oo, pero dapat malaman ni Wahab na si Wahab, kasi ang more
damage will be against that Wahab Akbar, not the President.
Ruben: Bakit, naapektuhan ba yung boto ni Wahab?
Gary: Siya lang talaga ang ano malaking naka-pabor. Kaya kung
maaari papuntahin ko dito yung supervisor, patago ko rin dito sa
kin. Because, I want to clean out kung alin yung mga by
municipality results.
Ruben: Hindi iyon ang nagkakaproblema dahil si Wahab ang
nagpatrabaho nyan eh.
Gary: Eh ang problema niyang si Wahab, gumawa si Wahab nung huli
na.
Ruben: Huli na nga eh. Akinse na nung gumalaw si Wahab eh.
Gary: Alam mo si Wahab was working for FPJ actually.
Ruben: Oo, nung una.
Gary: Nung nalaman niyang matatalo si FPJ, saka bumaligtad.
Ruben: Sinabi mo, totoo talaga.
Gary: Yung mga tao namin diyan, eh galit na galit sa kanya eh.
Kaya ito, kung anuman basta malalaman hanggang umaga, ng
maagang-maaga kung ano talaga ang score doon so I can tell
them to get her families kung halimbawa. Sabagay medyo
matindi na ito kasi andun si Lomibao, andun naman si... ewan
ko kung sino pang nandun, may isang colonel na nandun.
Kung kailangang kunin, di kunin na ang pamilya nya.
Lokohan na rin lang eh, di kwan, Pero yang Rufus nayan, wala
namang alam yan.
Ruben: Kaya nga, kaya nga.
Gary: Ewan ko lang kung pupunta pa uli yun, pakidnap ko na lang
siya.
66
Ruben: Hindi naman pumupunta, pero ang balita nandirito sa
Parañaque.
Gary: Nandito na yung ano....?
Ruben: Nandito na sa Parañaque nun pang Saturday.
Gary: O sige. Basta’t we’ll ask somebody to look for her and then
get her family, kung pwede.”
On August 18, 2005, Rashma Hali confirmed to the media20 the harassment
and pressure for her not to divulge the fraudulent electoral practices employed in
Tipo-tipo, Basilan in favor of President Arroyo.
Then there is the fact, we note, that the three-hour Garci Tapes actually
comprise an already cumulated version of recorded data, compressed into a four-tape,
three hours worth of tape recordings covering a grand total of 152 conversations, that
occurred – a week after the 2004 elections – over a period of 33 days (from May 17 to
June 18, 2004),21 which uniformly capture the voice of one man (Gary), who speaks to
at least 36 other, identified personalities (including officials in the highest echelons of
the military) and to some of them repeatedly, and other unidentified persons, about
variegated facets of the art of implementing electoral fraud, from the soft technique of
persuasion, to the less soft option of downright crime, like kidnapping. Of the grand
total of 152 conversations, 15 are between Code One and Gary22, during the period
May 26, 2004 to June 10, 2004 (or a span of 16 days).
On June 6, 2004, when he presented two audio compact discs to the media,
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye revealed that some person/s or entity/ies
fabricated tape recordings – which purport to contain wiretapped conversations
showing President Arroyo’s involvement in electoral fraud – in order to destabilize the
present administration.
We think that logic and common sense easily rule out the second scenario. As
so wisely put by the sound engineer and expert Jaime Sarthou, based on his
experience of 27 years:
20
on the program “TV Patrol” of ABS-CBN, Channel 2
21
based on the PCIJ Garci Tapes
22
“The Unmaking of A President,” Sheila Coronel, PCIJ I Report Special Edition “The Queen’s Gambits,” p. 3
67
“2. If the Garci CDs came from fake tapes or spliced tapes being used to
frame-up the President, this would be the first time in my 27 years
experience as recording engineer to see such a masterpiece, that only a
genius of all geniuses can produce or fabricate. It will take a psychic and
a sound genius to make the script that will detail events, many of which
only became known later and make it appear that Pres. Arroyo was
speaking. It would be absurd for someone who was merely trying to
frame-up Pres. Arroyo to make a 3-hour CD, complete with innocuous
conversations by different people not related at all to the President, while
Pres. Arroyo has only a few minutes of participation in the three hour
CD. The genius will then need to ensure that the different scenarios in
the script coincide exactly with what is transpiring during the period of
months that the CDs relate to. Then the genius will have to look for
many actors who have exactly the same voice as all the persons the CDs
wishes to portray (including maids, drivers, other politicians, mayors, for
example), so similar that it will fool trained audio experts. Then the
person framing up the President will be so powerful to influence the
President into not answering questions on whether it was her on the CDs
or not even if the President knows that it was not her speaking on the
CDs, and later confess to it and thereby entrap her into a serious
scandal. That for me, would be one of the greatest, although impossible,
feats by a serious audio expert and script writer.”23 (Affidavit of Jaime
Sarthou dated February 20, 2006, pp. 4-5)
On the other hand, we think that the first scenario (i.e., that the voice of
President Arroyo was fabricated by inserting and splicing into 137 other genuine
conversations, and therefore the voice of Code One is not the voice of President Arroyo)
would be contrary to both our elementary sense of hearing and our elementary
common sense. On the significance of our own sense of hearing, the expert witness
Jaime Sarthou had this to say:
23
As the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (“PCIJ”) has reported: “… several Comelec officials
interviewed by the PCIJ as well as former Comelec chair Christian Monsod confirm it is indeed Garcillano's voice that
is in the recording. Moreover, Garcillano identified himself in several of the wiretapped conversations and also spoke
to various individuals — his wife Grace, his secretary Ellen Peralta, and his maid Lyn — whose connection to him
cannot be denied.” (“Virgilio Garcillano Master Operator,” Sheila S. Coronel, PCIJ i Report Special Issue, July, 2005,
pp. 18-25)
68
intonation of the spoken (or sung) words and other audio and phonetic
characteristics of a person thereby making that person’s voice
scientifically recognizable by that expert. As a recording engineer I know
the voice of Pres. Arroyo and recognize it as one and the same voice that
was speaking in the CD because I have heard her so many times. The
listening capacity of experienced recording engineers is a scientific device
that is credible in discerning and distinguishing voices. This is what we
do everyday—listen and distinguish sounds and separate the genuine
and the imitation.” (ibid.)
In other words, to the mature, unbiased and reasonable Filipino mind, the truly
more logical, common-sensical and therefore convincing scenario is that the voice of
Code One in the Garci Tapes is that of President Arroyo talking with Garcillano, on
many different occasions, about manipulation of electoral officials and electoral
results, exactly in the same manner that most other callers of Garcillano had called
the latter for the same purpose.
"Q: Sir, can we just c1arify. So, you are saying that it was
indeed the President’s voice?
BUNYE: That is President’s voice, but the other party on the line
is not that of a commissioner." (emphasis supplied)
Next there was her very own lawyer, Atty. Pedro Ferrer, who candidly made the
admission on national television on August 10, 2004. Then there was her
Environment Secretary, Michael Defensor who, like Spokesman Bunye, announced to
the whole world at his emergency Sulô Hotel press conference on August 12, 2005 --
“Yes, it is the voice of the President, but that is not the President talking." Yet,
when asked on the same occasion as to what President Arroyo was apologizing for
when the tape was supposedly fake, he said: “She apologized for making the call.”
("`It’s Gma Voice But She’s Not The One Talking’ … Defensor’s experts say tapes
69
doctored," Norman Bordadora, PDI, August 13, 2005, pp. A1 & A17; emphasis
supplied)
Finally, testifying on the Venable Llp. contract, her National Security Adviser
Norberto Gonzales admitted before the Senate that President Arroyo had indeed been
wiretapped. We quote Senator Biazon:
Someone has commented that, actually, the Garci Tapes provide more than just
evidence in and of themselves. Their added value lies in the fact that they provide a
roadmap – they point to detailed, identified or identifiable signposts like names, official
positions, personalities, places, numbers, dates, election documents like SOVs24 and
COCs25, techniques, requests or desiderata, and so forth. Details that would be like
royal dishes served on a silver platter to any serious, competent investigator
unhobbled by any issuance akin to E.O. 464.
But such as it is, E.O. 464 notwithstanding, eyewitnesses have in fact come
forth26, with first-hand stories and genuine documents so convincing beyond
suspicion, too telling to ignore; witnesses who experienced their stories about or
related to electoral fraud directly through their very own senses. We have reproduced
the words of Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, who to this day, for the sake of truth and
his belief in the Almighty, is braving court-martial proceedings in the wake of his
defiance of E.O. 464. Before him came eyewitnesses Michaelangelo Zuce (Garcillano’s
nephew-in-law and Presidential Adviser Rufino’s staff) and Army Capt. Marlon
24
or Statement of Votes
25
or Certificates of Canvass
26
not only regarding electoral fraud but graft and corruption as well
70
Mendoza, and after him, Namfrel Lanao del Sur Provincial Chairman Hadji Abdullah
Dalidig.
We think it likewise fit to reproduce the sworn words of these latter three
eyewitnesses, unrebutted and undenied to the present time, as follows:
“1. I was a Presidential Staff Officer from February 2001 to July 2004 of
the Presidential Liaison Officer for Political Affairs, Malacañang, with
Secretary Jose Ma. A, Rufino as Head of Office; and Presidential Staff
Officer 5 of the Political Coalition Affairs Office (OPCA), a unit of the
Political Affairs Office of the Office of the President, and headed by USEC
Raymundo T. Roquero, from September 2004 to May 2005. I have
tendered my irrevocable resignation and stopped reporting for work at
that Office since May 2005.
xxx xxx xxx
3. The Office also presented to PGMA a special project dated 10 October
2002 signed by Sec. Rufino on the Nationwide Consultation of Election
Officers Under The Stewardship of Atty. Garcillano, a copy of which is
attached as Annex “B”, together with a proposed budget as Annex “B-1”.
The special project was divided into three (3) operations, for Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao. We then requested funding for the project from
the President and an initial funding of P1Million was given to our Office
for the consultation of election officers in Mindanao.
71
5. These consultation meetings discussed the political situation in
all the provinces in Mindanao, including who are the politicians
supporting and who are against PGMA. Regional Director Atty.
Garcillano also talked to the election officers and asked them
whether, if PGMA runs for President, she is assured of support from
them in their respective assigned areas for her candidacy in 2004.
These election officials expressed their willingness to support PGMA’s
candidacy depending on what Director Garcillano wanted them to do.
The Mindanao election officials present also said that Atty. Garcillano be
appointed Commissioner so that he would be behind them and be able to
answer for them in their efforts of supporting PGMA..
72
officemates were sent in his behalf and they distributed envelopes
each containing P25,000 to the attendees.
xxx xxx xxx
13. Before we ended the meeting, 1 brought up the matter
of the accommodation at Rothman Hotel in Malate of the 27 RDs and
PES because our office could spend only for one day. Bong Pineda asked
me how much was needed and when I gave the estimate of more than
P100,000, Bong Pineda immediately gave me P150,000 in cash and,
if this would not be enough, to tell him how much the shortage
would be. We were also told that PGMA wanted to have a secret
dinner with the Mindanao RDs and PES at her house in La Vista.
Mrs. Pineda would send a vehicle to fetch all the officials from
Rothman Hotel. I remember this was in January 2004.
14. When the day of the dinner came, a Coaster and a Land
Cruiser arrived at the hotel around 5 P.M. All election officials rode on
the Coaster; only Atty. Francisco Pobe (PES of Agusan del Norte) and
myself were in the Land Cruiser. On the way to La Vista, we dropped by
McDonald’s and for the first time I was introduced to Mrs. Baby Pineda
by Atty. Pobe as Com. Garcillano’s nephew. Mrs. Pineda also asked Atty.
Pobe to write down all our names on a piece of paper. After an hour of
snack, we proceeded to PGMA’s house in La Vista with Mrs. Pineda’s car
(with Comm. Garcillano and Governor Dy of Isabela also on board) going
ahead of the two vehicles. Upon arrival at PGMA’s residence in La
Vista, we were brought to a lower level where the dinner tables had
already been arranged but we waited for 2 hours before PGMA
arrived at around 9:00 P.M.
73
and asked me to sign a receipt for it. I noticed the box was already
opened so I asked the secretary why and I was told the box was opened
because they already placed the SIM card inside the phone and that they
already got the phone number. When I delivered the cellphone to
Comm. Garcillano, he told me this phone would he where PGMA, Mr.
and Mrs. Pineda, and other prominent persons would be calling him;
the Commissioner referred to the cellphone as their Hotline.
24. Regarding the Gloriagate tape, from what I heard from the
tape, all the conversations really took place because Comm.
74
Garcillano told me about them and about the calls from the field and
the canvassing. I was also in the areas when the conversations in
the tape occurred and some of which were told to me by PES after
their talks with Comm. Garcillano. To me, Comm. Garcillano being
used by PGMA during the elections in exchange for his ambition to
become a COMILLEC Commissioner, his having become known to
the Pinedas and the fact that the election officials had dinner with
PGMA in La Vista — not just once and not just with Mindanao
election officials — were serious violations of Law.
Testimony of Michaelangelo Zuce, under oath before the joint hearing of the
Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, Committee on Games,
Amusement and Sports, Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of
Codes and Laws, and Committee on Finance on August 3, 2005
75
SEN. MADRIGAL. …nagpatawag ng meeting sa special operations,
ano ang special operations?
“SEN. EJERCITO ESTRADA (J). Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the
record, Ginoong Zuce, ikaw ba itong Louie diumano’y
binanggit ni Commissioner Garcillano sa “Hello Garci” tape?
76
MR. ZUCE. ‘Yong una po, namigay din po doon pati po ‘yong
pangalawa. Kasi ‘yong pangalawa…
MR. ZUCE. Opo. Kasi ‘yong pangalawa, sir, bale ‘yong hindi nakarating
noong una – unang pagpunta ay doon po sa pangalawa na
sumama at may mga taga…(ibid., p. 124-125; emphasis supplied)
MR. ZUCE. Sa ngayon po medyo hindi na siguro; pero noon po, puwede
dahil…
77
SEN. OSMEÑA. Nagre-report si Atty. Garcillano kay Joey Rufino?
SEN. OSMEÑA. Hindi. Pero halatang-halata itong office ng, Office for
Political Affairs has the cover of officialdom, presidential liaison
office po ang tawag dito, ngunit itong mga activities na ganito
parang party affairs ito. Ngunit tinatanong ko lang, saan kaya
nanggaling itong 1 million na ito?
78
MR. ZUCE. Opo.
SEN. OSMEÑA. Okay. Ito po, “We then requested for funding for the
project from the President.” From the President mismo.
MR. ZUCE. Ang hawak ko lang po is, iyong letter po namin na ipinadala
sa kanya regarding po doon sa project.
SEN. OSMEÑA. Okay. So, “…if PGMA runs for president, she is assured
of support from them…” - meaning, the election officers – “…in
their respective assigned areas…
SEN. OSMEÑA. …in their respective assigned areas for her candidacy in
2004. So, ito pong mga consultation meetings is to get
commitments…
79
SEN. OSMEÑA. …to cheat on behalf of Gloria Arroyo in case she
runs for President?
MR. ZUCE. Pinadala po ‘yan, sir, kasi mayroon kaming pinadala doon
sa opisina mismo ni Presidente na may cover po na “confidential.”
Wala po lang ako noon, sir. Hindi po ako nakapagpa-xerox noon.
MR. ZUCE. Marami pong bagay po ‘yong “He can deliver,” pero para
sa nasa commission ka, ang ibig sabihin po you can deliver
votes.” (ibid., p. 145; emphasis supplied)
Testimony of Michaelangelo Zuce, under oath before the Joint Hearing, Senate
Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, Committee on Games, Amusement
and Sports, Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and
Laws, and Committee on Finance on August 10, 2005
80
MR. ZUCE. Siyempre po, marami pong magagalit kasi pag pumapasok
po kami sa isang canvassing area, nagbabago ho ‘yong trending.
MR. ZUCE. Meron po, Your Honor. Kasi pagkatapos niya pong
kausapin or pag nagri-ring pa lang, sinasabi niya na “Si
Presidente ito.” Tapos…
MR. ZUCE. Opo. (ibid., p. 8-9, II-3, 1:19 p.m.; emphasis supplied)
Affidavit of Army Capt. Marlon Mendoza dated August 6, 2005 submitted to the
Senate when he testified on August 10, 2005, corroborating the testimony of
Michaelangelo Zuce regarding manipulation of election results, attesting that he heard
the boasting admission of Garcillano to the effect that jueteng lord Bong Pineda has
81
provided P300 million to ensure the election of President Arroyo, as well as witnessed
the bribery of Comelec officials by election officers and by Zuce in behalf of Garcillano
to benefit President Arroyo
82
3. On May 11, 2004, I was asked by my boss Com. Virgilio
Garcillano to act as Security Officer for Michaelangelo Suze, and a
certain King James (friend of GMA), Butch (a consultant related to
DFA Sec. Romulo) and a certain Jun L. Bamboo of the Presidential
Management Services;
83
Kamusta na si GMA dito? Then he replied by saying, “Sir,
ginagawan na namin ng paraan dito”. Upon hearing that, I
called up my classmate through my cellphone that there was
an ongoing rampant cheating being made by the group of GMA.
I almost cried while I was talking to my classmate, but he told
me `we cannot do anything at this time, mag-ingat ka dyan.’
xxx xxx xxx
13. Early morning, we left Cotobato City and went back to
Mindanao State University in Lanao and I took our lunch and meet
other groups I could not recall their names but I can recognize
their faces. While having our lunch, I heard that a certain
General in a camp located in the upper portion of Mindanao
State University relieved from his position for not cooperating
with the Comelec Officials favoring GMA. They even laughed
about the misfortune of said General. I was frightened upon
hearing the incident, and I told myself “what can I do now with
this irregularities going on, I am only just a captain”. So I kept
silent and just continued to do my duty as instructed to perform
security for the group;
xxx xxx xxx
14. The next day we went to the old house of Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo in Marawi City to have a meeting with some people. There I
saw the picture of GMA when she was still single. And we took our
lunch in a restaurant which was near a lake. While we were
having lunch, I heard somebody saying “huling binibilang ang
balota sa area ng Lanao del Norte at Lanao del Sur para
makakuha ng dagdag if GMA will lose in other areas in the
country”;
xxx xxx xxx
20. That I cannot stomach what happened when we were
in Mindanao but I had no choice. I have to perform my job as a
Security Officer for Michaelangelo Suze under the instruction
of my boss Com. Virgilio Garcillano;
21. That I hope that the truth would eventually surface and
that. justice would prevail.
