Five House panels to resume ‘Hello Garci’ inquiry today

Five committees of the House of Representatives will resume their "Hello, Garci" inquiry today after waiting in vain for three weeks for government agencies to produce missing former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, who chairs the public information committee that is leading the probe, told reporters yesterday that they had not received word on whether the agencies had succeeded in locating Garcillano and former National Bureau of Investigation official Samuel Ong, who had claimed to possess the "mother" of all "Hello, Garci" recordings.

He said the two potential witnesses had been issued invitations and subpoenas, and since they have not responded, he expected some members of the five committees to move for their arrest.

An arrest warrant to be signed by Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. would be the basis for a request that Interpol (International Police) and foreign governments help locate the two, if they are abroad, he said.

Garcillano had reportedly flown from Subic to Singapore and on to London.

He is believed to be the "Garci" heard on the "Hello, Garci" recordings speaking with a female caller who sounds like President Arroyo about efforts to win over the late Fernando Poe Jr. in last year’s election by more than a million votes.

The President has admitted talking to an election official at the height of last year’s vote count, though she did not identify the official. She called it a "lapse in judgment" but denied any effort to fix the ballot results.

The five committees have asked the Philippine National Police, NBI, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and intelligence agencies to locate Garcillano and Ong.

Remulla said if neither shows up, they will hear representatives of the National Telecommunications Commission and cellular phone service providers Smart and Globe on the issue of wiretapping. "We also expect Marietta Santos, the common-law wife of Sgt. Vidal Doble," he said.