DFA covering up for Garci — lawmaker

The chairman of the lead House committee inquiring into the "Hello, Garci" tapes accused the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday of covering up for elusive former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla, who chairs the public information committee, told a news conference that he received information from reliable DFA insiders that early last week, Singapore informed the department that Garcillano had arrived in the city-state last July 14 on board Subic Air RPC-1426.

"It was a charter flight to Singapore that took off at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). This is the same plane and flight that the Air Transportation Office (ATO) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have repeatedly reported not to contain any passengers except the crew," Remulla said.

He said the five committees inquiring into the "Hello, Garci" tapes sent a letter to the DFA on Aug. 15 seeking more detailed information on Garcillano’s flight to and out of Singapore, but the panels received no reply.

Early last week, after the committees learned that the Singapore government had already supplied the requested information to the DFA, a written request was again sent last Wednesday, he said.

"Again, we were given the runaround by the DFA," he added.

"It is obvious that the foreign affairs department, the ATO, BI, NAIA, Subic Air and other agencies are involved in the government-wide cover-up for Garcillano. The government is not interested in looking for him; it is, in fact, apparently hiding him. This strengthens perceptions that the conversations in the ‘Garci’ tapes indicating massive electoral fraud indeed took place," he said.

He noted that about three weeks ago, when Singapore confirmed that the former election commissioner had flown to the city-state, the DFA released the information a week after receiving it and only after the five panels leaked the information to the media.

"Secretary Alberto Romulo has a lot of explaining to do," Remulla said. Romulo was President Arroyo’s executive secretary before he was moved to the DFA. He has been a loyal ally of Mrs. Arroyo since their Senate days in the mid-’90s.

Remulla identified the pilots of the Subic Air as Capt. Arthur Santos and Capt. Wilfredo Bautista. There was a third crewmember named Benito Hafalia.

Subic Air is owned by logger and transportation magnate Jose Alvarez, a friend of Mrs. Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. Alvarez is the brother of Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez, an Arroyo ally who endorsed the second impeachment complaint against the President.

Remulla said another Subic Air stockholder, Jose Antonio, is also a friend of the Arroyo couple.

Garcillano is believed to be the "Garci" referred to in the "Hello, Garci" tapes by a female caller who sounds like the President.

On June 27, Mrs. Arroyo, in a nationwide televised address, admitted talking to an election official, though she did not identify the official.

However, her principal impeachment lawyer, Pedro Ferrer, did admit that his Palace client had spoken with Garcillano "to protect her votes." He later retracted his admission.

Remulla also lamented that his joint co-chairmen in the "Hello, Garci" inquiry have apparently lost interest in the probe.

He said the resumption of the investigation, scheduled for today, has been postponed indefinitely because his co-chairmen did not want to continue the inquiry.

"We may never find out the truth behind these alleged conversations between the President and Garcillano," he said.

Remulla is one of four members of the majority bloc who have endorsed the opposition’s amended complaint against Mrs. Arroyo. The complaint was killed last week by the committee on justice. — Jess Diaz