84
success of GMA. When Com. Virgilio Garcillano noticed that I
was talking with the Comelec Director, he scolded me;
25. May truth and justice prevail. The truth shall set us free!”
(emphasis supplied)
Testimony of Army Capt. Marlon Mendoza, under oath before the Joint Hearing
of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs, Committee on
Games, Amusement and Sports, Committee on Constitutional Amendments,
Revision of Codes and Laws and Committee on Finance on August 10, 2005
85
dinadaya nila.
xxx xxx xxx
SEN. LACSON. Anyway, you mentioned a certain general who was
relieved for refusing to cooperate with the cheating
machinery in Mindanao at that time. Can you identify to us
itong heneral na ito?
MR. MENDOZA. Once I see them, sir, I could easily identify them, sir.
SEN. LACSON. Mr. Chairman, can I direct the question to Mr. Zuce if he
can recall who the Malacanang officials being referred to by
Captain Mendoza in the Diamond Hotel?
xxx xxx xxx
THE CHAIRMAN (SEN. VILLAR). Yes. Mr. Zuce, please answer.
SEN. LACSON. In the Diamond Hotel meeting last April, April of 2004.
86
MR ZUCE. Ang madalas ho naming kausap doon, unang-una po iyong
si Butch Pakinggan na consultant po ni Sec. Romulo, and then
pati po iyong Usec niya na si Usec Ebarle, iyon na iyong
madalas kong natatandaan ko po.
xxx xxx xxx
SEN. PIMENTEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Napakaganda iyong mga
testimony mo pero ang pangamba ko baka bukas nasa television
ka’t mag-sorry kayo kay Pangulo. Ano ba sa tingin mo, hindi
mangyayari iyon?
SEN. PIMENTEL. Tama iyon at iyon lang ang gusto namin na huwag
mag-testify dito sa mga hindi totoo. So, we’d like to present
therefore, along that line, Mr. Chairman, at kina-clarify ko lang
itong statements mo, a certain King James, iyon ba ay si George
Go King ng Cagayan de Oro?
MR. MENDOZA. He was only called as King James. Kingpin nga ang
tawag nila. I’m not particular what is kingpin. Hindi naman ako,
ngayon ko lang, first time ko lang ma-assign ng Comelec, then he
was a Chinese businessman, very rich, according to him. Doon pa
raw natutulog si GMA pag nasa Cagayan de Oro City. And he was
the one providing us for coordination, mobility and other things.
SEN. PIMENTEL. Medyo makapal. Okay. Now, would you know anong
87
denomination ng pera na inilagay sa envelope? One
thousand?
MR. MENDOZA. When I tried to contact Hassan, sabi niya nirelieve daw
siya ni Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. Floating status daw siya
sa main. So, kinukumusta ko lang po siya kung what he could
reveal to me dahil makuwento po siya, eh. iyon pala wala na pala
siya doon. Kaya po ako tumawag dahil ‘kako baka marami pa
siyang ikuwento sa akin, iyon pala na-relieve siya.
xxx xxx xxx
SEN. DEFENSOR SANTIAGO. I see. This is a legislative inquiry in aid of
legislation on jueteng. During the period and the time when you
testified about your activities as a military officer, were you able to
observe jueteng operations or to access any knowledge about
jueteng except that you heard about Bong Pineda?
SEN. DEFENSOR SANTIAGO. Ah, sinasabi nila. Pero ikaw, ano ang
88
sinasabi mo? Iyon lang narinig mo.
SEN. DEFENSOR SANTIAGO. All right. But this is not an inquiry about
Batangas. This is an inquiry about laws about jueteng. Now, let’s
go to your affidavit. You said “From April to June, I was assigned
as chief security officer for Commissioner Garcillano.” At
maraming masama ang sinasabi mo tungkol sa iyong dating boss
na pinakisamahan mo ng halos siguro isang taon. Ngayon, ang
tanong ko sa iyo ay ganito. Bakit ka naghintay ng halos lampas
ng isang taon para ibulgar mo itong mga sinasabi mong
masamang gawain ni Commissioner Garcillano lalong-lalo na
alam mong wala siya rito? Please do not deduct this;
Committee Secretary, from my five minutes.
89
SEN. DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO. Nag-uusap sila?
SEN. DEFENSOR-SANTIAGO. All right, good. Thank you. Did you ever
see President Arroyo distributing cash envelopes to any person,
hindi lang kay Commissioner Garcillano?
Testimony of Marine Col. Alexander Balutan, under oath before the Senate on
September 28, 2005 – about the pressure exerted on him by Army Col. Pirino to
90
“slacken” his otherwise very strict election security measures in Lanao del Sur, made
possible by the fact that his Marine commander Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani was
irregularly relieved from duty and instructed to go to Manila, play golf or go to Boracay
at the height of the counting of votes
MR. BALUTAN. I can only remember, Mr. Chairman, that when the
replacement of General Gudani, Colonel Pirino assumed as
the…
91
MR. BALUTAN. …what I mean is that maybe or perhaps his
insinuation that we support the administration is that we
slacken security.
THE CHAIRMAN. …Pirino when he asked you – what were the exact
words he used?
MR. BALUTAN. Maybe that’s the only thing that we can do because
we don’t have access or, what do you call this, kung papaano
ginagawa ‘yong sa itaas, sir separate lang sa amin.
92
MR. BALUTAN. In the first place, I did not follow the order because I
know…
THE CHAIRMAN. No, no, no. How did you interpret the meaning of
that?
MR. BALUTAN. Ang sa akin, sir, luwagan namin ‘yong security doon
sa mga canvassing areas perhaps to allow cheating. (emphasis
supplied)
xxx xxx xxx
THE CHAIRMAN. Yes, okay. Do you know of any other officers in the
Armed Forces, any unit in the Armed Forces that might have
been issued instructions, influences, advices, bribes,
whatever, in their own area, not in your area who might have
been placed in the same situation?
MR. BALUTAN. I do not have any personal knowledge about this. But
during that time when General Gudani was in Manila and the
OIC, Colonel Pirino, was running the joint task force Lanao, …
93
MR. BALUTAN. Yes.
MR. BALUTAN. Sir, Your Honors, that was the statement of Colonel
Pirino who was the designated OIC of Joint Task Force during
the formal conference.
SEN. OSMEÑA. What did you infer that he meant by the word
“help?” Does it mean campaign for? Does it mean assist?
Does it mean make things hard for FPJ? What did it mean?
SEN. OSMEÑA. So, therefore, you are telling the Committee that
General Gudani was recalled to Manila and his replacement or
temporary
replacement which was Colonel Pirino gave the instructions
that you were to slacken the security of the canvassing areas?
94
For what purpose do you feel did Colonel Pirino issued that
instruction?
SEN. OSMEÑA. All right. Well, that will be all for now, Mr. Chairman,
and I would like General Gudani and Colonel Balutan to know
that they have done the Marines proud.” (emphasis supplied)
Affidavit of Lanao del Sur Namfrel Provincial Chairman Hadji Abdullah “Lacs”
Dalidig dated October 5, 2005 submitted to the CCTA on November 9, 2005 --
exposing the massive cheating and falsification through “dagdag-bawas” of voting
results in Lanao del Sur in favor of President Arroyo and the pressure exerted on him
by Col. Gominto Pirino of the Southcom27 not to expose election anomalies
That I was also the NAMFREL Provincial Chairman for Lanao del
Sur since 1992 election and prior to that I was Founder and Organizer in
1991 of the Islamic Movement on Electoral Reform for Good Government
(IMERGG) with active presence in practically all the Provinces in Muslim
27
the very same Army colonel who took over from Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani when the latter – at the
critical period during the counting of votes -- was relieved without valid basis and told by Navy Flag Officer-in-
Command Admiral de Leon to go to Manila, play golf or go to Boracay, according to Brig. Gen. Gudani’s sworn
testimony in the Senate on September 28, 2005
95
Mindanao;
xxx xxx xxx
That I am in possession of official NAMFREL copies of
election returns (ERs) and certificate of Canvass (COCs) that proved
beyond doubt that massive cheating - that directly affected the
results of the presidential and senatorial election in 2004 took place
in Lanao del Sur.
96
To cite just five (5) more examples of the successful Dagdag Bawas
in favor of GMA (ARROYO) and to the deterrent of all other
presidential candidates:
Municipality of Saguiran
Votes per ERs Votes Per COCs Dagdag
+
Bawas
-
Arroyo 1,926 7,449 + 5,523
Poe 3,460 1,602 - 1,858
Lacson 367 117 - 250
Roco 1,000 65 - 935
Villanueva 55 3 -52
Municipality of Marantao
Votes per ERs Votes Per COCs Dagdag
+
Bawas
-
Arroyo 2,535 7,952 + 5,417
Poe 4,045 1,071 - 2,974
Lacson 321 592 - 271
Roco 950 599 - 351
Villanueva 62 212 - 170
Municipality of Tarangka
Votes per ERs Votes Per COCs Dagdag
+
Bawas
-
Arroyo 1,393 5,345 + 3,952
Poe 2,862 500 - 2,362
Lacson 108 65 - 43
Roco 426 74 - 352
Villanueva 17 6 - 11
Municipality of Wao
Votes per ERs Votes Per COCs Dagdag
+
Bawas
-
Arroyo 4,037 7,614 + 3,577
Poe 8,174 4,967 - 3,207
Lacson 2,439 2,188 - 251
Roco 415 396 - 19
Villanueva 920 844 - 76
97
Municipality of Balindong
Votes per ERs Votes Per COCs Dagdag
+
Bawas
-
Arroyo 2,864 6,298 + 3,434
Poe 2,834 1,196 - 1,638
Lacson 168 269 - 101
Roco 1,326 519 - 807
Villanueva 39 0 - 39
That I could not forget Col. Gominto Pirino (INF) from SOUTHCOM
who approached me in my NAMFREL OFFICE at Marawi City, at the
height of the canvassing period in 2004 and told me that it would be
wise of me not to expose the election anomalies (Dagdag Bawas) in
the province because being a townmate from Balindong, Lanao del
Sur, he was promised to be promoted to General and many good
things for me would be forth coming but I didn’t listen to him,
thinking that I would run traitor to Islam, to my people and the
Republic.
Hajji Dalidig submitted his above affidavit when he testified before the CCTA on
November 9, 2005, on which occasion he even further emphasized and clarified that
the cheating and fraud that marred the voting in Lanao during the 2004 elections
made it the worst and dirtiest elections in history.
"MR. DALIDIG: Well, on July 7, 2004, I gave my statement that this was
the worst, dirtiest elections ever in history. Noong nangyari doon,
itong sinasabi nating dagdag bawas, pati Lanao, we experience all
98
kinds of fraud, lahat ng klase ng cheating. Hindi lang nangyari
yung tulad ng sinabi ni Mr. Tabayoyong pero lahat ng pandaraya,
electoral fraud ng nakaraang eleksyon. Una yung pagcanvass ng
mga boto ng mga national at local parang pinaghiwalay. Kahit
yung sinasabing dagdag-bawas, yung boto ni Mrs. Arroyo
dinagdagan… dinagdagdagan ng almost all precints,
municipalities. Doon sa COCs. But if you are going to look at
the Election Returns, yung nakuha ni Mrs. Arroyo, mas malaki
pa ang nakuha ni Fernando Poe, Jr.
I can cite some municipalities wherein masasabi nating
nangyari iyan because we have our own evidence there tulad
ng Saguiaran. The vote of GMA, according to COC 7,449.
While yung Election Return, she got only 1,956. Ang nangyari
doon 250% ang nadagdag sa boto nya. Another example is the
municipality of Poona Bayabao, wherein kung titingnan natin
ang Election Return, mas malaki pa ang nakuha siguro ni FPJ
at saka lahat ng kandidato doon ng presidente nakakuha ng
boto. Doon sa Election Return. But if you are going to look
at the COCs, zero silang lahat. Ang nakuha ni FPJ… ay, GMA
4,700. Ang ibig sabihin, lahat ng boto doon ibinigay kay GMA.
ATTY. COLMENARES:
xxx xxx xxx
99
Mr. Witness … you are NAMFREL Chairperson, you are
supposed to monitor the election … pwede mo bang
ipaliwanag sa Kapulungang ito kung … papaano nagkaroon ng
discrepancy ang Election Returns at Certificate of Canvass …
Kung anong nakalagay sa Election Returns, iyon din ang
nakalagay sa Certificates of Canvass, paano ninyo ipaliwanag
kung papaano nakakuha ng zero sina Fernando Poe, Roco,
Villanueva’t Lacson kung mayroon naman pala silang boto sa
isang presinto lang, sa isang presinto lang ng Poona Bayabao
at hindi pa natin nabanggit yung ibang presinto?
MR. DALIDIG: I have been the Chairman of NAMREL since 1992, kaya
sinasabi ko na lahat ng paraan ng pandaraya nangyayari and this
time, iyong nakita namin na ginamit talaga ng election
officers, it is the election officers and the Board of Election
Inspectors yung namimili ng boto doon sa lahat ng lugar
naming para kay GMA. Kaya nang nagkaroon ng canvassing
doon sa Election Return, lumabas talagang totoong nakuhang
boto ng bawat isang kandidato, Pero the election… the COC was
not canvassed publicly, yung local canvassing ginawa ng mga
taong may authority, may responsibility sa election. Kaya
nagkaroon ako ng mga report na my volunteers were not
allowed to see the canvassing sa COC.
MR. DALIDIG: Yes, hindi sila pinayagang makapasok. You know the
election officers even ordered to the soldiers na huwag
papasukin ang NAMFREL dahil alam nila na nagsasabi kami ng
katotohanan at we got also the Election Return pinahabol pa
namin doon sa mga bahay nila. That is why we got these 38
Election Returns out of the 39 municipalities, but in regards
to the COC, nakuha namin iyan, they text which (inaudible) COC
but we only got around 40 COC and SOV.
xxx xxx xxx
ATTY. COLMENARES: Mr. Witness … ano’ng ginawa mo pagkatapos na
malaman mong may nangyaring dayaan sa halalan noong 2004
elections?
100
Election Returns at saka COC. We really tried our best, nakuha
namin yung tinatawag nating Form 1. So, may media pumupunta
sa opisina ko and they asked me … what really happened in
Lanao. And I showed them the truth of the election na talagang
nangyari doon ang pinakamaruming election sa Lanao del Sur
nitong 2004.
MR. DALIDIG: Yes, Yes. My signature appears here. Ito ang binigay
kong affidavit para isubmit ito yung nangyayari noong
elections … In the municipality of Saguiaran, Arroyo got
1,950. In the election return. While in the COC, she got
7,499, nadagdagan ang boto niya ng 5,549. Kung titingnan
natin yung mga boto na nakuha ng mga kandidato, lahat sila
nabawasan. Tulad nitong kay Fernando Poe, 3,400 ang
nakuha niya doon sa Election Return. Nang lumabas dito sa
COC, ang nalagay lang dito 1,602. Then ang boto niya nakuha
sana 1,850 …
101
binabawasan na naman ng 2,362. Municipality of Wao, the
Election Return, GMA got 4,037, on the Election Return.
Pagdating sa COC 7,614. Nadagdagan uli ng 3,577. Si FPJ
nakakuha ng 8,174 dito sa Election Return sa Wao. Pagdating
dito sa COC, Certificate of Canvass, 4,967 lang ang natira.
Ibig sabihin nabawasan uli ng 3,207.
ATTY. COLMENARES:
xxx xxx xxx
Mr. Witness, kilala mo ba si FPJ, Fernando Poe, Jr.? Supporter ka
ba niya o kampanyador?
xxx xxx xxx
MR. DALIDIG: Even in person, hindi ko siya talaga nakita.
MR. DALIDIG: Well, with regards to GMA, we meet several times. Itong…
She even endorsed one of my NGO group, this Muslim
Multisectoral Movement for Peace and Development, on the peace
process between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the
government ...
xxx xxx xxx
ATTY. COLMENARES: Pero sinuportahan ka niya pero inexpose mo
ang fraud ni GMA? Bakit mo in-expose despite the fact na
sumusuporta siya sa NGO mo?
102
ibig sabihin kailangang huwag nating paghaluin ang katotohanan
at kasinungalingan, kailangang manaig ang katotohanan.
Thereafter, Hajji Dalidig reiterated and amplified on his above statements before
the Senate, under oath, on two separate occasions, on November 17, 2005 and on
December 8, 2005. We reproduce some excerpts as follows:
103
“That I am willing to appear and testify before the Senate Committee
on National Defense and Security chaired by Senator Biazon,
investigating the truth of the Garci tapes and its implicaton to national
security considering that I am one of those mentioned in the tapes and
to show and present the authentic and official Namfrel copies of the
ERs in the Lanao del Sur now still contained in the balikbayan
boxes.” (ibid.; emphasis supplied)
On April 3, 2006, Hajji Dalidig testified before the Senate anew together with
experts (and CCTA witnesses) Hermenigildo Estrella, Jr. and Roberto Verzola, re-
104
affirming portions of their testimonies pertaining to the massive cheating in Lanao del
Sur for President Arroyo during the 2004 elections.
The power point and slide presentations of witnesses Estrella, Alcuaz and
Verzola conducted during the sessions provide clear and convincing exposition of the
various facets of the fraud that transpired during the 2004 elections, leading to a
conclusion that without electoral fraud, Pres. Gloria Arroyo could not have won the
presidential race.
Verzola, who did a comparative analysis of the NAMFREL results and Congress’
canvass of the presidential elections, declared that there is no other explanation for
the 1.1 million lead of Pres. Arroyo except electoral fraud:
“..therefore kung ang sinasabi ng official result 1.1 million ang panalo ni
GMA iyan po sa tingin ko ay resulta ng pandaraya. Nang around a
million to 1. 2 million votes.”
