Comelec execs hit Lacson, De Villa
August 6, 2005 | 12:00am
Two provincial election officials claimed yesterday that opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former defense secretary Renato de Villa were behind an opposition plan to enlist false witnesses against President Arroyo.
Gilbert Palogan, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official in Bulacan, and Ferdinand Gerardo of Pampanga, said they were both offered money and a US visa by a certain "General Yarcia" in exchange for their false written testimony that Mrs. Arroyo had conspired with election officials to cheat her way to victory in last years presidential election.
The general had introduced himself as a close friend of Lacson and De Villa.
"There is an ongoing recruitment of field officers nationwide to come out with statements and documentary reports that could be used in the impeachment proceedings against the President," Palogan told a press conference at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.
Palogan had met Yarcia in a Quezon City restaurant on July 21, he claimed.
According to Gerardo, he and Palogan were also asked to assist in gathering documents from other election officials to help prove the opposition allegations of poll fraud against Mrs. Arroyo.
Gerardo added he once saw De Villa and former Comelec commissioner Dante Lantion during one of their meetings with Yarcia.
Gerardo and Palogan said they rejected the offer because the idea disgusted them.
"We cannot testify against our own office," Gerardo said, adding that he and Palogan had come forward to protect the Comelecs integrity.
They had sought protection from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), claiming they had received death threats for rejecting the oppositions offer.
NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said he has already instructed Metro Manila regional director Edmund Arugay to "ask where the threats are coming from and what the bureau can do about them."
Malacañang officials had earlier accused the opposition of presenting witnesses who they maintained were paid to give false testimony against Mrs. Arroyo.
The President is battling allegations of poll fraud among other charges included in an impeachment complaint against her.
The latest to accuse her is former presidential staffer Michaelangelo Zuce, who alleged that she met with several election officials at her Quezon City house and that he witnessed an Arroyo friend distributing bribes in the presence of the President.
Mrs. Arroyo has denied the new charges and challenged her accusers to take their claims to court.
Zuce said the meeting was coordinated by former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who was then Northern Mindanaos regional director.
Garcillano, who has gone into hiding, is a central figure in alleged wiretapped recordings in which he and Mrs. Arroyo purportedly discussed ways to ensure her victory in last years presidential election before official results were announced.
She has admitted phoning an election official during the vote count which she described as a "lapse in judgment" and a clumsy bid to protect her votes.
She denies rigging the election outcome and has rejected opposition calls for her resignation but has welcomed an impeachment challenge to clear her name.
An impeachment complaint was filed last month by opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives. The House committee on justice will begin deliberations on the complaint next week. With Evelyn Macairan
Gilbert Palogan, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official in Bulacan, and Ferdinand Gerardo of Pampanga, said they were both offered money and a US visa by a certain "General Yarcia" in exchange for their false written testimony that Mrs. Arroyo had conspired with election officials to cheat her way to victory in last years presidential election.
The general had introduced himself as a close friend of Lacson and De Villa.
"There is an ongoing recruitment of field officers nationwide to come out with statements and documentary reports that could be used in the impeachment proceedings against the President," Palogan told a press conference at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.
Palogan had met Yarcia in a Quezon City restaurant on July 21, he claimed.
According to Gerardo, he and Palogan were also asked to assist in gathering documents from other election officials to help prove the opposition allegations of poll fraud against Mrs. Arroyo.
Gerardo added he once saw De Villa and former Comelec commissioner Dante Lantion during one of their meetings with Yarcia.
Gerardo and Palogan said they rejected the offer because the idea disgusted them.
"We cannot testify against our own office," Gerardo said, adding that he and Palogan had come forward to protect the Comelecs integrity.
They had sought protection from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), claiming they had received death threats for rejecting the oppositions offer.
NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said he has already instructed Metro Manila regional director Edmund Arugay to "ask where the threats are coming from and what the bureau can do about them."
Malacañang officials had earlier accused the opposition of presenting witnesses who they maintained were paid to give false testimony against Mrs. Arroyo.
The President is battling allegations of poll fraud among other charges included in an impeachment complaint against her.
The latest to accuse her is former presidential staffer Michaelangelo Zuce, who alleged that she met with several election officials at her Quezon City house and that he witnessed an Arroyo friend distributing bribes in the presence of the President.
Mrs. Arroyo has denied the new charges and challenged her accusers to take their claims to court.
Zuce said the meeting was coordinated by former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who was then Northern Mindanaos regional director.
Garcillano, who has gone into hiding, is a central figure in alleged wiretapped recordings in which he and Mrs. Arroyo purportedly discussed ways to ensure her victory in last years presidential election before official results were announced.
She has admitted phoning an election official during the vote count which she described as a "lapse in judgment" and a clumsy bid to protect her votes.
She denies rigging the election outcome and has rejected opposition calls for her resignation but has welcomed an impeachment challenge to clear her name.
An impeachment complaint was filed last month by opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives. The House committee on justice will begin deliberations on the complaint next week. With Evelyn Macairan
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