‘Garci’s nephew bribed Comelec official’
By Kathrina Alvarez
August 23, 2011
A PANEL created to probe election fraud involving the military supposedly covered up a poll official’s testimony that she was bribed to tamper with election results in favor of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
This was disclosed by Bayan Muna party-list Representative Neri Colmenares on Monday, citing contents of the Mayuga report, named after the Navy official who headed the panel who drafted it.
The poll official said she was approached by the nephew of former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, the official believed to have been caught on tape talking to a woman who was supposedly then President Arroyo. The conversation, which dealt with giving Arroyo a lead of a million votes over her rival Fernando Poe Jr., led to the “Hello, Garci” controversy.
Colmenares condemned the panel led by former Navy Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga for failing to hold anyone liable despite the testimonies that would prove such allegation.
In the summary of testimonies contained in the 10-inch-thick report of the Mayuga panel, Comelec Regional Director Helen Flores of Zamboanga Peninsula testified that Garcillano’s nephew and security aide Captain Valentino Lopez approached her during the tabulation of the canvassing at the Zamboanga Colisuem “bribing her in huge amount” not only to favor a mayoralty candidate but also to “remedy the big lead of FPJ in favor of GMA”.
Arroyo was then running against actor-turned-politician Fernando Poe Jr. She won at least 1.1 million votes over Poe.
According to Colmenares, Flores even mentioned that the first offer was P50 million and the second was P100 million. Flores said he did not take the bribe of Garcillano’s nephew.
“The Mayuga Panel which was tasked to investigate involvement of the military in election fraud did not find this reference to ‘GMA’ (Arroyo) important even if this is one of the most damning testimonies on that issue. Worse, Admiral Mayuga did not even mention the confirmation of Lopez that Garcillano was indeed in Mindanao during the 2004 elections despite Garcillano’s strong denial of his presence in the area during that time,” the party-list lawmaker added.
Garcillano was initially appointed by then Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos to be the Commissioner in Charge (CIC) of the regions in Mindanao but was transferred to the Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions due to the protest of then Sen. Nene Pimentel.
Colemanres said the former poll commissioner used his assignment to Bicol to deny his presence in Mindanao at the height of the elections despite reports that he was sighted in the area.
In 2004, known Garcillano protégés Wilfredo Daraug and Borromeo Patangan were assigned as election officers in Basilan where Arroyo got 79,702 votes against Poe’s 48,685. Another protégé, Mike Abbas, was assigned in Tawi-Tawi where Poe, despite his popularity among Muslims, only won by 15,000 votes over Arroyo.
“Captain Lopez testified that he was the nephew and security aide of Garcillano going with him in his travels during the elections. He then admitted that he travelled with Garcillano to Tawi-tawi, Zamboanga, Sulu, Cagayan de Oro and Batangas and even confirmed that he indeed met with Comelec Regional Director Helen Flores in the Zamboanga Gym during the canvassing as the ‘advance party’of Garcillano who will visit the canvassing,” the party-list lawmaker said.
Mayuga, Colmenares said, should have probed deeper into these testimonies if the panel was intent on finding out the truth.
“This is one more reason why the House of Representatives should conduct the investigation on the 2004 elections to ensure that crucial questions which Mayuga failed to ask are pursued and legislative remedies are undertaken to ensure that election fraud is stamped out,” he stressed.
Colmenares, together with fellow Bayan Muna party-list Representative Teddy Casino, filed a House resolution seeking an investigation on the alleged 2004 election fraud.
No commitment, however, was made by House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms chairman and Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga that the resolution will be taken up by the House panel.
Meanwhile, a former archbishop said that the government should consider questioning members of the fact-finding panel.
Former Military Ordinariate Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said it might be a good idea to include interrogating those who drafted the report including former Navy chief Mateo Mayuga.
“Siguro mabuti interviewhin sila ngayon dahil lahat sila ay libre na (It might be good to interview them now),” said Arguelles.
When the Mayuga committee was created in 2005, the public had serious doubts about its effectiveness, he said.
“At the circumstances that it was made, siguro naman they were very cautious not to offend anyone. Pero siguro tama yun na limited ang kanilang freedom, probably,” said the prelate. “… Kasi hindi ba ang Chief Executive ang kanilang Commander-in-Chief. Sila ay under obedience so you understand they are very careful at what they are going to say.”
Arguelles said he is in favor of the review of the report as documents of the past “are open to scrutiny by the present”. (With AMN/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/08/22/garci-s-nephew-bribed-comelec-official-174682
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