Verzola in fact stated that base on his study Mr. Poe could have won by 84,000
votes, although a different set of variables and assumptions may lead to a different
conclusion. The argument, however, that Pres. Arroyo would still have won the
elections even if shed did not chear is of no moment. Not only is this an immoral
position and difficult to establish, but the Presidium finds it unacceptable to have for a
President a candidate who committed massive electoral fraud.
Tabayoyong’s study on the other hand, provides a clear picture how electoral
fraud was committed. Tabayoyong was qualified as an expert witness when he testified
before the CCTA, as follows:
105
obtained the highest training among the first ten that were finally
recommended for appointment.
106
JUSTICE CAPULONG: Mayroon po ba kayong karanasan bilang
questioned document examiner sa mga dokumento ng COMELEC
o related documents sa halalan?
107
13. In the 3,000 election returns, I found the following
defects: (a) There were no closing signatures and thumb marks,
which defect I classify as naked pattern; (b) Some had closing
signatures but without closing thumb marks, which defect I classify
as semi-naked. (c) There may be fingerprints but were too tiny. (d)
There were fingerprints approximating thumb marks but were not
identifiable vis-à-vis the thumb marks in the lower portions of the
election returns which were certifications of the Board of election
Inspectors. (e) There were fingerprints in the election returns
containing unique or unusual designs which are not part of usual
thumb marks. (f) There was substitution of pages, mostly on page
one which contains the names of candidates for national positions:
(g) The preparation of the election returns did not follow the
chronological order. (h) An unusual kind of ink was used, which
defect is not readily noticeable to an ordinary person.
xxx xxx xxx
15. The results of my analysis and examination prove that the election
returns were prepared under the conditions that afforded the
‘operators’ of fraud the convenience of place and the luxury of time
which do not obtain in the ordinary course of election activities.
The findings also show that there was common authorship in the
making of entries in the election returns, which were performed by
‘golden arms’ or those taking care of the signatures and handwritings
and by the ‘pianistas’ or those faking fingerprints. All these indicate
that the election returns were not prepared in the election precincts
on election day but elsewhere. Simply stated, the election returns
were pre-fabricated and therefore spurious.”28 (emphasis supplied)
We have gone over a number of election returns and find that they contain
irregularities that go into their authenticity or the credibility of their contents. These
irregularities are sufficient in number and serious in nature that any proper
canvassing of the 2004 elections cannot be credibly conducted without resolving their
questionability. A substantial number of election returns are in fact defective on their
face, e.g., the serial number found in their page 1 is different from that found in their
page 2.
28
“Until today, all the provincial election supervisors of Negros Occidental and Oriental, Iloilo, and Cebu
have failed to submit to the Comelec the final voters’ list in those provinces despite repeated demands by
the main office. Arroyo posted wide margins of victory in these areas, with Cebu province giving her the
biggest lead. Certificates of canvass show that Arroyo trounced Poe by 1,861,019 votes in the four provinces.
If there’s no final voters’ list in a province, how does one verify if the number of votes tallied with
those that registered?” (“How Comelec Got Into the Mess,” Aries Rufo, Newsbreak, December 5, 2005, pp. 26-27;
emphasis supplied)
108
small to be the thumbprint of an adult (the phenomenon became more pronounced
when we compared them to the thumbprints of the election watchers, also found in
the same page of these election returns; (b) cannot be said to be those of different
members of different BEIs in different precincts, as the marks are exceedingly similar
in pattern and the print so uniform in respect of their ‘irregular’ size.
The irregularity became more questionable when we found that the signature of
some BEI members in election returns were different from their respective signatures
in their respective voter registration forms, leading us to conclude that another person
signed in lieu of the member of the BEI whose signatures are dissimilar.32
Even more mysteriously, even as there are clean ‘taras’ in the first page of many
ER's, it happens that the recording of ‘taras’ in the second or third or fourth pages of
these ER's is often no longer clean.35
29
For reference, see election returns of Precinct 0851 (Tipolo), Precints 34-A and 34-B (Lincad), and Precinct 37 A
(Langin), Cebu
30
For reference, see Precinct 97 A, Pavia, Iloilo, or Precinct 0103A, Libot, Calinog, Iloilo
31
For reference, see Precincts in Valencia, Victoria, Bohol
32
For reference, see the case of BEI member Neri Gripo.
33
For reference see Precinct 013A in Libot, Calinog, Iloilo.
34
For reference, see Precinct 0041A and 0041B in Victoria, Bohol.
35
For reference, see Precinct 136 A, San Isidro, San Fernando Pampanga.
109
There are also election returns that are so irregular on their face that it is
virtually and legally impossible to canvass them. We found these in certain precincts
in Cebu36 and Bohol.37
Thus there are election returns that are completely blank as to make it
impossible to identify the precinct or municipality, and yet they contain carefully
recorded votes. In Iloilo, for example, ER 06202193 has no identifying marks but it
records 20 votes for FPJ and 135 votes for GMA.
On the other hand, there are also election returns without signatures of BEI
members, such as those from Manadue, Cebu. There are many other irregularities in
the returns, but those in the foregoing fashion are the most predominant.
For the major findings in the power point slide presentation of Tabayoyong that
was shown to the CCTA, we set forth the summarization published by Neal Cruz in his
column, as follows:
36
For reference, see Precinct 126 A and B in Basak, Lapulapu, Cebu.
37
For reference, see Precint 088-A, Ulbujan, Bohol (Page 2 serial number 05500591 is different from page 1), or
Precinct 009-A and B in Bauno, San Isidro, Bohol (page 2 serial number 05502399 is different from page 1).
110
The Commission on Elections has admitted that it overprinted
32,000 sets of these ERs before the elections. It has not explained
fully what happened to these excess ERs. It is believed that these
were the same fake ERs used by the cheating team. It was a
systematic, well-financed, well-managed and well-supervised operation
by professional cheaters, Legarda and Tabayoyong said.
The cheaters, however, made mistakes. And that gave them away. ERs
supposedly coming from areas thousands of kilometers apart were filled
in by the same hands, said Tabayoyong. The vertical tally bars ("taras")
used to mark the votes on the ERs were written very neatly and not in
the uneven manner when written in the precincts because of stress and
haste. There are columns where there are totals of votes but no bars.
There are totals that do not tally with the bars. Thumb marks used to
close the columns -- so no new bars could be added afterwards-were
small, purposely smudged to make identification impossible. Required
signatures were missing. Some had only initials instead of signatures.
The analysis also showed that the team gave De Castro an average of a
70-vote margin over Legarda, and Ms Arroyo, a 100-vote margin over
Poe. Therefore, the 32,000 sets of overprinted ERs could translate to a
vote-margin rate of approximately 2.1 million votes in the Legarda-De
Castro contest and around 3 million votes in the Poe-Arroyo race. Thus,
De Castro and Ms Arroyo had something like 2 million votes and 3
million votes, respectively, for "insurance." Even if their rivals won in
other areas, the insurance votes made sure Ms Arroyo and De Castro
won in the totals.” (“As I See It: How cheating was done in 2004 polls,”
Neal H. Cruz, first posted 00:34am (Mla time) Sept 28, 2005, Inquirer
News Service; emphasis supplied)
38
referring to questionable Comelec decisions such as the gigantic increase of registered voters from 33 million in
2001 to 43 million in 2004, the overprinting of three (3) million ballots and thirty-three thousand (33,000) election
returns which have remained unaccounted for, the sub-contracting of printing jobs to private entities, etc.
111
Members of the Joint Committee and the lawyers for presidential
candidate Poe and vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda
manifested their comments and observations on as well as
objections to the certificates of canvass and supporting statements
of votes coming from several places pointing to electoral fraud in
said places and moved for the opening of the election returns from
the said places and the counting of votes as they appear in said election
returns submitted to Congress on the ground that the true will of the
people in these places as expressed and tallied in the election returns
had been altered by adding votes for Arroyo/de Castro and the municipal
certificates of canvass. In the course of the proceedings, two facts
stand out: a) the Majority Members of the Joint Committee and the
lawyer for GMA have not objected to any single COC, and b) the
Majority Members of the Joint Committee have uniformedly and
consistently refused to allow the opening and tabulation of the
election returns in spite of concrete evidence of electoral
irregularities, anomalies and fraud appearing on the face of the
electoral documents before the Joint Committee. (pp. 24-25;
emphasis supplied)
To this day, President Arroyo and her allied officials insult the intelligence of the
entire Filipino people by insisting on her simple and simplistic “apology for lapse of
judgment” as sufficient “closure” for the national crisis.
From the confluence of acts and tactics subsequently adopted by them, the
President and her executive officials clearly thought, as they still think, that they
could and can camouflage her illegitimate presidency, by means fair or foul. But we
think that any fairly intelligent, right-thinking Filipino will see through these
continuing, relentless attempts at a cover-up that simply serve to confirm and make
more stark the factual and moral guilt of this administration.
We feel that the pieces of the puzzle will clearly fit into place with a bird’s eye-
view of pertinent events. Hence we have set forth below a summary timeline, based on
the afore-described materials as well as all other relevant information that have come
to public knowledge and have been admitted or have not been denied, official
documents, official information, sworn statements and testimonies and the like, by
112
which every Filipino can glean for himself, as it slyly but clearly emerged, the
consistent pattern of a conspiratorial cover-up–
Timeline
December 30, 2002 – President Arroyo announced to the nation that she is not
running for President in the elections of 2004
October 1, 2003 (or ten months later) – President Arroyo announced to the nation that
she is running for President in the elections of 2004
February 11, 2004 (a little over four months thereafter and just a few months before
the 2004 elections) – President Arroyo appointed Garcillano Comelec
Commissioner
May 12, 2004 – Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani was pulled out from
implementing strict election security measures in Lanao del Sur. In his stead,
Army Col. Pirino took over, pressuring Marine Col. Alexander Balutan to
“loosen” security
June 24, 2004 – after ignoring objections by merely having them “noted,”
Congress proclaimed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as President
July 23, 2004 – Fernando Poe, Jr. filed his protest with the Presidential Electoral
Tribunal
January 10, 2005 – Susan Roces filed a petition for substitution with the Presidential
Electoral Tribunal (“PET’)
March, 2005 – Angelito Santiago delivered the Garci Tapes to Samuel Ong
113
March 29, 2005 – Susan Roces’ petition was dismissed by the PET
May 6, 2005 – Samuel Ong and Angelito Santiago met T/Sgt. Vidal Doble and Marieta
Santos at the Imperial Palace Hotel, Timog, Quezon City, where Ong gave Doble
P2 million and Doble was recorded on video-tape admitting that he was the
ISAFP personnel who gave the Garci Tapes to Ong
-- May – June, 2005 – members of the political opposition got hold of CDs of the
Garci Tapes and the public and the press got wind of its contents
May 15, 2005 – Alan Paguia stated that he received the Garci Tapes from former Sen.
Francisco Tatad39 for study
“Q: Sir, can we just clarify. So, you are saying that it was
indeed the President’s voice?
39
“Paguia: tapes came from Tatad,” Jess Diaz, The Philippine Star, July 7, 2005, p. 1. According to the latter
article, Tatad said the Garci Tapes came into his possession in early April, 2005.
40
A certain Gary Ruado is said to be the chief of staff of Representative Ignacio Arroyo.
114
Q: And they were indeed having a conversation about
election results?
June 7, 2005 – DZMM (Anthony Taberna and Gerry Baja, hosts on “Dos Por Dos”)
played the “Garci Tapes” of Atty. Alan Paguia on air for the first time
June 8, 2005 – Atty. Alan Paguia, former lawyer of President Joseph Estrada, released
to the media a 32-minute CD containing alleged conversations between
Garcillano and PGMA on the 2004 presidential elections.
June 10, 2005 – former NBI Deputy Director Atty. Samuel Ong was presented by
the National Council of Concerned Volunteers at a televised press
conference at the Metropolitan Club whereat he announced that he has
the “mother of all tapes,” referring to the original tape recordings of
wiretapped conversations between President Arroyo and Comelec
Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, and played a video recording which
showed an ISAFP personnel admitting to be the source thereof. Later that
night, he sought sanctuary at the San Carlos Seminary, then met with
Susan Roces.
June 15, 2005 – the NBI filed sedition charges against Samuel Ong. DOJ State
Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco ordered the NBI to serve subpoena to Ong’s last
115
known address, with June 27 as his deadline for submission of counter-
affidavit
June, 2005 – Atty. Alan Paguia submitted to, and the House played, his copy of the
Garci Tapes
June 22, 2005 – Mr. Bunye changed his earlier position and this time denied that
President Arroyo’s voice was ever wiretapped, attributed the contradiction
between this and his June 6, 2004 statement to the fact that the latter was just
based on his “first impression,” and explained that he had referred, on June 6,
2004, to an “original” (as distinguished from a “spliced” version) because he
relied on the labels “original” and “altered” respectively attached to the said
tapes which had been anonymously delivered to his house and from there to his
office in the morning of June 6, 2004.
MR. BUNYE. Alam po ninyo, nung atin pong matanggap itong CDs
na ito nakalagay po sa brown envelope at nung akin pong
buksan ay meron markings na po ano, kung sino man po ang
nagpadala nitong tapes nito sa akin ay siya na po yung gumawa
116
ng markings. Nakalagay po doon sa isang CD ay original at
duon sa isang CD po ay altered. So, that’s how I got these…
Likewise, changing his previous story, Mr. Bunye denied knowing the
identity of the source, insisting upon his new answer that the tapes were
anonymously delivered to his house, and that his earlier reference to a “she” as the
source was probably a typographical error -
117
REP. ESCUDERO. (Continuing)… identified at this time.” At nong pinilit
po kayong sabihin kung sino itong “she” na ito, ang sabi po ninyo
doon sa press con ninyo, “This is privileged communication.”
MR. BUNYE. Hindi po natin nakikilala ito pong source ‘no, at ito po
ay … ang atin lang pong pagkakakilanlan po ito ay ito po’y galing
sa isa…nakalagay po sa envelop, brown envelop at wala naman
pong pangalan ‘no? Wala pong pangalan dito po sa…nakalagay
lamang po ay yung dalawang tape na meron pong marka na…
REP. CHIPECO. No, you said the source – he must be a person, Mr.
Secretary. Who is that person?
118
MR. BUNYE. He – Your Honor – that was an initial impression –
Your Honor.” (emphasis supplied)
“MR. BUNYE. When you heard the tapes that you played, both tapes,
Tape I and Tape II, Mr. Secretary, did you immediately believe that
it was the voice of President Macapagal?
MR. BUNYE. Your Honor, I have answered that question already, and I
have clarified that…
REP. CRISOLOGO. Personally, did you believe that that was the
voice of the President?
June 27, 2005 – in the morning, at 11:15 a.m., the impeachment complaint of
Atty. Oliver Lozano against President Arroyo was filed in the House
119
from the party list and he responded in the affirmative.”
(August 30, 2004 statement of former DSWD Secretary Corazon
“Dinky” Soliman; emphasis supplied)
June 29, 2005 – Susan Roces berated President Arroyo on live television for an
insincere apology and accused her of cheating, lying and of having stolen the
Presidency not once but twice
July 4, 2005 – the Lopez impeachment complaint (i.e., of Jose Lopez) was filed
July 6, 2005 – in his testimony before the House of Representatives, T/Sgt. Vidal
Doble confirmed having filed a complaint with the NBI against Samuel Ong
regarding their meeting at the San Carlos Seminary but admitted he was not
kidnapped by the latter; alleged that he is not a wiretapper but admitted that he
is indeed the ISAFP officer in the videotape aired on television who admitted
that he is the source of the Garci Tapes; explained that he was merely forced by
Ong to do the said videotape, through threats to his family; admitted having
received P2 million from the latter (Ong) at the Imperial (Palace) Hotel in
consideration for the tapes, but denied that the same was a bribe and alleged
not knowing the reason for Ong giving the money, stating (when repeatedly
pressed) that it could possibly be a donation:
“REP. ESCUDERO.
xxx xxx xxx
Sergeant Doble, una po kayong nakilala ng kinatawang ito, at
marahil ng marami sa ating kababayan, noong sinabi ni
Attorney Ong na kayo daw iyong ISAFP agent na nag-
wiretap na produkto… na ang produkto ay iyong tape na
hawak-hawak niya. Totoo po ba ito?
120
MR. DOBLE. Ang totoo po, Your Honor, ay tinakot po ako at
binantaan ang aking pamilya na may mangyayari po,
Your Honor.
121
MR. DOBLE. ‘Yun nga po, Your Honor, bale sinama n’ya ako doon
sa Timog, sa may Salakot, nag-antay kami doon, merong
isang Chinese-looking guy na nag-entertain sa amin siguro
more or less 30 minutes pagkakain namin ng almusal
dumating itong si ano, isang lalaki at ipinakilala sa akin ni
Lito na ‘yun nga si Atty. Samuel Ong.
MR. DOBLE. Hindi po. Bale ‘yun nga po nagyaya doon sa… doon
daw kami kakain ng tanghalian sa Imperial Hotel.
REP. CAYETANO. So, lahat ito isang araw, isang araw ka lang
pinakilala, pinakain ng almusal, ng tanghalian, lahat ng
impormasyon na ‘to sinabi sa ‘yo, isang araw lang
naganap ‘to lahat na ‘to?
122
CHAIRMAN G.C. REMULLA. Hindi…paki… Sa inyong
pagkakaintindi, ano ba ho iyon? Pakisagot lang po ng
tanong. Ito ba ho ay suhol o donation, sa inyong
pagkakaintindi?
