Ping: Pineda men guarding Garci

Virgilio Garcillano may have hidden on a farm owned by suspected illegal gambling boss Rodolfo Pineda and guarded by security men, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson said he has confirmed information that Garcillano was in Bataan recently.

Garcillano had allegedly flown to Bataan from Clark Field in Pampanga and was accompanied by Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.

Garcillano celebrated his birthday last month in Pilar town before flying back to Clark, Lacson added.

He said his surveillance team had spotted Garcillano, accompanied by security escorts, somewhere in Orani town while on their way to Pineda’s farm.

In an interview over radio station dzMM, Lacson also encouraged members of the community to make a citizen’s arrest if they spot Garcillano.

Pineda and his wife Lilia, a former mayor of President Arroyo’s hometown of Lubao, Pampanga, had been previously linked to the President, who had earlier rejected accusations that she received jueteng bribes from Pineda.

Mrs. Arroyo had also denied allegations that Pineda’s wife distributed bribes to several election officials in her presence at the Arroyo residence in La Vista subdivision in Quezon City in early 2004.

Chief Inspector Rommel Velasco, Pilar police chief, said Garcillano could easily hide in areas between Pilar and Bagac towns because they are sparsely populated and relatively remote.

"Garcillano could easily be identified if ever he goes out and mingles with residents in the town proper because he might be tightly guarded. That could create unusual noise in the community," Velasco said.

Pilar Mayor Charlie Pizarro said his office had not received any reports that Garcillano was around.

Garcillano was ordered arrested by the House of Representatives after he repeatedly failed to appear before a Senate inquiry to explain his role in alleged wiretapped phone conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and him.

Lacson also dangled a P1-million reward which the opposition is offering to anybody who can lead the authorities to Garcillano, who is a central figure in the wiretap scandal.

Garcillano’s reported sightings in Bataan belie earlier claims of Arroyo critics that he has fled abroad to avoid the scandal.

Police in Bataan began checking resorts and vacation houses in Morong town after Garcillano was reportedly sighted there recently.

Garcillano was reportedly seen with two men and a Caucasian woman boarding a car in the town. They stayed on a secluded island off Morong, according to Superintendent Arnold Gunnacao, the deputy police director for operation in the province.

Garcillano might be considering Morong as an exit point to leave the country because of its geographic location and proximity to Subic Bay in Zambales, Gunnacao said.

Police are working with security personnel of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority after Garcillano was earlier reportedly sighted in one of the villas built for heads of states attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in the former US naval base in 1996.

Police are also checking resorts in nearby Bagac town.

Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said the Philippine National Police has no leads on Garcillano’s whereabouts so far.

The wiretapped phone conversations are part of an impeachment complaint filed in the House against Mrs. Arroyo. The complaint, now pending with the House committee on justice, accuses Mrs. Arroyo of violating the Constitution, betraying public trust, corruption and bribery.

Opposition lawmakers have urged her to resign to avoid a painful Senate trial. Mrs. Arroyo has apologized for speaking to an election official before she was declared the winner, but denied manipulating the vote count.

The lawmakers have warned of unrest if Mrs. Arroyo’s allies in Congress use their numbers and legal maneuvers to spike the complaint. Massive "people power" revolts have ousted Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001.

Adding to the election fraud allegations, Mrs. Arroyo was accused last week by former presidential palace staffer Michaelangelo Zuce of allegedly attending a meeting in her upscale Quezon City house where regional election officials were bribed ahead of last year’s ballot.

Mrs. Arroyo angrily denied the charge, saying witnesses were being bribed to fabricate allegations against her "for a song." — With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Raffy Viray