YOUng dared: Prove poll fraud allegations

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) refused to dignify the latest statement of the Young Officers Union-New Generation (YOUng), a shadowy military group, linking 10 more military officers to reported election anomalies last year in Mindanao.

Declaring that the allegations against the 10 officers would be treated as a common complaint from unknown sources, the military establishment stressed it would only investigate the charges if there was strong enough evidence to warrant a probe.

Brig. Gen. Jose Angel Honrado, AFP spokesman and chief of the military’s Civil Relations Service (CRS), declared that by making more unsupported allegations the YOUng was doing a disservice to the military and to the country.

"These allegations will be looked into and treated like any complaint coming from an unsigned source. If any of the 10 mentioned officers warrants an investigation, the AFP will not hesitate to include them in the probe that will be conducted by the AFP Inspectorate Group (IG) on officers mentioned in the infamous ‘Hello, Garci’ tape," Honrado said.

In its latest statement, the shadowy military group challenged all military personnel who conspired to cheat during last year’s elections to come forward and justify their actions before the public.

In its manifesto, the group named the officers reportedly working with the so-called "Garci’s Gang" as Brig. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito of the Army; Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani of the Marines; Capt. Feliciano Angue, Navy; Lt. Col. Pelonia, (Marines); Col. Rey Arde, Army; Col. Aminkadra Undug, Army; Lt. Col. Estopin, Marines; and a certain Pereno and Capt. Perez, both of the Army.

"Your conspiracy with the President is a great dishonor to your name and family and that (will) just be redeemed only by setting your conscience free," the YOUng statement said.

The group ended the statement, signed by a certain Lt. Col. Arsenio Alcantara, with a warning that failure to comply with the manifesto would mean "we have no other recourse but to intervene and if it means sacrificing our lives, then let it be. After all, it will be on your conscience and it will hound you all forever."

The officers named by the group were all assigned in Mindanao during the May elections last year.

But Honrado immediately dismissed the warning and challenged the group to substantiate its claims and allegations.

"These statements remain baseless and unfounded. The AFP will not give dignity nor credence to this renegade group which continues to hide under the cloak of anonymity," Honrado said.

As this developed, a senior Army official basically cleared Gudani yesterday of any wrongdoing while commanding general of the 1st Marine Brigade based in Marawi City during the May presidential and local elections last year.

"Gen. Gudani was never engaged in election fraud. As the Garci tapes confirmed, he was even relieved from his post for not cooperating with Garci’s gang. Let’s put the record straight, in fairness to the guy," said Col. Jose Gamus.

Gamus himself was sacked as Army deputy brigade commander based in Bicol and ordered investigated for alleged electioneering offenses in Mindanao.

Cleared of the charges, Gamus remains on floating status for his perceived closeness with the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

On the other hand, Lt. Commander Earl Pabalan, AFP Public Information Office deputy chief, described the latest YOUng statement as a continuous attempt to crack the chain of command.

While describing the group’s manifesto as bogus, Pabalan said the military will look into the allegations.

"We will investigate the matter accordingly. If the board would establish the culpability of these 10 officers then succeeding investigations will follow and they will be tabled accordingly," Pabalan said.

Pabalan also admitted that some of the 10 officers have been mentioned in the ongoing probe being conducted by the military fact-finding board investigating the "Hello, Garci" scandal.

"Some of these officers are already part of the investigation and it would be unfair for others if they would be investigated if they were not part of it," Pabalan said.

According to Pabalan the fact-finding board has obtained statements from several credible sources linking some of the 10 officers in the alleged election irregularities.

"Based on these statements coming from credible sources, some of these officers have already been named," Pabalan said.