July 7, 2005 – having gotten wind of the impending resignation of several key and
Cabinet officials, President Arroyo ordered all cabinet members to resign41
July 8, 2005 – ten cabinet members and other officials (the “Hyatt 10”) resigned
-- the Makati Business Club called on President Arroyo to resign
-- the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines adopted neutrality
-- the House of Representatives issued three subpoenas to Garcillano42; all were
ignored
41
“In an apparent move to preempt desertion by her key Cabinet members, President Macapagal-Arroyo last night
demanded the resignation of her Cabinet to allow her to initiate constitutional amendments and declared she would
not give in to demands that she step aside.
xxx xxx xxx
‘So what resignation are they going to announce tomorrow when they have all been considered resigned,’ the source
said.” (“GMA tells cabinet: Quit,” Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. and Christian V. Esguerra, PDI, July 8, 2005)
42
served at his residence in Cagayan de Oro and a condominium, and a farm in Bukidnon
123
July 10, 2005 – the CBCP, then headed by Archbishop Fernando Capalla, issued a
pastoral statement in which they did not join the clamor for resignation of
President Arroyo but which left open three options for the resolution of the
crisis: voluntary resignation, impeachment, and creation of a truth commission
to inquire into allegations that the President had manipulated the 2004
elections
July 14, 2005 – Garcillano flew by Learjet to Singapore, then from Singapore to
London43; the fact of departure was denied by Bureau of Immigration
Commissioner Alipio Fernandez
July 18, 2005 – in response to calls from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines, President Arroyo wrote to outgoing CBCP President and Davao
Archbishop Fernando Capalla and stated her position that she will be
forming a truth commission. Spokesman Ignacio Bunye told reporters she
will issue an executive order creating the probe commission and that she
will be consulting various stakeholders like the CBCP in selecting its members44
July 19, 2005 – President Arroyo filed her Answer to the Lozano impeachment
complaint45
July 25, 2005 – the State of the Nation Address was delivered by President
Arroyo, in which she elaborated on the need for charter change but made
no mention at all of the Garci Tapes scandal
43
as proven much later, from the note verbale of the Singapore government dated August 31, 2005, which reads:
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore presents its compliments to the Embassy of the
Republic of the Philippines and has the honour to refer to the latter’s Note: 146.2005 dated 24 August 2005
requesting additional information on the circumstances surrounding the entry and subsequent departure from
Singapore of Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio O. Garcillano Jr.
The Ministry has the further honour to inform the Embassy that Mr Virgilio Garcillano transited in Singapore
on 14 July 2005 onboard a Learjet 35 with the registration number RP-C 1426. Mr Garcillano departed
Singapore on 15 July 2005 on board Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 320.” (emphasis supplied)
This note verbale was indorsed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to the House, as follows:
“Relative to your Department’s invitation to the DFA to attend your hearing on the flight of Commissioner Garcillano
we are transmitting to you the 31 August 2005 note verbale from the Singapore Foreign Ministry received by our
Embassy on 4 September 2005 containing further details on his entry to and departure from Singapore on 14 and 15
July, respectively.”
44
“GMA to form truth body,” Christine O. Avendaño and Christian V. Esguerra, PDI, July 20, 2005, p. A1
45
i.e., even before the Lozano and Lopez complaints could be acted upon by the Speaker of the House and referred
to the House Committee on Justice (Congress was not in session)
124
effecting Philippine constitutional amendments, including a change to a
federal and parliamentary system of government
August 10, 2005 – at a televised press conference, Atty. Pedro Ferrer, lawyer of
President Arroyo, admitted that President Arroyo was speaking with
Garcillano in the tapes “to protect her votes,” saying that was okay and not
a problem; however, when asked why the President called up Garcillano even as
it was Congress that was canvassing the votes for presidential candidates, Atty.
Ferrer had no answer;47
46
The House Journal of July 25, 2004 reads: “Upon direction of the Chair, the Secretary General read on First
Reading the Impeachment Complaints and the Amended Complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
which were referred to the Committee on Justice:
Impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo filed on June 28, 2005 at 11:15 a.m. by Atty.
Oliver O. Lozano and endorsed by Hon. Rodante D. Marcoleta and Hon. Rolex T. Suplico and attachments
Impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo filed on July 4, 2005 at 4:30 p.m. by Atty. Jose P.
Lopez and endorsed by Representative Antonio C. Alvarez.
Amended Complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo filed on July 25, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. by Roque and
Butuyan Law Offices, Atty. Oliver O. Lozano, Hon. Escudero, Zamora, Suplico, et. al. and endorsed by Hon. Ocampo,
Hon. Mariano, Hon. Beltran, Hon. Virador, Hon. Casiño, Hon. Maza, Hon. Rosales, Hon. Aguja, and Hontiveros-
Baraquel, et. al.”
47
See also The Philippine Star, Aug. 11, 2005, p.11
125
-- Michaelangelo Zuce testified again before the Senate on electoral fraud
Aug 12, 2005 – jueteng witness against the Arroyo family Ferdinand Gerardo recanted
his incriminating statements on the ANC Channel but was cut short by the
emergency press conference held by Environment Secretary Michael Defensor;
-- in that emergency press conference at the Sulo Hotel, Defensor stated that a
portion of the Garci Tapes containing President Arroyo’s voice was
spliced to convert the word “Binalbag” to “Dagdag, dagdag” as well
as change the sentence “Mananalo ba si FPJ by 1M?” to “Mananalo
ba ako by 1M?,” and thereby confirmed that “that is the voice of the
President but that is not the President talking.” He presented
Jonathan Tiongco, an expert sound engineer, who confirmed that the
Garci Tapes were spliced, and likewise referred to American expert Barry
Dickey, referred by Tiongco, as saying there were “anomalies” in the
Paguia tapes submitted to the House which he had examined48
48
When anchor Karmina Constantino asked, “So you admit that the tapes show those of GMA and Garcillano?”
Sec. Defensor did not answer but instead mouthed long, irrelevant sentences to the effect that the impeachment
complaint is based on falsities, whether using the Samuel Ong, Paguia, or other version of the 3-hour Garci Tapes.
126
‘find’. Disgusted with the deception and feeling used, I
silently left the press briefing.”49
August 13, 2005 – Sec. Corazon “Dinky” Soliman’s article regarding her resignation
was published by Rina David in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Aug. 16, 2005 – Sen. Serge Osmeña III showed on television notes from Michaelangelo
Zuce showing the handwriting of Garcillano recording bribes to COMELEC
officials
Aug. 17, 2005 – Sen. Sergio Osmeña III showed on television documents from
Michaelangelo Zuce written by local Comelec official Atty. Francisco Pobe
regarding the “vote acquisition” project of President Arroyo during the 2004
elections
-- According to the DFA, Garcillano departed July 14 from the Manila Domestic
Airport aboard RP-C 1426 Subic Air Learjet, arriving in Singapore on the
same date and, according to a Singapore government report (which
Singapore report DFA Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said he got “a few
days back”), departed for an unknown destination the next day
-- Garcillano left aboard a jet bound for Cebu which changed destination in
mid-air; Air Transportation Office51 Chief Nilo Jatico denied knowledge of
the identity of the passengers in the jet, saying ATO is concerned only
with aircraft registry and flight plan of pilots
-- the news report that Tabayoyong raid is confirmed; 41 boxes of election
returns were seized by the PNP CIDG/ISAFP;
49
Mr. Sarthou later volunteered to testify and did testify before the CCTA as expert
50
hereafter, “DFA”
51
hereafter, “ATO”
127
-- an article wherein Tabayoyong discussed details of the manner of fabrication
of election returns during the 2004 elections
August 19, 2005 – President Arroyo issued E.O. 453 creating the 54-member
Consultative Commission on charter change
August 30, 2005 – former DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman issued her
statement disclosing how, after issuing live on television her
admission/apology on June 27, 2006, President Arroyo had instructed
Presidential Adviser Gabriel Claudio to have Rep. Rodante Marcoleta
indorse the impeachment complaint which, according to Claudio, the
latter had already filed that morning:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends. The past two
hearings of the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives has
been quite instructive for me as a citizen concerned with the truth and
concerned for the future. I have listened patiently to the debate on the
prejudicial questions, starting with seven and now narrowed down to
two. I have come to realize that procedures and technicalities are quite
important in order to delimit or expand the scope of the impeachment
proceedings at the House of Representatives.
128
It is only now that I have come to realize the full import of the
Lozano complaint, and how it could operate to exclude other complaints
subsequently filed, if one were to believe the position of some
congressmen, based on their reading of existing law and precedents from
the Supreme Court. Today I would like to share with you an incident
which I believe would shed some light on this issue.
“Survival-At-All-Cost”
(Or, How To Run One’s Country to the Ground)
129
The impeachment process may abruptly end this week. It will
likely end without the parties in the case being given the
opportunity to present the substantive issues underlying the
amended impeachment complaint, as well as, the evidence
supporting them. For this reason, we, the ten cabinet secretaries
and key officials who resigned last July 8 and who appealed to
PGMA to voluntarily relinquish the Presidency, would like to take
this opportunity to share with you information that will explain
further our decision to resign, information that the public must
know.
130
We wondered: What did the President mean by those words? What
role do Genuino and Pagcor play for the President in relation to
the media and the bishops?
131
Today, the House Committee on Justice may finally decide to
consider the original Lozano complaint as the appropriate
complaint to be discussed in the ongoing impeachment hearings.
The vote will mean the exclusion of the amended Lozano
complaint, which was originally endorsed by 43 representatives
(and which we are told has since increased to more than 70 as of
yesterday) and where a number of individuals and organizations
were co-complainants.
132
Right now, the venue where we can demand answers, testimonies
and evidence from all parties is the impeachment trial, the only
constitutional process available and acceptable to many to ferret
out the truth. What happens when the House Committee on
Justice votes to consider only the original Lozano complaint and
subsequently acts to throw it out on a technicality? What do we do
next?” (emphasis supplied)
September 4, 2005 – the Department of Foreign Affairs received the note verbale
of the Singapore government attesting to the arrival of Garcillano in
Singapore on July 14, 2005 and departure for London on July 15, 2005
but did not immediately transmit the information to the House of
Representatives Committees investigating the Garci Tapes controversy
despite their earlier issuance of a warrant of arrest for Garcillano
September 5-6, 2005 – the House of Representatives ruled that the Lozano
impeachment complaint was filed prior to and therefore bars the Lopez
and the Amended Impeachment Complaints from being officially acted
upon by the House, on the basis of the constitutional prohibition against the
filing of more than one impeachment proceeding within a year; thereafter, the
House dismissed the Lozano impeachment complaint on the ground of
insufficiency in form and substance52
52
According to the House Journal, “With 158 affirmative votes, 51 negative votes and 6 abstentions, the House
approved Committee Report No. 1012 on House Resolution No. 933 submitted by the Committee on Justice,
pertaining to the dismissal of the impeachment complaints against President Macapagal-Arroyo.”
133
2. Said plane is the same plane identified as RP-C 1426 which media
organizations had reported as the one used by Mr. Garcillano
to escape from the country, and as the aforecited airline and the
Air Transportation Office (ATO) had claimed to have a flight
manifest showing only two pilots and a flight engineer as the
plane's passengers.
… Rep. Remulla rued the fact that the Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) has refused to give a copy of said letter to the House despite
his office's follow-up. He asked whether it has to take foreigners to
help obtain the truth … Opining that the situation smells of cover-
up and conspiracy, he stressed that it is astonishing to say the very
least for a former Comelec Commissioner to have such influence
over the ATO, BI and the aforecited airline.” (Journal No. 14 of the
House of Representatives, September 5, 2005; emphasis supplied)
September 21, 2005 – on the anniversary of martial law, in the wake of protests
following the dismissal of the impeachment complaints, the
administration and the PNP announced the policy of “calibrated pre-
emptive response” or “CPR” (in substitution of “maximum tolerance”) in
enforcing B.P. 880
September 28, 2005 – the undated and unpublished E.O. 464 (directing all executive
officials not to testify before the House or the Senate without the permission of
President Arroyo) was first made known to the public through the testimony
of Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani before the Senate on that day
134
September 29, 2005 – expert witnesses testified in the Senate on the anomalies
tainting the railway project of the North Luzon Railways Corporation
October 6, 2005 – the Bayan Muna rally was violently dispersed, precipitating the
filing of G.R. No. 169838, a petition to declare B.P. 880 null and void
November 9, 2005 – Hadji Abdullah Dalidig testified before the CCTA on the
falsification of election results in Lanao del Sur during the 2004 elections
in favor of President Arroyo, as shown specially in the discrepancies between
Namfrel election returns and the Comelec Certificates of Canvass, submitting
his Affidavit dated October 10, 2005, and recounting his press conference on
June 7, 2004 exposing election fraud as precipitating the Garci Tapes
conversation referring to him
November 17, 2005 – Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani testified in the Senate
anew regarding election irregularities such as in Poona Bayabao, Lanao del
Sur
middle of November, 2005 – Garcillano surfaced from his refuge in Mindanao (“Hello
Garci,”
Newsbreak, January 30, 2005, pp. 10-12)
135
intimidation and blackmail by the ISAFP against him and his
family53
December 13, 2005 TSN – testifying before the House, Garcillano denied having
knowledge of when the canvassing in Lanao occurred with respect to his alleged
conversation with President Arroyo, stated that he was afraid to surface
because the administration or the opposition might do something to him,
denied being in Singapore, Brazil and Malaysia, or boarding a LearJet dressed
as an engineer on July 14, 2005, admitted that election return fraud is
possible, and admitted that he entertained requests of politicians through
phone calls
Dec.15, 2005 – the Abueva Commission released its recommendations for charter
change; President Arroyo endorsed the commission’s report to Congress
January 19, 2006 – during the hearing scheduled by the Senate Committee on
National Defense and Security on this day on P.S. Resolution No. 295
(investigation on the Wiretapping of the President of the Philippines), key
resource persons from the AFP failed to appear because of E.O. 464. This
was the fourth (4th) invitation issued by the Committee
53
15. On Monday, June 13, 2005, between 10:30 - 11 :00 a.m., Jeff received a call from
wife Arlene on his cellular phone, which conversation I heard, as Jeff's speakerphone was on. I heard Arlene
say, "Dad, kung itutuloy mo iyan, kalimutan mo na kaming pamilya mo. Di bale na ako, pero isipin mo yung
mga bata." Immediately after that conversation, Jeff looked troubled and told me that his wife and children
were taken by the ISAFP from Kidapawan City in North Catabato and were being held in Manila as leverage
to try and persuade him to go with them. Jeff then said that he had to leave the seminary soon,as his
children were in danger. He asked if I could stay behind, to which I replied, "Anong gagawin ko dito?;"
SEN. LIM. Bakit biglang nabaligtad ang pangyayari nung mapasakamay si Sergeant Doble ng ISAFP
iba na ang kanyang dinedeklara na siya ay pinilit, na diumano hindi sa kanya galing ‘yung
tape. Alin ba ang totoo?
MS. SANTOS. Ang totoo po sa kanila nanggaling iyong tape. Kaya po siya bumaligtad dahil
hinawakan po ng ISAFP ‘yung pamilya niya, kinuha po sa Kidapawan City.
SEN. LIM. Ang ibig mo bang sabihin ‘yung pamilya ni Sergeant Doble ang
hinostage ng ISAFP kaya siya bumaligtad?
MS. SANTOS. Hindi ko po alam kung “hostage” ang tawag doon basta kinuha po nila
sa Kidapawan ‘yung asawa niya at saka ‘yung dalawang anak at dinala dito sa Quezon City,
diyan sa…(pages 3-4, V-1, 10:44 a.m.; emphasis supplied)
SEN. LIM. Sinabi ba ni Technical Sergeant Vidal Doble na siya talaga ang nag-wiretap?
MS. SANTOS.Opo.” (Marieta Santos, t.s.n., Senate Committee on National Defense and
Security, December 8, 2005, pp. 4-7, IV-1; emphasis supplied)
136
-- Marieta Santos likewise testified in the Senate on further details of the
progeny of the Garci Tapes
“Hordes of civilians tried to join the crowd, but were kept at bay by
antiriot members of the National Capital Region Command and Southern
Police District who set up barricades on Lawton Avenue fronting the
Marine headquarters.
54
“Tribune seeks high court’s intervention,” PDI, February 28, 2006, second Frontpage
55
“Tighening The Screws,” Cyril L. Bonabente, PDI Research, PDI-Opinion, March 19, 2006, pA14
56
ibid.
137
During the standoff, Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor calls for a
news blackout.57 (emphasis supplied)
February 27, 2006 – Makati RTC Judge Cesar Santamaria issued the warrants of
arrest for former Army Colonel Honasan and 5 others for coup d’etat charges in
connection witih the July 27, 2003 Oakwood Mutiny
February 28, 2006 – US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill met with
President Arroyo58
March 2, 2006 –
-- Drilon was ousted as Liberal Party President at the Manila Hotel, after which
session President Arroyo showed up and congratulated Manila Mayor
Lito Atienza, who was elected Liberal Party President, and Mike Defensor,
who was elected chairman
the root of the present crisis is the Garci Tapes, which cast doubt
on the legitimacy of the President; therefore, the challenge is
for all tapes to be submitted, and for all groups who submitted to
agree that the tapes be submitted for study by experts whether in
US, Australia, Japan, Russia, etc. and be bound by the results;
and that Garcillano’s word/testimony on the matter will be
useless because his credibility is shot.
-- big coalition of lawyers (Concernd Lawyers for Civil Liberties) hold march
from the IBP national office to the Edsa Shrine
-- March 16, 2006 – Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos said he had ordered the
poll body's law department to investigate the alleged fabrication and
57
ibid.
58
“Senior US diplomat sees GMA, also meets FVR, Cory,” Volt Contreras, PDI Frontpage, March 3, 2006, pp. A1 &
A6
138
switching of election returns in the 2004 election that was reported by
Newsbreak magazine
March 24, 2006 – Representatives Teofisto Guingona III, Joel Villanueva and Alan
Peter Cayetano and Senator Panfilo Lacson file charges of perjury and
falsification of documents against Garcillano with the Department of
Justice based on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas certification dated March
10, 2006 that the passport submitted by Garcillano to the HOR had
“irregularities” and was not “up to standard”
March 27, 2006 - Jonathan Tiongco filed the libel suit before the Quezon City
Prosecutor's Office on Monday against print and broadcast journalists from the
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila
59
“`I have instructed the law department this morning to call Newsbreak and ask them to produce the
pieces of evidence that would help us conduct an investigation on the criminal offense of election fraud
against Bello. I am also calling on Newsbreak to give us these evidence as soon as possible to speed things
up,’ Abalos said.” (“Abalos orders probe of ballot switching claim in 2004 polls,” Veronica Uy,
http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=1&storyid=69596, First posted 02:35pm (Mla time) Mar 16,
2006)
60
“More on the Baywalkers,” Rina Jimenez-David, PDI, p. A9 (quoting Vicente “Enteng” Romano, another leader of
the Black-and-White Movement). Three officials of the Commission on Human Rights – Wilhelm Soriano, Elidio
Mallare and Quintin Cueto – have taken the position that the arrest for illegal assembly was out of order. (“Cops
violated Dinky’s rights, CHR execs say,” Norman Bordadora, Christine O. Avendaño and Margaux C. Ortiz, PDI,
March 21, 2006, p. A1)
139
Times, and ABS-CBN. Tiongco said the Coronels' allegations that he was
harassing the PCIJ by applying for a search warrant defamed him.
