House still can’t find ‘Garci’

The five House committees inquiring into the controversial "Hello, Garci" tapes still cannot locate one of the principal characters in the recording controversy: former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

"Process servers of the House cannot locate him. The subpoenas have been returned," Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, who chairs the public information committee that is leading the inquiry, told The STAR yesterday.

He said the subpoenas for Garcillano were served at his residence at the Gotesco Towers in Manila, which is just a stone’s throw away from Malacañang, and in Cagayan de Oro City.

Remulla said process servers also failed to locate former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official Samuel Ong, who had claimed to possess the "mother of all tapes" supposedly containing conversations between a female caller who sounds like President Arroyo and "Garci," believed to be Garcillano.

"Garcillano and Ong are the remaining missing links in this story," he added.

Remulla revealed that some of Mrs. Arroyo’s defenders in the investigation had informed him of their intention to move for the suspension of the inquiry unless the two former officials show up for today’s resumption of the probe.

"Of course, as usual, we expect lengthy debates on this motion to suspend or stop the investigation while we are looking for Garcillano and Ong," he said.

Asked if the five committees had sought the help of Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr., Remulla said no.

In a news conference last week, Pichay admitted he had been in contact with Garcillano as recently as last Tuesday and Wednesday.

He said it was the former commissioner who called him.

After hearing Pichay’s admission, Minority Leader Francis Escudero told the five committees in a hearing last Thursday that they should seek the help of the Surigao congressman.

It was Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu and Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto Paras who moved in last Thursday’s hearing to subpoena Garcillano.

Though Ong cannot be located, his lawyer, former Misamis Oriental Assemblyman Homobono Adaza, has told the committees that his client had entrusted to him the "mother of all tapes."

However, the panels have inexplicably refused to request the recordings.

Earlier, they had vowed to play all recordings that were turned over to them. So far, they have only played the two audio cassette tapes and a 32-minute shortened compact disc version that lawyer Alan Paguia had submitted.

The tapes came from former senator Francisco Tatad.

The two CD versions that Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye played before Malacañang reporters last June 6 had also been turned over to the investigating panels by the NBI.

The committees, however, have yet to hear the contents of these CDs. Bunye has said one CD is "original," while the other is "spliced."