During a House probe on the controversial recordings, the presidential spokesman completely reversed an earlier statement given at a news conference in Malacañang last June 6, in which he confirmed that it was Mrs. Arroyo’s voice heard on the recordings.
Bunye began his testimony after he and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Reynaldo Wycoco witnessed for two and a half hours members of the five committees conducting the "Gloriagate" inquiry wrangle and quibble over how to proceed with the investigation.
Congressmen belonging to the administration bloc invoked all possible technicalities, prompting some minority members to accuse the President’s allies of trying to delay and derail the probe.
Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, who chairs the public information committee that is leading the inquiry, had to plea for order, sobriety and leniency at various times during the proceedings to keep the inquiry running smoothly.
Answering questions from Representatives Roilo Golez of Parañaque and Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati, Bunye said if he were given "a copy of a copy of a tape containing my voice, I will tell you that it is similar to my voice, but I cannot tell you with certainty that it is indeed my voice."
"In other words, it sure sounds like the President in the tapes, but you are not sure if it is the President?" Locsin asked Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesman.
"Yes," Bunye shot back.
He was also questioned on his statement last June 6 at the same Palace news conference, in which he showed the media two compact disc versions of the recordings, one of which he said was authentic while the other was "spliced."
Golez asked him if he had based his statement on a technical evaluation of the recordings.
Bunye said the basis for his remark that one CD was authentic and the other was altered was the labels that appeared on the CDs.
"Your honor, one CD was marked ‘authentic,’ and the other ‘altered.’ I did not make a judgment on whether the materials were authentic or altered," he said.
As for his statement that the President would not dignify the "Gloriagate" tapes with a comment, Mrs. Arroyo’s spokesman told his interrogators that he was just expressing his boss’ sentiments.
"Since the subject of the supposedly wiretapped conversations is election fraud, did you consider that trivial?" Golez asked him.
"No, your honor, but there are independent pieces of evidence showing that the President won fair and square in May 2004," he said.
He said these included the undisputed COCs (certificates of canvass), the numerous reports and statements from the international community, the election watchdog Namfrel, and the local media and survey organizations.
Bunye also denied that he had been the first to play segments of the CDs for the public, instead pointing to AM radio station dzMM.
He even claimed he had been pressured by the media to reveal and play the CDs.
"Members of the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) were very insistent that they at least hear the tapes prior to them being brought to the NBI," he said.
"And you played the disc?" Locsin asked.
"At the insistence of the members of the (MPC)," Bunye said, adding that he had been forced to release it to media after dzMM played portions of it an hour earlier.
He said that he did not seek the President’s permission about releasing the tapes because "it was furthest from my mind."
Golez and Locsin chair the defense and suffrage committees, respectively, and presided over the hearing jointly with Remulla. The other two panels involved in the inquiry are public order, chaired by Amado Espino of Pangasinan, and information technology, headed by Simeon Kintanar of Cebu.
As for Wycoco, he was invited to shed light on his agency’s finding that the two CDs submitted to it by Bunye are both "doctored."
But the probe panels, after spending much of its time quibbling and wrangling, failed to grill the NBI chief. They asked Wycoco and Bunye to return today.
When a commotion ensued in the galleries, which were full of pro-administration supporters, Zubiri said he feared all along a clash could erupt between followers of Mrs. Arroyo and the opposition.
He said if the inquiry were conducted in the smaller and easier-to-secure Andaya Hall, disturbances could have been avoided.
The commotion occurred when House security personnel prevented a group of administration critics led by Linggoy Alcuaz and actor Rez Cortez from barging into the second floor gallery that was occupied by pro-administration supporters.
Other administration congressmen led by Prospero Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Sur called for approval of the ground rules before the inquiry could start.
The joint chairmen informed their colleagues that they had agreed only on two simple rules: first, that every member should limit his questions to three minutes; and second, that the order of questioning be carried out on a "first-come, first-serve" basis.
Other than these, the House rules of procedure would govern the investigation, the chairmen said.
After seemingly interminable debates, the administration bloc agreed to allow the inquiry to proceed, but only on the condition that had been suggested by Exequiel Javier of Antique: no one would be allowed to question Bunye or Wycoco.
The joint chairmen strongly protested this condition. Golez said Javier could not gag committee members, since the entire process is about asking the witnesses or resource persons.
When the inquiry finally proceeded, members of the majority bloc continued to put up roadblocks.
When Golez informed Bunye that then President Carlos Garcia in 1961 and President Diosdado Macapagal in 1965 did not tolerate cheating even if it meant losing the presidency, Rep. Marcelino Libanan of Eastern Samar protested that his colleague from Parañaque was injecting irrelevant comments.
And when Golez appeared to have exceeded his three minutes, Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, who served in the Arroyo cabinet first as justice secretary and later as public works secretary, cut him short, reminding him his time was up.
Remulla had to tell Datumanong that his joint chairman’s three minutes did not include the time taken up by the answers of the witness.
The Maguindanao congressman intervened again when the probe panels exceeded their three-and-a-half-hour timeframe for the initial inquiry. He moved for adjournment but was prevailed upon to withdraw this motion to give his colleagues enough time to question Bunye further.
The majority bloc also invoked the quorum requirement, despite an agreement by the five committees last Wednesday that the quorum would not be questioned in order to expedite the investigation.
At the Senate, Sen. Edgardo Angara said the chamber should wrap up its investigations into the jueteng payoffs quickly so that related documents and information could be turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman.
"What I want is for the Senate to turn over the investigation to the Ombudsman. We should now graduate from investigation to prosecution. Let’s turn over the evidence already in the hands of the (two) committees," he said, referring to the committees on public order and illegal drugs and games and amusement.
He advised the respective committee chairmen Sen. Manny Villar and Sen. Lito Lapid to follow former Senate president Jovito Salonga’s proposal to adopt rules of propriety when the probe resumes on Thursday.
Minority leader Sen. Aquiilino Pimentel meanwhile described as "laughable" Mrs. Arroyo’s statement before Hong Kong businessmen that she won the 2004 polls "fair and square."
"That is a big laugh! For her to claim that she won without committing electoral fraud is just a lot of words that do not reflect the truth," he said. — With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Marvin Sy