To our mind and, we believe, to the mind of the ordinary reasonable Filipino,
the foregoing is a clear picture of efforts to deceive and mislead, to confuse and divert
focus from, to suppress and to cover-up, the truth.
140
workers and these funds have accumulated to as much as P6 billion as
of 2003.
Also, a P1 million fund release dated December 30, 2003 was given to the
Classroom (Galing sa Mamamayang Pilipino sa Abroad (CGMA) project,
with most expenses earmarked for ‘conferences, promotional materials,
communication and transportation costs.’
But the worst scheme exposed by Santiago before the CCTA was the transfer of
141
OWWA funds, specifically its Medicare funds, to the Philippine Health Insurance
Corporation (or “PhilHealth”) to facilitate creation and distribution, for the 2004
election campaign of President Arroyo, of PhilHealth cards bearing her photograph,
bigger than that of the card-owner, her initials GMA, and the tag-line “President
GLORIA.”61
.
61
The old PhilHealth cards did not contain any picture of any public official.
62
Exhibit EF-Philhealth-Santiago (Migrante)-“E.” The intent to electioneer is clearer when the pertinent paragraph in
the latter exhibit is completed, as follows:
“PHIC will need a reasonable lead time to ensure smooth turnover of OWWA medicare to
PHIC and manage some resistance from certain quarters which will be affected by the
change. It is respectfully requested that the proposed Executive Order (EO) be approved by her
excellency before the year ends. The proposed transfer will have a significant bearing on
2004 elections and on the President’s desire to provide health insurance to 8M indigents by end of
2003. I will be available to explain in greater detail the far reaching political implications of
the transfer. May I ask that we meet personally? My direct line is 0917 813 2072 or 618 1684.”
(emphasis supplied)
142
The Medicare Fund is a trust fund as are all funds at the OWWA. The
OFW-Medicare fund is taken from the annual contributions of P900 from
each migrant worker. The fund is intended for the medical needs of
OFWs and their identified dependents/beneficiaries only.
She (Regalado) asked not only once, but thrice, before he explained
what he meant by ‘The proposed transfer will have a significant
bearing on 2004 elections...’ in his November 20, 2002 Memo for the
President. He replied that he ‘just wanted to build up the name of
the President’ to the 8 million indigents — which they think are
possible voters.
xxx xxx xxx
Despite formal petitions and protests from OFWs and their families
and pending investigations at the House of Representatives, OWWA
Board Resolution No. 005 (s. 2004) dated February 2, 2004, attached
as Annex “E” proves that the transfer of OWWA Medicare funds to
PhilHealth was being railroaded by Arroyo appointees in the labor
portfolio.
143
Board of Trustees.... I give my appreciation to all migrant groups who
swiftly acted and immediately opposed EO 182. I give my thanks to the
groups who still stand against the transfer of the Medicare Fund to
PhilHealth.’
Eventually E.O. 182 was amended by Arroyo with E.O. 392 that in effect
transferred P530,382,446 of migrant workers’ health care funds from
OWWA to PhilHealth in April 2005 - or after the elections.
A few months before the 90-day campaign period for the 2004
elections, PhilHealth cards with the photograph of Arroyo were
already being distributed in select locations across the country. Arroyo
was essentially able to start her campaign much earlier than all
other candidates with the distribution of these ‘President Gloria’
Philhealth cards (Annex “C”).
The old PhilHealth cards attached as Annex “H” did not have any picture
of any picture of any politician.
xxx xxx xxx
Beside the Arroyo photograph is the acronym GMA, for ‘Greater Medical
Access’ and ‘President Gloria.’ At the bottom portion of the card is the
slogan, ‘GMA para sa masa, para sa lahat’ (GMA for the masses, GMA for
all).
xxx xxx xxx
The distribution of modified PhilHealth cards with Arroyo’s picture that is
even bigger than that of the cardholder and with the ‘President GLORIA’
tag line increased during the first four (4) months of 2004.
In January 2004, about 4,208 cards were doled out in Sultan Kudarat
and another 1,008 cards in North Cotabato (Annex “K”).
Among the areas where Arroyo or her high officials distributed these
cards were at the regional convention of barangay officials at the Expo
Filipino complex in Subic on March 10, 2004 where she distributed more
than 240,000 Philhealth cards to barangay captains, councilors,
Sangguniang Kabataan officers and barangay tanods in Central Luzon
144
(Annex “L”).
On March 16, 2004, 11,583 cards were distributed to Cebu City north
district residents while 5,124 Cebu City south district got their cards the
next day, March 17. Some 300 cards were given to barangay workers in
Zamboanga City on. March 18 (Annex “O”).
No one — not even Duque and Arroyo — denies the PhilHealth cards,
which give limited medical benefits valid for only one year, and carry the
picture of Arroyo, are paid for by public and migrant workers’ funds.”
145
Sa karanasan at sa nakikita po ng MIGRANTE International ang
mga bahagi ng pondong ito ay walang pasintabing ginastos ng
gobyernong Arroyo sa mga sumusunod: Una, nagrelease po ang OWWA
ng US$293,500 na nakita po namin doon sa written note mula kay
Pangulong Arroyo para daw po ito sa isang massive evacuation ng mga
OFWs noong March 2003 dahil daw po sa napipintong pag-invasion ng
US sa Iraq ngunit wala naman pong malawakang evacuation na
naganap. Ito po yong kopya ng isang memo na na pinadala ni Secretary
Romulo kay Pangulong Arroyo na kung saan siya po ay humihingi ng
293,500 dollars at makikita po natin yong handwritten instruction ni
GMA para sa OWWA na kung saan ang nilagay niya ay ‘OK charge to
OWWA’.
146
Medicare fund to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. Ang mga
nakalagda po dito ay si Labor Secretary Sto. Tomas bilang Chair,
nandiyan din po yong lagda ni OWWA Administrator …bilang Vice-Chair,
andiyan din po ang mga lagda ng iba’t-ibang kinatawan ng Department
of Budget and Management. Pero kapansin-pansin nga po na hindi ito
…ni Binibining Carsola na siya po ang kinatawan ng land-based OFW.
147
We believe that the official documents, together with the testimony of Santiago
and the statement of OWWA Trustee Carsola, sufficiently demonstrate the connivance
that made possible the huge plunder of OWWA public funds. And we find it
unforgiveable that while our OFWs are hailed as “heroes,” and rightfully so as they
keep the country afloat with earnings squeezed from their sweat and tears, President
Arroyo and Secretary Duque made of them the most pitiful of victims as their earnings
were siphoned off, away from their needs, and diverted instead to the cause of
electioneering.
Atty. Chavez and Mr. Ramos also testified before the joint hearings of the
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food and on Accountability of Public Officers
and Investigations (Blue Ribbon), together with many other witnesses from both the
public and private business and agriculture sectors, including the Commission on
Audit (“COA”), Department of Budget and Management (“DBM”), and Department of
Agriculture (“DA”). Several provided crucial official documents. The Senate
Committee Report No. 54 resulting from the legislative inquiry succinctly summarizes
the breadth and depth of this particular exercise in electoral corruption utilized just
immediately before the 2004 presidential contest.
63
footnotes omitted
148
The story of one is the story of all. This old saying remains to be true for
Carmen Buena, a 60-year-old mother and farmer from Sta. Ana,
Pampanga, and head of the women farmers’ group called Amihan.
“Mahirap ang buhay magsasaka. Hindi talaga kasya ang kinikita kung
susumahin mo.” The mother of five revealed that during the harvest
season, they usually produce 160 cavans of rice sold for a little more
than Php 54,000.00. Of this amount, Php 6,750.00 goes to the so-called
thresher; Php 36,250.00 goes to loan payments for farm inputs and the
remaining Php 11,010.00 is to be shared by the landowner and the
family who tilled the land. What is left to the hapless farmer is a
meager P 5,050.00, which when computed against the length of time for
rice production (usually four months), gives him a net income of Php
1,376.00 a month or Php 45.87 a day. It is unimaginable how a family
of five (5) to seven (7), which is the size of a normal agricultural
family, can subsist on such a miserable income.
xxx xxx xxx
In some countries, the farmers are among the wealthiest and most
prolific. Sadly in the Philippines, our farmers can hardly put enough
food on their table, and are in fact at the bottom of the social and
economic strata. Aggravating their situation is the systemic
corruption perpetuated by a few unscrupulous people in
government, who have the temerity to rob them of the little
assistance earmarked for them. It is ironic that our principal suppliers
of food have been reduced to becoming the principal victims of hunger.
We must put a stop to this injustice.
xxx xxx xxx
The PhP728 Million GMA Rice and Corn Funds:
The Php 728 million fertilizer fund inquiry commenced when the
farmers started to look for the fertilizer and other farm implements
subsidy and found none.
xxx xxx xxx
The following are the factual backdrop of the Php 728 fertilizer fund,
per the testimony of former Department of Budget and Management
Secretary Emilia Boncodin15:
One. The DBM released the amount of Php 728 million for the
purchase of farm inputs to the Department of Agriculture, Office of
the Secretary, under Special Allotment Release Order or SARO
under E-01-00164, dated February 3, 2004. This release was charged
149
against the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Program (AFMA) as
a continuing appropriation under Republic Act No. 9206.
Two. On the same day, DBM released the amount of Php 291.2 million to
the Land Bank of the Philippines for the account of the Department of
Agriculture, Office of the Secretary. This amount of Php 291.2 million
represents forty percent (40 %) of the allotment released under the
AFMA.
Three. The releases were made by the DBM upon the request of the
Department of Agriculture based on a formal request submitted to the
DBM. In that request, the attachment that is reflected as Annex A
of the SARO was incorporated and that same schedule or
attachment contains a listing of 105 congressional districts, 53
provinces and 23 municipalities.
Four. Subsequent releases for the NCA were made also upon the request
of the Department of Agriculture either as a separate NCA or as part of
the common fund that is usually authorized the agencies on a regular
basis.
Five. The release made by the DBM was for farm inputs which could
incorporate fertilizers, seeds and even insecticides. But the actual
purpose for which the same will be used will depend on the
Department of Agriculture.
Six16. In the case of the Php 728 fertilizer fund, the request for release
was made by Undersecretary Jocelyn Isada Bolante. Accordingly, from
the time of Secretary Montemayor, Undersecretary Bolante has been
given the authority to make request in behalf of the Secretary of
Agriculture and has never been revoked up to the time of Secretary Luis
Lorenzo.
The Php 728 million fertilizer fund is just part and parcel of the
huge fund releases to the Department of Agriculture totaling Php
2.806 billion intended for the purchase of farm inputs and implements
in 2004, all made just before the May 10, 2004 elections.
150
Its breakdown is as follows:
GMA Farm Inputs and E-04-0014 February 3, 2004 Php 728 million
Implements
GMA Rice and Corn and E-04- February 11, 2004 Php 1.102 billion
00294
Marcos Wealth for CARP E-04- April 28, 2004 Php 544 million
01090
GMA Rice Program And
Fertilizer Procurement From Agency Budget Matrix Php 432 million
And Distribution (regular budget)
Component
TOTAL Php
2.806 billion
(emphasis supplied)
151
11, 2004 Livestock
315,166
CO-Livestock
19,277
Total
P1,102,391
P 544
million
*Proponents:
110 Congressmen
50 Governors
26 Mayors
186 Total
152
The Mechanics of the Fertilizer Fund Scam
The local government units and congressional districts which will be the
recipient of the fertilizer fund were already identified. The funds on the
other hand were to be sourced from the Department of Agriculture;
153
The Missing Key Players
154
indicate Undersecretary Poliquit as the requesting party. In one hearing,
from the documents submitted by the COA, it was noted that Ibarra
Poliquit, then Assistant Secretary for Field Operations requested for the
transfer of P 89 million in Region IV alone; P5 million in Region V; and P
22 million in Region VII.
155
no one has ever received even a single granule of the said agricultural
inputs. Their group aired out their sentiments that from the
information they have gathered, P69 million was released to their
congressmen, governors and mayors and they would be interested to
know who the recipients were.
KMP, Bicol. Mr. “Tatay” Felix Paz, the overall chairman of KMP-
Bicol said that his farmer-members have not received any
assistance, whether in the form of fertilizers or agricultural fund
assistance, particularly in Albay where he resides.
156
The Other Courageous Witnesses
157
Abad further mentioned that among the members of the House of
Representatives whose names were used in the fertilizer fund scam
were Representatives Noynoy Aquino of Tarlac and Miguel Zubiri of
Bukidnon. Senator Biazon added to the list Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy
Biazon as not among the proponents of any project under the
fertilizer fund.
Third, even the design and implementation of the fertilizer fund scam
manifest the height of scandalous corruption. The gross overpricing as
reported by the Commission on Audit is absolutely abominable, with
the ordinary foliar fertilizer (which was allegedly supplied in almost all
transactions) overpriced from almost 700 to 1,250 percent.
158
Procurement Law and wanton wastage of scarce government
resources.
xxx xxx xxx
Fourth, the fertilizer fund was released in the months of February to
May, the traditional harvest season in the country or “gapasan”
months, when fertilizers are of no use because the planting time
starts in November.
Eighth, the wrong and overpriced kind of fertilizer for rice was even
diluted with water. Call it a case of “double corruption.” In the
testimonies presented during the public hearings, the fertilizers
overpriced by almost 1,000 % are not even pure fertilizers but
159
watered down fertilizer.
They must be charged for violating the Law on Plunder and violating
the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Section 3 [e], Republic Act
3019).
xxx xxx xxx
Malversation of funds as defined by the Revised Penal Code must
likewise be studied in the case of the several of diversion of funds
160
committed.
xxx xxx xxx
A criminal complaint under the same Act and the provisions of the
Revised Penal Code on perjury should be filed against Mr. Jesus
Agda, the Provincial Agricultural Officer of the Province of Eastern
Samar on the basis of his false testimony.
161
may be labeled as betrayal of public trust in addition to the
violations committed under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices
Act and the Law on Plunder.
xxx xxx xxx
To this date, no effort on her part has been made, no categorical denial
was even heard. But all allegations and testimonies point to her
benefiting the most in an intricate scheme of deception and fraud. Only
this much the committees of the Senate know: that the fertilizer
fund was misused. It was corrupted. It was intended to assure her
victory. Mrs. President, could it be true?
And finally, of course, former Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development Corazon “Dinky” Soliman described before the CCTA how the Cabinet of
President Arroyo, in the presence of the latter or of then Executive Secretary Romulo
in her stead, would discuss as a normal part and priority of the agenda of Malacañang
an assessment of the specific areas in which President Arroyo’s chances of election
would be strong or weak, and how delivery of services could be patterned as to
strengthen her chances in the weak election spots – as follows:
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: Yes, there were cabinet meetings that were held
in January and February to discuss the campaign strategy to
162
ensure that Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo would win the election and as
I said the discussions that we were having included a report of a
pollster that would tell us how she stands at that particular
moment in terms of chances of winning and how the opponents
are also faring in their bet in their presidential race. And after we
see the assessment, a decision of where the programs would go
based on the basis of weakness of GMA and strength of the
opponent. Pangasinan was then known as a stronghold of Mr.
Fernando Poe, Jr.
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: There were meetings where she was present and
there were meetings that she was not present and it was chaired
… and if she was absent it was chaired by the Executive Secretary
then, Mr. Alberto Romulo.
xxx xxx xxx
ATTY. NERI COLMENARES: Apart from your testimony here, do you
have records of these meetings that you mentioned?
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: Yes, there are some cabinet meetings that had
been recorded with this matter being discussed but there are also
cabinet meetings where no records of those discussions have been
made.” (t.s.n., CCTA session, November 16, 2005)”
163
on the subject ‘Submission of Lists of TV Ad Placements’; and
Memorandum dated January 14, 2004 on the subject ‘Wider Media
Exposure of Significance Achievements’. All these memoranda were
designed to enhance the candidacy of GMA at the expense of public
funds and government personnel.” (p. 18)
The above revelation indicates to us that possibly these activities involving illicit
use of public funds could be just the tip of an iceberg.
As with the grand thievery of OWWA workers funds, we do not hesitate to share
the sentiment of the Senate that this act of electioneering and corruption is
particularly shameless. And, we need to add, because its victims are the poorest of
the poor of our countrymen, both crimes are simply unforgiveable.
During President Arroyo’s state visit to China last year, North Luzon Railways
Corp. president Jose Cortez Jr. and China National Machinery and Equipment Corp.
(Group), or CNMEC, president Ren Hongbin signed a memorandum of agreement for a
four-stage project,64 worth $503 million, for the construction of a railroad the first
phase of which will stretch for 32 km from Caloocan City to Malolos in Bulacan, along
the old line of the Philippine National Railways that has been abandoned for three
decades.
As in the case of the Ginintuang Masagang Ani (“GMA”) farmers fund scam, this
“North Rail” project has since been discovered, particularly through Senate legislative
inquiry, to be an anomalous graft-ridden contract violative of the Constitution and
pertinent laws.
64
“Senate to probe rail contract,” Christina Mendez, Phil. Star, September 26, 2005, pp.1 & 10
164
“EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Buyer Credit Loan Agreement between EXIM Bank and the
Republic of the Philippines is of questionable validity as it appears
that there was no prior concurrence by the Monetary Board, as
required by Section 20, Article VII of the Constitution. In the same
vein, the BCLA is so intertwined, with the Contract such that they
can be viewed as an integral agreement, as the appointment of
CNMEC as Prime Contractor under the Contract appears to be an
indispensable consideration for the execution of the BCLA. Accordingly
the nullity of the Contract casts doubt on the legality of the BCLA.
165
Economic, Financial & Technical Analysis of the Northrail Project
Recommendation
We can only concur with the recommendations of the UP Law Center. At the
same time we cannot let pass the observation that, as in the case of the Ginintuang
Masaganang Ani investigation, transactions like these that are irregular, non-
compliant of legal requirements, and productive of egregious disadvantage to the
government, would not have been brought into the open without the powers of inquiry
of the Senate.
166
3. The Contract with Venable Llp.
On July 25, 2005, in her State of the Nation Address, President Arroyo
enunciated the need for charter change as her central focus, even as she absolutely
ignored the national crisis rocking the country arising from the controversy
surrounding her legitimacy as President following discovery of the Garci Tapes.
It was also on that very day that President Arroyo, through her National
Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, executed a contract with the foreign law firm
Venable Llp., to lobby and procure United States grants or congressional funds for the
purpose of effecting amendments to the 1987 Philippine constitution.
"JUSTICE CAPULONG: You stated that one of the main objectives of the
IBP as an organization of laywers which discharge social or public
responsibility …Will you please state more or less briefly the scope
of that social or public responsibility of the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines.
ATTY. JOSE ANSELMO CADIZ: Sir, the IBP takes its role seriously in
terms of these objectives and we pride ourselves in making a
stand on issues on national importance like the resignation of the
President, the illegality of the Executive Order 464, the illegality of
the Calibrated Preemptive Response. As a policy of these
government and corollarily to our opposition to Executive
Order 464 is our view that the Venable Contract entered into
by the National Security Adviser is not only illegal but most
importantly unconstitutional.
ATTY. JOSE ANSELMO CADIZ: Yes sir, we did, and in fact, our position
to EO 464 is anchored on the study of the Venable Contract
because we believed that EO 464 was an offshoot of the testimony
of Secretary Gonzales in the Senate.
167
the representation to be made by the law firm, known as the
Venable LLP. “The Philippine government has
identified specific tasks which Venable will undertake and use
best effort to accomplish. #1 secure grants or congressional
earmarks for support of the Charter Change initiative of the
President of the Philippines which would reshape the form of
government in the Philippines from its current structure into
a Parlimentary Federal System. Part of such grant will be
used for the much needed engineering of the bureaucracy to
recover large estimated losses from acts of corruption in
government inefficiency.” Did you study that particular
provision of the Venable Contract?
JUSTICE CAPULONG: Why do you say that Atty. Cadiz? Will you
please state your legal or constitutional basis for saying that
this is both illegal and unconstitutional.
168
have our national sovereignty, our national interest and our
national pride, if a foreign government, specifically, the only
super power of the world, the United States of America would
fund and therefore, interfere in the crafting of our
constitution. That is my humble opinion, sir.
ATTY. JOSE ANSELMO CADIZ: Yes, sir. Because under the contract
itself although there’s a provision of the termination of the
contract, the Philippine Government is mandated to give 90
169
days notice before the contract can be fully rescinded, and,
therefore, sir, at the very least three (3) months retainer
contract has been paid , and as you pointed out for US$75,000
a month that is US$225,000 for the 3-month duration of the
contract and I think at today’s exchange rate is upward of 13
million pesos indeed a very big sum of money which could have
been wisely used for more productive purposes for our people.
xxx xxx xxx
That the Venable Llp. contract was done surreptitiously, through a national
security adviser instead of the President herself or the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, is a
most valid and crucial observation. In fact, the possibility of arguing it was of no legal
effect anyway because ultra vires, i.e., beyond the power of Gonzales to execute no
matter his signature, was one of the escape valves that President Arroyo, through
Norberto Gonzales, had tried to utilize to diffuse the scandal. We certainly agree with
Atty. Cadiz that the execution of this contract by the President through her authorized
alter-ego is a culpable violation of the Constitution as well as an act of graft and
corruption, because it has resulted in the criminal wastage of public funds.
170
CONCLUSION
One kind of cheating that was discovered involved the tampering of voting
results in electoral returns (or “ERs”) to switch victory in favor of President Arroyo
instead of (in favor of) Fernando Poe, Jr. This “technique” was discovered to have been
employed largely in the provinces of Pampanga, Cebu, Iloilo and Bohol (“PCIB”).
The other type of cheating was through the tampering of results in the
certificates of canvass (or “COCs”). This method was resorted to in Mindanao, most
glaringly in Lanao del Sur, when it developed that no matter the tampering of electoral
returns in the PCIB areas, Poe still had a clear winning margin, such that there was
need to offset and reverse these winning results through tampered results elsewhere.
In the reassuring words of Garcillano, “mag-compensate ‘yan sa Lanao”.65
Both types of fraud were not discovered during the national canvass because
Congress limited examination of results to the contents of certificates of canvass,
refusing to open electoral returns despite repeated objections from the opposition and
simply noting the same instead.
Both types have been described by former NBI documents expert Segundo
Tabayoyong as belonging to the “second-generation” style of fraud, the first being the
kind that involves tampering directly with the root document, the ballot.
The cheating has turned out to be in the nature of tandem fraud, as both ERs
and COCs show that those tampered in favor of Arroyo had also been tampered in
favor of Noli De Castro.
65
It is in Mindanao, specially Lanao del Sur, where historically, canvassing is deliberately delayed precisely to
accommodate cheating that will then allow tampered results to offset unwanted victories elsewhere.
66
No less than Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra admitted at the Senate Committee hearing chaired by
Senator Biazon on April 3, 2006 that, “based on actual and empirical evidence,” there indeed occurred “massive
171
Finally, as revealed in the Garci Tapes – the genuineness of which Tapes have
been admitted by President Arroyo herself, her spokesman Bunye, her then
Environment Secretary Defensor, her lawyer Pedro Ferrer, and her National Security
Adviser Norberto Gonzales – the repeated conversations between President Arroyo and
Comelec Commissioner Garcillano during the counting of votes following the 2004
elections undeniably confirm that President Arroyo used officials and resources of the
Comelec, the Executive Department, and the military to falsify the 2004 election
results in her favor.
The contents of and references in these Garci Tapes conversations have been
independently authenticated through their positive declarations by eyewitnesses Zuce,
Gudani, Mendoza, Balutan, Dalidig, and Rashma Hali, and -- through their admission
by silence or absence of denial and the evasive reactions of some of them as well – by
the various key officials and individuals referred to therein, specially – officials of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko67
and Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao, DPWH Secretary and
former PNP Chief Hermogenes Ebdane, Comelec officials and personnel -- Comelec
Chairman Benjamin Abalos, Jaime Paz (Comelec Chairman Abalos’ chief of staff), Ellen
Peralta (Garcillano’s former secretary), Rey Sumalipao (then Lanao del Sur provincial
election supervisor68), and Atty. Lintang Bedol (Provincial Election Supervisor for
Maguindanao), and Rep. Ignacio Arroyo’s Chief of Staff Gary Ruado, among others.
One would have thought a truly innocent President, who discovers efforts by
opposition/military members to unjustly oust her from the office to which she was
truly elected through the criminal production and circulation of fabricated tape
recordings falsifying her voice (and that of other officials), would have moved heaven
and earth to have the culprits immediately caught, prosecuted, jailed, disqualified
from public office, and made to pay heavily in damages.69
cheating” in the 2004 elections. While he hastily clarified over television news the next day that what he said was that
massive cheating (during the 2004 elections) occurred in Lanao del Sur only and that cheating was not in the form of
“dagdag-bawas” but bribery, nevertheless, Commissioner Borra’s statement is an affirmation that massive cheating
did occur in Lanao del Sur.
67
who retired on April 2, 2006 (“Senga still mum on report on generals,” PDI, April 2, 2006, p. A2)
68
promoted after the 2004 elections to Regional Director for the ARMM (tsn, Senate Committee On National
Defense And Security, Jadela Cruz, Ii -1, April 3, 2006, 10:43 A.M. 1)
69
Even former martial law Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile is reported to have exclaimed: “‘My
god! We better call the chief of staff, the secretary of Defense. I have served for 17 years in the National Defense
and I would never have tolerated this in my time – I’ll kick the asses of the generals!’ Enrile exclaimed. ‘What has
172
But President Arroyo did nothing of the sort.
First she used her spokesman, Bunye, whose job it was, at the press conference
that he called on June 6, 2005, to deodorize the incriminating impact of the Garci
Tapes by attributing its existence to a “destabilization plot.” Bunye announced on this
Day One that Malacañang will at once have the NBI investigate these tapes that he is
presenting to the media because wiretapping is an illegal act. Yet, that was the last
anyone ever heard of any NBI investigation on the Garci Tapes. And then, even as
Bunye had allowed the Malacañang Press Corps then and there to copy his Garci
Tapes CDs, the Secretary of Justice two days later issued the warning that those who
will possess copy of these CDs will be prosecuted for violation of R.A. 4200, the Anti-
Wiretapping Law. The National Telecommunications Communication later issued the
same warning70.
Bunye having failed to stem the tide of the Garci Tapes, compounded by his
unpersuasive retraction of his admission that her voice in the Tapes is genuine,
President Arroyo herself fired the next cover-up salvo, through no less than her very
own admission and apology, on national television on June 27, 2005. Neither
convinced the Filipino people as any basis at all for sweeping the Garci Tapes under
the rug. On the contrary, very serious charges of electoral fraud, graft and corruption,
and violation of human rights were included in the Amended Impeachment Complaint
that was filed twenty-eight days thereafter, on July 25, 2006.
We now know that the June 27, 2005 admission/apology was just a cover-up
the true intent of which was to lull the people into their traditional, cultural tendency
to “just forgive and forget,” because former Representative Florencio “Butch” Abad has
attested that when the apology flopped in the face of an unconvinced citizenry,
President Arroyo made no bones about her irate displeasure with Cabinet members
who had proposed the strategy in the first place.71 It was in fact this lack of sincerity,
happened to the system? They do not deserve the accolade of being called intelligence officers, they are
eavesdroppers, nothing more. Voyeurs!’” (“Isafp man’s lover names voices on Garci tapes, Roy Pelovello, Manila
Standard Today / MST Online, January 20, 2006)
And not ever to be forgotten is the official line of Bunye himself when first he embarked on his cover-up
press conference on the 6th of June, 2005. He proclaimed then to the media and thus the entire nation:
“Now we wou1d like to express our outrage over the fact that the telephone of the President
has been tapped. This is an illegal act by itself, this is punishable under Revised Penal
Code and the use of this conversation illegally wiretapped and altered all together another
punishable crime.” (emphasis supplied)
70
Draft Report of the Committees on Public Information, Public Order and Safety, National Defense and Security,
Information Communications Technology, and Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on the investigation conducted on the
Garci Tapes
71
In fact her own words betray cover-up of the truth of her participation in the Garci Tapes as the real intent behind
her apology. She stated: “I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many
people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I
mentioned, the election had already been decided and the votes counted.” We are compelled to two observations:
First: If truly she was not the person whose voice was recorded in the Garci Tapes, then, like any sincerely contrite
Filipino, she would have made a full confession, relating her innocent story completely. But on the contrary, after
173
and their realization that the apology was just a sleight of hand to put an end to the
Garci Tapes crisis, that led, among other major reasons, to the resignation of the
Hyatt 10.
Then there was the attempt of then Environment Secretary (now Presidential
Chief of Staff) Michael Defensor to impute to the “destabilizers” the alleged splicing of
the Garci Tapes through the addition of the words “’yong dagdag, ‘yong dagdag,” only
to be scientifically rebuffed by sound expert (and eventual CCTA witeness) Jaime
Sarthou, who explained that it was the Bunye Garci Tapes, not those of Alan Paguia,
that were spliced.
When it became increasingly evident that the populace would truly not be
content without knowing the truth behind the possible massive electoral fraud ignited
by the Garci Tapes, her apology notwithstanding, the developments will show that the
Arroyo administration began to show its true colors.
Instead of digging deep into the controversy and exacting through the enormous
powers of the Presidency all necessary facts and figures to hold accountable all
implicated warm bodies in the Executive Department, the Comelec and the military,
what President Arroyo and her alter-egos did was to utilize carrot and stick with all
their might to divert attention from the anomalies, belittle their significance through
pronouncing the noble words “Tonight, I want to set the record straight. You deserve an explanation from me,
because you are the people I was elected to serve,” President Arroyo saw fit not to disclose to the Filipino people
even just the identity of the Comelec official, much less what exactly they talked about to “protect her votes” and why
there was a need to do so. Second: If what she stated is true -- that the election “had already been decided” and the
“votes (had already been) counted” when she talked to the Comelec official -- then why, in the first place, did she
have to talk to the Comelec official at all? In what sense and exactly how did she imagine that a single Comelec
official could “protect her votes?” The inscrutable quality of her apology/admission thus fortifies the only conclusion
that makes sense, i.e., it was a cover-up for the truth of her role in the Garci Tapes.
72
“Survival-At-All-Cost (Or, How To Run One’s Country to the Ground),” Hyatt 10 statement read by former
Education Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad at the August 30 forum of the Black & White Movement (see p. 101
hereof)
174
confusion and deception, and suppress all other legitimate, nay, even official,
investigation and inquiry.
Thus came the Tabayoyong raid, the unofficial, unpublished but brusquely
practiced policy of “calibrated pre-emptive response” in the crushing of all manner of
peaceful assembly and petition for redress of grievances under the dubious umbrella
of the martial law edict B.P. 880, the great conspiracy that made possible the great
escape of the suspect at the center of the storm, Virgilio Garcillano, the killing of the
impeachment complaint by pure technicality in the face of massive popular demand
for honest inquiry, the issuance of E.O. 464 which gagged the Senate and allowed
Executive Department officials, high or low in rank, to ignore summonses and
invitations in legislative inquiries (including even as fundamental an activity as a
budget hearing), and of course. Of course there is good ground for the suspicion that
the breathing space provided him with time to fabricate, as confirmed by the recent
filing of charges against him for falsification, perjury, and violations of the Passport
Act of 1996 by no less than members of the House of Representatives. And seeming
like a culmination, there was Presidential Proclamation 1017, in the wake of which
was a systematic deluge of constitutional and statutory, even criminal, violations of
the Filipino people’s basic democratic rights, including those that are the lifeblood of
the media, that democratic institution we call the Fourth Estate because of its role as
pillar of freedom.
73
As former Commissioner of Customs Ramon Farolan asks, not without a hint of exasperation: “Why is it that the
authorities are so quick to pounce on people like Soliman, David and Montaño, and yet we don’t see any
such resolute action being taken on characters like Virgilio Garcillano, Joc-Joc Bolante or Benjamin Abalos?
If it was true that Garcillano was in the country all the time, why could not our police authorities track him down for so
long? It was as though some people wanted some time for sentiments to cool down before presenting him. Has the
government exhausted all means to get Bolante back so he could testify on the P728-million fertilizer scandal? Has
his passport been cancelled, and have we asked for assistance in bringing him back to the country?” (“First They
Came For The Communists,” Ramon J. Farolan (Reveille), PDI-Opinion, March 26, 2006, Sunday, p A13; emphasis
supplied)
74
While the promotion of then AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Brig. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon to
Lieutenant General is pending confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, he is referred to as the imminent
175
court-martial for having defied E.O. 46475, Atty. Samuel Ong is under threat of arrest
purportedly for violation of the Anti-Wiretapping Law, and T/Sgt. Vidal Doble was
compelled to recant because of pressure upon him and his family from the ISAFP.
Incidentally, to public knowledge, Atty. Ong is the only person threatened with
arrest76, even as millions of Filipinos (Senators and Representatives included) will have
also violated the Anti-Wiretapping law (with Presidential Spokesman Bunye as the
very first offender last June 6, 2005) – for having listened to, or played, or procured
copies of, or distributed or circulated the Garci Tapes or at least a portion thereof – if
the latter’s contents are genuine conversations that have really been wiretapped. On
the other hand, a candid appreciation of the nature, tenor, motive and details of
T/Sgt. Doble’s alleged recantation, together with the explanation of his former
girlfriend Marieta Santos, nevertheless leads us to conclude that the Garci Tapes are
genuine, specially as certain of Doble’s sworn Senate statements (to supposedly
reaffirm the recantation) humongously defy basic logic -- for instance, when Sgt. Doble
admitted the transfer to his possession of P2 million (from the possesson of Atty.
Samuel Ong) but at the same time denied receipt thereof, then mightily tried to explain
the mystery by saying that while it was given to him he did not receive it, and then
saying that even as he did receive the gargantuan amount he does not know at all why
it was given to him in the first place.
Even as the administration’s very own Justice Secretary has already admitted
that the root of this nation’s destabilization is the continued and continuing non-
resolution of the crisis of the Garci Tapes which casts doubt on the legitimacy of the
President’s mandate, President Arroyo took time (since October, 2005) to release the
Mayuga Report77. And when finally released, it was timed on April 12, 2006, Holy
Wednesday78, and then only to absolve AFP generals Esperon, Habacon and Kyamko,
despite overwhelming evidence on their complicity.
Worse, it had the gall to include Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani as among those
charged with irregularity – when Brig. Gen. Gudani is precisely the officer and
gentleman who exposed the illegal machinations in Lanao del Sur that the
successor of AFP Chief of Staff Generoso Senga. Arturo Lomibao, on the other hand, was appointed Chief of the
Philippine National Police on March 14, 2005. Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon is now the Southern Command chief,
taking over from now retired Lt. General Roy Kyamko, who held the post during the 2004 elections. On the other
hand, since 2005, Col. Pirino has been the commander of the Armed Forces Reserve Command headquartered in
Pagadian. (“Lanao’s Dirty Secrets,” Sheila S. Coronel (with additional reporting by Booma C. Cruz and “The Probe
Team”), PCIJ i Report, November-December 2005, pp. 6-11)
75
tsn, hearing of Senate Committee On National Defense And Security, Aliccatimbang 1-1, April 3, 2006
76
As recounted in the timeline, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez declared in an interview, after the NBI had filed
sedition charges against Samuel Ong on June 15, 2005, that wiretapping charges will follow, saying: “I’ll stake my
reputation here.” (see p. 9)
77
We cannot help but point out that this pattern of delayed reporting and response, on the very matters that require
strict and utmost accountability to the Filipino people, exacerbates suspicions of whitewash and sanitizing for damage
control. This pattern is manifest in President Arroyo’s June 27, 2004 apology, and Garcillano’s and Bolante’s evasion
of legislative inquiry.
78
perhaps quite strategically, as part of “news management,” Rep. Roilo Golez has commented. (newscast, ANC,
April 12, 2006)
176
Comelec/military waged against the 1st Marine Brigade just to allow cheating in favor
of President Arroyo. This, to us, is an illustration yet again of the nature and level of
morality and ethics, the real political code and culture, in the administration of
President Arroyo. What this facet of the Mayuga Report shows is a government
culture and ethic that considers and treats a whistle-blower – who tells his
countrymen the truth about constitutional and criminal violations – as an enemy.
And the worst part is that it illustrates how, in this country today, the arrogance of
power has zoomed to such an extent that human notions of decency and of right and
wrong are degraded to their basest by power-wielders even to one’s face.
Finally, the complaints, protests and objections of human rights victims and
organizations against him notwithstanding, President Arroyo has pointedly
encouraged former Col. Jovito Palparan by promoting him to Major General on
December 15, 2005, and then issuing to him the Distinguished Star Award on March
20, 2006.
But ultimately the most dangerous cover-up device that President Arroyo is
resorting to is that political exercise known as Cha-Cha.
It was as early as in July 25, 2005, during her State of the Nation address, that
she proclaimed her discovery of charter change as the cure-all for this country’s
problems that she will therefore single-mindedly pursue. On this occasion she dwelt
on the need to revise the 1987 Constitution of the Republic, and completely ignored
the single question in the minds and hearts of her people: what about the truth
behind the Garci Tapes?
Her Interior and Local Governments Secretary consistently denies that she has
prevailed upon the resources of the entire executive branch of government, and in fact
the Comelec, in a scramble to revise the Constitution of the Republic by way of a
people’s initiative. However, when we consider how organized, well-financed groups
and forces have most suddenly emerged, from simply out of the blue, to jump-start
and then fast-track the current signature drive, no matter that this process
contravenes the Constitution itself and jurisprudence79, and no matter how the
79
In an apparent response to the swirling confusion generated by the signature campaign, the Supreme Court
confirmed on March 29, 2006 that there is at present no enabling law on the basis of which the Constitution may be
validly revised by way of a people’s initiative, the previous law (Republic Act No. 6735) having already been declared
invalid by it in the 1997 case of Santiago v. Comelec. (In the latter case, the Supreme Court had likewise ruled that
Resolution No. 2300 of the Comelec, promulgating rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of the law, is by
177
“charter change express” ignores all basic requirements whether as to budget
availability or normal consultative timetables (even by the standards of the Comelec
itself80) and railroads all considerations of substantive and procedural due process,81
then we find, by elementary logic and common sense, that all roads ineluctably lead to
her as main sponsor and beneficiary of the campaign.82
And we find no difficulty in perceiving that her ulterior motive for this
inscrutably frantic desideratum lies in the fact that her automatic constitutional
installation as President, through a transitory provision in the proposed new
constitution, will provide leeway for her to argue, no matter how tenuously, that all
charges of electoral fraud and crime relating to her assumption of the presidency in
2004, graft and corruption, and violations of human rights – impeachable offenses all
– will have thereby been rendered moot and academic, by dint of ratification by the
people in the plebiscite.83
What the nation will then have will be a parliament dominated by President
Arroyo through her allies, not unlike the present House of Representatives that
the same token invalid, the supposed delegation of the power to do so in favor of the Comelec having sprung from an
invalid law.)
The decision also permanently enjoined the Comelec from entertaining any petition for an initiative on contitutional
amendments until a sufficient law shall have been validly enacted to provide for the implementation of the system.
80
According to Comelec Commissioner Resurreccion Borra himself, testifying before Senator Biazon’s Committee
on April 3, 2006, the Comelec’s Finance Services Department has stated that verification of signatures alone will
entail a minimum cost of P1 billion, for which the Comelec has no budget. Neither, he added, does the Comelec
have any budget for a plebiscite, the cost of which will be at least P2.6 billion. Nor is this amount covered by the
budget proposed by the DBM, which is only P2.1 billion. Likewise according to Commissioner Borra, a preparatory
period of at least six months is required for any national electoral exercise, such that the chances for the holding of a
(bona fide) plesbiscite by July, 2006 is “impossible.” (Hearing of Senate Committee on National Defense and
Security, ANC live telecast, April 3, 2006)
81
Interviews of citizens, aired on national television, reveal that they signed without knowing, much less
understanding, what they signed. (television newscasts, March 23, 2006)
82
specially considering her latest public pronouncement, big and bold, that those who will not ride the charter
change train will get run over ("GMA rides Cha-cha train… `It's time for old-time politicians to stand back or get run
over," Gil C. Cabacungan, Jr. and TJ Burgonio, PDI, March 31, 2006, p. A1)
83
In the words of Prof. Randolph David: “…serious advocates of the rewriting of the Constitution know that a
basic requirement for doing it right is the insulation of the process from the narrow objectives of partisan
politics. Right now, it is such objectives that are driving the “Charter Express.”
It is obvious what these are. The first is to abolish the Senate, the only branch of government that has
dared to investigate criminal charges against Ms Arroyo with persistence and independence. It is this Senate
that will automatically constitute itself as an impeachment court the moment an impeachment complaint obtains a
one-third vote in the House of Representatives. The second is to lay to rest, once and for all, the legitimacy
questions that have hounded Ms Arroyo’s presidency since 2001, and all the criminal charges arising from
the fraudulent conduct of the 2004 elections.
Clearly, Charter change, by hook or by crook, is Ms Arroyo’s last card in her bid to survive till 2010 and
avoid prosecution and imprisonment at the end of her term.
178
quashed the impeachment complaints against her by sheer technicality, but this time,
absolutely free of a counterchecking Senate. Such a parliament can then legislate to
the maximum in its and President Arroyo’s favor, and even amend the Constitution in
any way and as often as it may wish by simply converting itself into a constituent
assembly. Other countries and nation-states may have survived in this manner, but
the recent example of Thailand drives home the difference.84
Insofar as any danger might be intuited given these premises, even New Yorkers
have felt the time ripe to call the modern world's attention to our plight.
But more than the depredation and pillage of the human, financial and natural
resources of this country, certainly the most mortal of this present administration's
sins is its unrepentant, almost gleeful espousal of spiritual decay in its abetting of a
values system that extols evil over good, turns our historical nobility and innate
morality as a people on its head, debases and exploits the materially and intellectually
poor majority as grovelling subjects – in violation of their rights and dignity as
sovereign citizenry – and sanctions in lieu of basic human decency a culture that
considers as perfectly acceptable any practice and technique of survival no matter how
base, such that lying, cheating, stealing, bribery, opportunism, corruption, power
play, blackmail, harassment, and violation of constitutional and human rights and
outright persecution and crime are normal and simply par for the course.
84
A deep sense of national identity and national self-respect that includes a reverence for the country’s institutions,
a national values system in which preservation of country is a priority above all else, political and cultural maturity, all
translating to a genuine love of country – these were key to Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s self-sacrificing
resignation. In our country’s situation today, we have no doubt that it is the opposite that obtains.
179
In other words, survival at all cost – this has been the creed of this
administration.
RECOMMENDATION
From a consideration of all the facts and findings disclosed in this study
through the efforts of the CCTA, the Senate, all the courageous witnesses and the
Filipino people, we most seriously believe that the above scenario will subject to the
greatest risk, and perhaps irretrievably for a very long time, the democracy and
national well-being that our people have fought for ever since Jose Rizal, and which
has turned ever so fragile since the Marcos dictatorship.
For that kind of risk we do not think any justification exists that can be
forgiven by our children, and their posterity. It is for their sake, and their right to have
us preserve for them our homeland we call the Philippines, that we make no less than
the following recommendations.
We recommend -
2. To work for the creation of an official process that will pave the way for genuine
truth-seeking and determination of culpability of other officials involved in
electoral fraud, graft and corruption. The successor government will be urged to
investigate and prosecute those who are involved in these acts
3. To work for the filing of all necessary actions – constitutional, criminal, civil and
administrative – in the proper bodies, courts and agencies that the evidence
may be capable of supporting and accordingly, in the event of liability and/or
conviction, the imposition of all consequent penalties, damages, and sanctions
that are commanded by any and all laws that may have been violated;
5. To call for the amendment of all laws necessary to reflect the fundamental
democratic precept of people’s rights and sovereignty including reforms in
electoral laws and institutions, reforms in the criminal justice system towards
the elimination of impunity, and enhancing peoples’ participation in
governance.
6. To campaign against the current move to revise the Constitution as this will
cover-up and set aside the very issues raised in the CCTA against Pres. Arroyo
and hinder the reforms recommended by the CCTA.
180
7. To conduct other actions and activities in pursuit of the objectives of the CCTA
and to work for the realization of its recommendations.
The following are some of the charges that the evidence seems to warrant and
ought therefore to be filed against all who appear to be responsible, individually or in
conspiracy --
Cheating
Cover-Up
Culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of the public trust that are
the bases for impeachment
Violation of the law on Obstruction of apprehension and prosecution of criminal
offenders (P.D. 1829), re concealment of Garcillano
Falsification of public documents (Art.'s 171 & 172, RPC), violation of Passport
Act of 1996, perjury, re Garcillano's passport
Arbitrary detention by detaining a person without legal ground (Art. 124, RPC),
re arrest of Prof. Randolph David, Corazon Soliman and others)
Violation of domicile (Art. 128, RPC) and Searching domicile without witnesses
(Art. 130, RPC), re the Tabayoyong raid
Prohibition, interruption, and dissolution of peaceful meetings (Art. 131, RPC)
Electioneering
Culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of the public trust that are
the bases for impeachment
Offenses under election laws, improper use of public funds and resources,
electioneering
Anti-Graft and Corruption Law (R.A. 3019)
Law on Plunder
181
FINDINGS ON THE ISSUE OF
POLITICAL KILLINGS AND
OTHER FORMS OF
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
On 15 November 2005, the third day of the CCTA proceedings, the lawyer-
presenters offered testimonial and documentary evidence on the true human rights
situation in the country under the regime of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
covering the period of January 20, 2001, the time she assumed the presidency, up to
the present. It was shown that perpetrators of violations of human rights are the
military, police and other agents of the state; while the victims are mostly activists,
militants, journalists and people from various sectors seeking meaningful reforms in
Philippine society.
Seven key witnesses were presented. They were: MARIE ENRIQUEZ, an expert
on human rights with extensive experience and unwavering commitment as a human
rights activist since the martial law era; RENE GALANG, president of the 5,300-strong
United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) that fell victim to union busting by the
Hacienda Luisita management and witness to the bloody massacre of striking workers
by the combined forces of the military, police and private army of the management;
ADELIZA ALBARILLO who at the age of ten saw by her very own eyes the cold-blooded
murder of her parents perpetrated by the military; CRISTINA ABALOS, whose father
was abducted by the military and to date remains missing; RICHARD MARGALLO, a
farmer survivor of the November 21, 2005 Palo, Leyte massacre perpetrated by the
military; and, Bayan Muna Party-list Representative SATUR OCAMPO who on various
occasions had the opportunity to personally speak with Pres. Arroyo and brought to
her attention the politically-motivated extrajudicial killings, forced disappearance,
torture and other forms of human rights abuses committed by the military, police and
paramilitary forces.
She was a founding member of the now defunct Kapisanan ng mga Kamag-
anak at Kaibigan ng mga Bilanggong Political (KAPATID). She was also a member of
Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detention at para sa Amnestiya (SELDA) and
was also formerly with the Philippine Alliance on Human Rights Advocate (PAHRA).
She has attended and spoken at numerous international conferences on human
rights. She is one of the prime movers of the human rights class action suit against
182
Marcos, which was heard by the Hawaii Federal Court. She also formally submitted
SELDA’s opposition to the settlement agreement proposed by the Marcos family.
The Arroyo administration’s human rights record shows that the victims are
human rights workers and lawyers, journalists, priests, church workers, even local
government officials, peasant and trade union leaders, and leaders and members of
people’s organizations. What is common to all of them is that they are either leaders,
members or supporters of progressive mass/people’s organizations opposed to the
political and economic policies of the government. Moreover, witnesses point to the
military, police and paramilitary forces and death squads suspected of being under the
direction of these state forces, as the perpetrators of human rights violations. In most
cases, the assassins are motorcycle-riding men wearing bonnets and ski masks; the
get-away vehicles used such as motorcycles bear no license plate number.
Ms. Enriquez pointed out that the violations are centrally directed and manifest
a clear and systematic pattern, showing a state policy of deliberately sowing terror on
the civilian population. In extrajudicial killings, for instance, a victim is first placed
under heavy surveillance. Then he or she is intimidated or harassed. In most cases,
the victim is subjected to campaign of vilification and is demonized and tagged as an
“enemy of the state” or a “terrorist.” A concrete illustration of demonization is the
release by the military of a power point presentation entitled Knowing the Enemy and
of the book entitled Trinity of War. The first, wherein the ISAFP labels certain
progressive groups and organizations, church institutions, journalist groups and
individuals as “enemies of the state,” was initially distributed to the media by the AFP-
Northern Luzon Command (AFP-NOLCOM) on 22 January 2005. The second contains
a list of leaders, members and supporters of mass organizations and progressive
party-list groups tagged as “communist.” One of those named is Tarlac City Councilor
Abelardo Ladera, a Bayan Muna member, who was assassinated on 3 March 2005.
183
Thus, suspicion is rife that such listing constitutes a virtual “hit list” for the military,
police, paramilitary forces and other kinds of “death squads” under the control of state
forces.
According to Ms. Enriquez, the brazenness and absolute impunity with which
these human rights violations are carried out demonstrates the intensifying political
repression under the Arroyo government. Worse, not a word has been heard from
Pres. Arroyo categorically condemning the aforementioned attacks on the democratic
and human rights of the people. Her keeping close to absolutely mum on the issue
leads to no other conclusion than that she has full knowledge of these human rights
violations and abuses and actually tolerates, if not implements, this state policy, she
being the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the
Philippine National Police.
Workers’ Repression
A clear example of the politically repressive policy of the Arroyo government that
has alarmed even the international community is the callous massacre of striking
farm and mill workers of the Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac City, owned and managed by
the big landlord Cojuangco-Aquino clan. Until now the victims, their families and
supporters cry out for justice against the blatant violation of the workers’ rights
committed by the Arroyo regime including its military, police and paramilitary agents
in collusion with the hacienda owners/managers.
RENE GALANG, who has been working for 23 years as a farm worker in the
sprawling hacienda that mainly grows sugar cane and includes a sugar central,
became president of the United Luisita Workers’ Union (ULWU) on June 2004. Prior to
his election as president, ULWU was a yellow union subservient to the dictates and
whims of the management.
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He narrated that on 6, 7 and 15 November 2004, despite their peaceful strike,
hundreds of police officers attempted to break up the picket line using tear gas, water
cannon, truncheons and later firearms, which seriously injured many strikers.
No agreement was reached during the negotiation. Mr. Cojuangco stood firm on
his stance to leave the matter to the decision of the DOLE. Thus, the union officers
went back to the picket lines in Hacienda Luisita. They noticed the presence of
hundreds of PNP elements and AFP soldiers in full battle gear positioned inside the
sugar mill compound. The state forces were aided by two armored personnel carriers
(APCs), two pay loaders and four fire trucks. Only the steel gate at Gate 1 of the sugar
mill separated the combined military and police forces from the strikers.
Immediately thereafter and without any negotiation taking place between the
strikers and the dispersal teams, the latter assaulted the strikers. The raw video
footage presented by Mr. Galang shows that the dispersal teams blasted the strikers
with water from the fire trucks which stung their skin. Tear gas was also used against
the strikers. Failing to crush the picket line, the dispersal teams commandeered an
APC that was used to ram the steel gate separating the state forces and the strikers.
When the gate was smashed open, the people started throwing stones or anything they
could put their hands on at the APC to thwart the attempt to disperse them. The
video footage shows the strikers and their supporters raising their hands in jubilation
after their defensive actions caused the APC to retreat. Shortly after, successive
gunshots were heard as the state forces indiscriminately fired upon the people. Every
one scampered and ran for cover. Thereafter, seven strikers lay dead while a number
of others sustained gunshot wounds, many of them severe. A little while later, more
than a hundred other strikers were illegally arrested and arbitrarily detained en masse
by the military and the police, not sparing women, one of whom was seven months
pregnant.
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Mr. Galang explained that the violent dispersal and bloody massacre did not
put an end to the gross violations of the rights of the striking workers, their families
and supporters. On the contrary, the Cojuangco-Aquino family -- in conspiracy with
the military and police authorities and utilizing paramilitary groups such as the
Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU) and other hired agents/gunmen --
has continued to harass and threaten as well as abuse the rights of the hacienda
workers and their families.
More recently, on the night of 25 October 2005, while resting in a hut near his
house and after personally distributing the unpaid earned wages and benefits of the
sugar mill workers, Ricardo Ramos, president of CATLU and village chairman of Brgy.
Mapalacsiao, Tarlac City, was also brutally gunned down.
Villages in the hacienda have become heavily militarized. Many villagers have
complained of being subjected to illegal arrest and harassment. Others, unjustly
accused of being New People’s Army (NPA) members are being forced to admit such
allegations by the military and thereafter sign government documents stating they are
rebel returnees.
Mr. Galang called attention to the fact that he himself and his family are being
principally targeted by the military and the police. He pointed out that several
elements of the military have virtually maintained a detachment in a house just across
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his residence. They would ask around about his whereabouts. Worse, on or about 26
September 2005, they broke into his house. His wife was even slapped in the face by
the military intruders. Even his children in school experience harassment by the
military.
Adeliza, who was then ten years old, was awakened by a loud bang in the early
morning of 8 April 2002. When she peeped through the window, she saw around 90
soldiers scattered outside their house. Around eight soldiers wearing bonnets to cover
their faces went inside their house. She said she was certain they were military men
because they barged into their house, were wearing military uniform and combat
shoes and were armed with long firearms.
She saw them clutching her mother’s arm while her father was tied to the door.
She heard the soldiers say they only wanted to talk to her parents inside the military
camp. But when her parents asked if they could first change their clothes, the military
refused. The latter said that there was no need because the Albarillos would be put to
death anyway.
The military then forcibly seized her parents. They hit her father’s leg with a
gun when he resisted. Her parents were taken towards a mountain, about 20 meters
from their house.
When the soldiers were no longer in sight, Adeliza ran to her relatives and
reported the incident. A moment later, they all heard a series of gunshots. Adeliza’s
relatives rushed toward the mountain to see what had happened. When they got
back, they were carrying the lifeless bodies of Adeliza’s parents. She noticed that her
mother’s shoulders were broken and her father’s left eye was blown out.
Adeliza’s uncle went to town to seek police assistance. Police officers who
responded, however, took the longer path to the mountains and arrived with some
soldiers. Adeliza and her relatives later learned that these military men came from the
mountains where her parents were brutally executed.
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Adeliza explained that the summary execution of her parents may have been
politically motivated. She said her father was known to be critical of the policies of
former Mayor Aldaba of San Teodoro, Mindoro Oriental. When Mr. Aldaba was killed
allegedly by the NPA, her innocent father was accused of the murder. But for lack of
proof, her father was released after nine months of detention.
She testified that her family wrote to the President appealing for help but that
nothing happened. It appeared that they were simply ignored.
Involuntary Disappearance
Cristina Abalos, 36-year-old, testified that her father, Patricio Abalos, was the
provincial chairman of a farmers’ cooperative in Samar. He was 67 years old at the
time he was abducted.
She narrated that in the evening of 28 March 2005, she was at home with her
father and other relatives. They were watching television when she noticed a Revo van
already parked in front of their house and saw some men standing around the vehicle.
She told her father about it. When he went out to check, the van had left.
Shortly thereafter, the van came back. Cristina saw about four men with high-
powered firearms alight, force her father into the van and thereupon speed away. The
van had no plate number. A motorcycle, also without any plate number, Fllowed the
van
The next day, Cristina and her mother searched for Patricio at Camp Lucban in
Maulong, Catbalogan where the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army is based.
But they were not allowed to enter the camp. They then tried to seek the help of the
Public Attorneys’ Office. But said office, explaining that it is itself being harassed,
turned them down. Not giving up, on 30 March 2005, they went back to the military
camp, but once again they were denied entry.
On 31 March 2005, six soldiers barged into and searched Patricio’s house
against the will of the residents therein and without a search warrant. The group was
led by one who introduced himself as Lt. Wilbert Basquiñas who arrogantly admitted
having custody of Patricio. He told Patricio’s family that he and his men were looking
for a gun allegedly kept in Patricio’s wooden trunk. Cristina and her family pleaded
with the soldiers. Lt. Basquiñas ignored them and proceeded to ransack the house,
threatening and aiming his pistol at the family members while brandishing his fan
knife.
The soldiers did not find any gun. Nevertheless they still took with them
Patricio’s trunk which contained his IDs, wallet and medicines. They also threatened
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to abduct Patricio’s wife should she not surrender the gun they insisted was being
hidden by Patricio’s family. Cristina’s family later reported the incident to the police
but the latter refused to help them. They said they would not want to antagonize the
military.
On 7 April 2005, Cristina and her mother went to seek the help of
Congressman Figueroa. They chanced upon Gen. Palparan, head of the Philippine
Army 8th Infantry Division and the superior of Lt. Basquiñas, at the congressman’s
house. Cristina noticed that the general’s vehicle parked outside the house was
surprisingly the same vehicle used by the military in the abduction of her father.
Cristina and her mother confronted Gen. Palparan. The general forced them to
admit that Patricio was a member of the NPA. [Did the relatives of Patricio admit that
he is a member of the NPA?!] Cristina asked Palparan why her father was being
illegally detained and why they were not allowed to visit him. Palparan then replied
that he was now allowing visits for Patricio. Cristina and her mother also insisted for
the release of Patricio, but Palparan rejected it, saying Patricio was old anyway.
After Palparan had left, Cong. Figueroa told Cristina and her mother that
Palparan admitted Patricio was under military custody. [Bitin ito. Dapat sabihin kung
an na ang nangyari kay Patrici matatpos makuha ang ganitong admission kay
Palparan.]
Repression of Peasants
RICHARD MARGALLO, chairperson of San Agustin Farmer-Beneficiaries Multi-
purpose Cooperative (SFBMC) in Brgy. San Agustin, Palo, Leyte, testified that on 24
June 2004, six members (Rene Margallo, Renato Dizon, Fe Muriel Obejas, Bernabe
Burra, Francisco Cobacha and Ariel Cantiso) consulted the cooperative on the issue of
landgrabbing committed by Pedro Margallo.
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At around 5 a.m., the farmers were already up and about preparing food and
having coffee when, without any warning, they were peppered with a volley of gunfire.
The farmers shouted they were unarmed civilians but the shooting continued. Five
grenades were also hurled at them. Seven farmers died on the spot, including a
woman who was seven months pregnant. More than ten farmers were seriously
injured. Mr. Margallo himself sustained severe gunshot wounds on his legs and was
rushed to a hospital. In fact, he had to be wheeled to the witness stand on the day
that he gave his testimony.
Mr. Margallo stated that when the firing stopped, the perpetrators moved
towards the “kamalig.” They were in military uniform and combat boots, apparently in
full battle gear. Their faces were concealed by bonnets. They were members of the
19th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army (IBPA). When they got inside the hut, they
ordered the farmers to lie face down and then started kicking their backs with their
boots. They were trying to extract an admission from the farmers that they are
members of the NPA.
When the farmers belied the accusation, a soldier brought in and emptied a
sack full of firearms and subversive documents and insisted that these belong to the
farmers. They [originally: “The military men”] also refused to provide immediate
medical aid to those injured. Worst of all, Col. Louie Dagoy, while admitting that the
attack was committed by elements of the 19th IBPA, nevertheless claimed that it was
not a massacre but a legitimate encounter between the rebel group and the military.
Despite the long list of political killings, the massacres, abductions, torture,
forced disappearances, and other forms of human rights violations under the present
administration, Ms. Arroyo has done nothing to address the intensifying attacks by
the state’s armed forces, the police and paramilitary units under their supervision
upon the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Filipino people.
Bicutan Siege
Two more witnesses testified on the carnage of detention prisoners, the
infamous Bicutan siege, at the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa,
Bicutan, Taguig City on 14-16 March 2005.
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MAXIMIANO M. DE MESA, chairperson of the Philippine Alliance of Human
Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and board member of Task Force Detainees of the
Philippines (TFDP), related that upon request of the relatives of some of the victims of
the Bicutan siege, he approached the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and asked
that a thorough investigation on the case be conducted.
On 23 April 2005, CHR investigators led by CHR chief investigator Atty. Dennis
Mosquera, with Mr. De Mesa, proceeded to the district jail, but they were refused
entry. They were allowed to enter only on 29 April 2005 after a Mission Order from
CHR was shown to the jail warden. Though Mr. De mesa was not the one conducting
the interview of witnesses inside the jail, he could nevertheless hear their statements
because he was just two or three feet away from the group of CHR investigators. He
heard the witnesses belie the reports that “Commander Global” and “Commander
Robot,” suspected leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), were killed during the siege.
The witnesses categorically stated that the siege was over when the two detainees were
executed.
Mr. De Mesa testified that he helped the CHR collate the testimonies of the
witnesses and prepare the report submitted to the CHR en banc. Said report
concluded that serious violations of human rights were committed during the siege. It
pointed to the specific cases of salvaging, massacre, excessive use of force, and cruel
and degrading treatment of the detainees after the siege.
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Cong. Ocampo recalls that from 16 November 2000 up to 12 August 2005, he
had personally brought to Ms. Arroyo’s attention the flagrant political killings. At
every opportunity that he met and talked with Ms. Arroyo, he personally denounced
these killings and demanded that she take decisive action. To his chagrin, however, in
most instances, Ms. Arroyo appeared cold and indifferent. At other times, her actions
were perfunctory, noting the coplaints and not much else, She betrayed an utter lack
of political will to stop the killings. And in spite of her personal knowledge of the
abhorrent human rights record of certain military and police officials, she nonetheless
promoted them. The prime example of this is Gen. Palparan whom Pres. Arroyo has
promoted twice.
Cong. Ocampo points to the fact that not only does Ms. Arroyo have command
responsibility, but she also has moral and political responsibility for all these human
rights violations. Her studied silence all this time can readily be inferred as tolerating,
encouraging and abetting these violations. Understandably, her responsibility for the
perpetration of these human rights violations committed with impunity, stems from
her government’s own counter-insurgency program and unqualified support for the
United States’ so-called “war on terror” and her pronouncements, policies and
excessive measures which have contributed, abetted and engendered the attacks on
the lives and the democratic rights of the Filipino people.
Documentary Evidence
The testimonies of the aforementioned witnesses are bolstered by the
voluminous documentary evidence offered and identified by expert witness Ms.
Enriquez, which include:
1. factsheet;
2. report of the PNP Investigating Committee on the Hacienda Luisita
Incident, dated 15 December 2004;
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5. sinumpaang salaysay or affidavits executed by the other victims and
witnesses, namely, Ferdinand Awit, Gil Palaganas, Florida Sibayan,
Ferdinand Aquino, Gaudencio Mesa Jr., Tirso Cruz, etc.;
6. the complaint-letter dated and filed by the victims, their kin and
witnesses on 13 January 2006, before the Office of the Ombudsman,
calling for an investigation and prosecution for criminal and
administrative offenses in connection with the violent dispersal, against
Sto. Tomas, Imson, Francis Reyes (DOLE Sheriff, Intramuros, Manila),
Chief Supt. Quirino de la Torre (PNP-Region III Director), Sr. Supt. Angelo
H. Sunglao (PNP Provincial Director), Maj. Gen. Romeo Dominguez (AFP-
NOLCOM CO), Cong. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, Jr., Jose “Peping”
Cojuangco, among others;
10. HOR Minutes of the joint meeting of the Committees on Human Rights,
Labor and Employment, and Agrarian Reform held on 30 November
2004;
11. news clippings on the Hacienda Luisita massacre and other human and
workers’ rights violations;
15. PNP initial report on the murder of Tarlac City Councilor Abelardo
Ladera, dated 3 March 2005;
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16. autopsy report on Councilor Ladera’s body prepared by Dr. Saturnino S.
Ferrer;
2. necropsy reports issued by the Office of the City Health Officer, City of
Calapan, Oriental Mindoro;
1. factsheet;
4. photos of victims;
6. Palo Police Chief, Sr. Inspector Rito A. Pacanan’s letter to the chief
provincial prosecutor dated 21 November 2005, referring the sworn
statements of 2Lt. Luel Adrian, Sgt. Ruel Fernandez, Cpl. Disocoro
Jamora, Bernardo Lantajo and alleged documents and exhibits for filing
of cases against for illegal assembly and association and for inciting to
rebellion against the farmers named in the preceding number.
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D. Documentary evidence relative to the testimony of Rep. Satur Ocampo:
5. memorandum from the CHR Task Force Bagong Diwa to Atty. Gilbert D.
Bosier, dated 30 May 2005, containing the Final Report on Camp Bagong
Diwa Jail Hostage Taking/Esacpe Attempt incident, signed by the
members of the task force, namely, Atty. Maila Serrano, Atty. Dennis
Mosquera, Felix Lumayag, Albert Figueras, Agapito Laurora, Carlos
Sabile, Jr., Aladin Arciaga and Legaspi Soriano, Jr;
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F. Reports of international human rights organizations, United Nations bodies and
international solidarity missions:
1. Amnesty International (AI) Reports
x x x
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Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) requests the United Nations
Human Rights Committee to consider, among others, the following
recommendations in its Concluding Observations on the Philippines for
effective implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR):
The military commander of the army brigade in Mindoro Oriental who has
been consistently implicated in the deaths of civilians and progressive
leaders has been promoted to general. Despite being by-passed by the
legislative Commission on Appointments, he enjoys the benefits of a
general and has been recently appointed to head a higher military unit.
The former general and Defense Secretary under whose watch violations
of human rights thrived was forced to resign this year after being tagged
as one of the corrupt military officials by the soldiers who staged a mutiny
in July. General Victor Corpus of the Intelligence Services of the AFP
(ISAFP) resigned earlier after being implicated in the bombing of airports
and wharfs in Mindanao. Both were just recently promoted to new
government positions by President Arroyo as the Ambassador-at-large for
Counter-Terrorism and as head of the Armed Forces Civil Relations
Services, respectively.
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These are not new to the ordinary Filipino as the present legal and judicial
system has not worked in their favor and interests and has kept a lot of
criminals and human rights violators scot-free through legal delays, undue
technicalities or threats of reprisals. Cynicism and erosion of confidence in
legal and judicial institutions and processes is prevalent. On the other
hand, many members of progressive organizations and ordinary poor
people are at once put to jail via fabricated charges without the benefit of
their rights. The criminalization of what appears to be clearly political
offenses as in the case of 7 farmers in Cagayan in Northern Luzon
continues.
x x x
In sum, the engenderment and impunity for human rights violations are
borne by a combination of an utter lack of people-oriented political will of
the government to genuinely address, promote and protect the human
rights of the people which are being sacrificed under the invocations of
“development,” “counter-insurgency,” “national security” and “war against
terror.” It is manifest in the recurrence of violations, the non-accountability
of perpetrators, the condonation of atrocities and the ineffective or merely
formal or nominal gestures and legal enactments.
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Philippine Army who have been accused of perpetrating such human rights
abuses, as well as local military irregulars such as CAFGUs and “private”
armies of local political and economic elites with the backing of members of
the army hierarchy. On the other hand, militarization is related to two
concurrent processes: firstly, the powerful interests of mining, logging and
agribusiness enterprises, which acquire control over indigenous lands and
resources even against the wishes of the indigenous communities and
without their free and prior consent as the law establishes. Secondly,
militarization takes place in the framework of the counter-insurgency
tactics of the Philippine Army in the war against rebel groups, particularly
NPA, in which indigenous communities may be caught up as hapless
victims.
In the Opinion and Judgment in Prosecutor v. Duco Tadic a.k.a. “Dule,” Case No.
IT-92-1-T, which was tried before the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of
Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law
Committed in the Territory of Former Yugoslavia Since 1991 and decided on 7 May
1997, widespreadness was defined as referring to the number of victims. That is, the
violations are directed against a multiplicity of victims. On the other hand, the
systematic nature of the acts committed was explained as an evident pattern or
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methodical plan, pursuant to and in the implementation of a policy, which results in
repeated or continuous commission of inhumane acts.
These definitions easily find analogous application in the case of the human
rights situation in the Philippines. The escalating number of victims of human rights
violations from the time of President Arroyo’s assumption to the presidency based on
documentations by KARAPATAN and other human rights monitors and organizations
both national and international speaks for itself. Also, as testified to by expert
witness Ms. Enriquez, the victims are commonly political dissenters and belong to
progressive or militant organizations which are being attacked on political grounds.
And as can be deduced from the testimonies of Rene Galang, Adeliza Albarillo, Cristina
Abalos and Richard Margallo, the violations are consciously perpetrated, done with
impunity and are tantamount to being government policy.
Although the human rights violations are carried out by elements of the military
and the police and their agents, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo bears full
responsibility for all these atrocities as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines. She cannot and must not be allowed to escape liability by the simple
defense of lack of participation in whatever degree in the commission of these crimes.
Under Article VII Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution, the President shall be the
Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines x x x. According to
Black’s Law Dictionary (fifth edition, 1985), a commander in chief is “one who holds
supreme or highest command of armed forces x x x. The term implies supreme
control of military operations not only with respect to strategy and tactics, but also in
reference to the political and international aspects of the war.”
Article VII Section 17. The President shall have control of all the
executive departments, bureaus and offices. He shall ensure that the
laws shall be faithfully executed.
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Article XI Section 2. The President x x x may be removed from
office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the
Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or
betrayal of public trust. x x x
85
Citing the Command and General Staff School, Principles of Staff Organization (Ft. Wm. McKinley, Rizal,
1957), p.1.
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measures as were within his power and appropriate in the circumstances
to protect prisoners of war and civilian population. X x x This was
enough to require the commission to hear evidence tending to establish
the culpable failure of petitioner to perform the duty imposed on him by
the law of war and to pass upon its sufficiency to establish guilt.”
(Underscoring is ours)
Similarly, Pres. Arroyo’s acts or omissions on the issue of human rights in the
country constitute a breach of her command responsibility for which she is liable for
culpable violation of the Constitution. The testimonies presented during the
proceedings bear out her complicity. She knew or had reason to know of the massive
and intensifying attacks against the lives and fundamental rights of the Filipino
people. Yet, she has never spoken about, much less complied with her affirmative
duty to protect her own people, stop the political killings and other forms of human
rights violations committed by her armed forces and punish the offenders. On the
contrary, she has either encouraged, tolerated or abetted these widespread and
systematic atrocities by awarding with promotions or medals of valor those officers
who have notoriously and knowingly perpetrated with impunity and continue to
perpetrate inhumane acts against the innocent civilians who are critical of the
prevailing social system and her governance.
The sovereign power has the inherent right to protect itself and its
people from vicious acts which endanger the proper administration of
justice; hence, the State has every right to prosecute and punish
violators of the law. This is essential for its self-preservation, nay, its
very existence. But this does not confer a license for pointless assaults
on its citizens. The right of the State to prosecute is not a carte blanche
for government agents to defy and disregard the rights of its citizens
under the Constitution. Confinement, regardless of duration, is too high
a price to pay for reckless and impulsive prosecution.” (Senior Associate
Justice Josue Bellosillo in Allado vs. Diokno, 232 SCRA 192)
Finally, it is well to remind us of the dictum of the late Justice Robert Jackson
who was Chief Counsel for the United States in the prosecution of war criminals at the
Nuremberg Trial: “We must never forget that the record on which we judge these
defendants today is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these
defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.”
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Recommendations
It is respectfully recommended that the Citizens’ Congress for Truth and
Accountability, after having established by testimonial, documentary and object
evidence the existence of a widespread and systematic human rights violations
perpetrated by the Arroyo regime, its armed forces and state agents, do the following:
1. To file complaints for violations of civil and political rights of victims and for the
award of damages and indemnification to the same against Pres. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, the Secretary of the Department of National Defense, the
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Major General Jovito
Palparan and their agents, before the Philippine Human Rights Commission,
international bodies such as United Nations Human Rights Committee, any
foreign country where they may be reached and served the processes of the
Court pursuant to the doctrine of universal jurisdiction;
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