Did Mike Arroyo fund post-election ‘Special Operations’ in Lanao?

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and ‘Probe’ (First of a series)

POONA BAYABAO, Lanao del Sur — "Fernando Poe, Fernando Poe." With clenched fists and his right hand raised, octogenarian Hadji Mohammad Monte repeated the name of the late action star like a mantra when asked whom he voted for in the last presidential elections. He insisted that Poe was number one among the residents of this town where the late king of Philippine movies was — and still is — very popular.

In fact, town residents cheered Monte on as they shouted, "FPJ! FPJ!" When asked, six of every 10 residents here claimed they had voted for Fernando Poe Jr. Only a few women admitted going for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but even they conceded that there was no way the movie icon could lose in a clean election here.In the certificate of canvass that reached Congress, President Arroyo got 4,700 votes in Poona Bayabao, a fifth-class municipality in Lanao del Sur that is a 45-minute drive from Marawi City. All her rivals, including Poe, each scored a big, fat zero."What we saw in the election returns was that each candidate had votes," said Nasser Dibansa, principal of the Bansayan Elementary School and head of the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) 2004 Operation Quick Count here. "Not only Fernando Poe, but also (Eddie) Villanueva — every candidate had votes. Since I was born, I have not experienced (anything) like that, that a candidate would get zero."

Because of the improbability of the poll results, Poona Bayabao has been cited as incontrovertible proof of massive cheating in Mindanao, particularly Lanao del Sur.

These charges were bolstered by the controversial testimony at the Senate of Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, who was stationed in Lanao del Sur during the 2004 elections. Last month, Gudani told the Senate that he had witnessed and observed "all kinds of cheating from start to finish" in the province.

When "Probe" visited Lanao del Sur recently, it found further proof: two political operators, Lomala Macadaub and Abdul Wahab Batugan of the Lanao del Sur Unity Movement for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who said that their group was behind alleged dagdag-bawas (vote-padding and -shaving) operations in the province, as well as in Sultan Kudarat, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. They also said the funds for their operations came from First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo.

These operators say that their tasks included talking to, and paying off, election officers to reverse the ratio of the votes in the president’s favor. Sometimes, they admitted, they altered the certificates of canvass (COCs) themselves, thus explaining the disparity in the results in the election returns and the COCs.

Lawyer Jesus Santos, spokesman for the First Gentleman, denied his client masterminded and financed any rigging of the presidential polls. While he was not aware of the day-to-day activities of his client, Santos said, he was sure the First Gentleman was not very active in the President’s 2004 campaign. But he conceded, "He helped in a way. His wife was president and candidate. If he could help other people, the more he would help someone who happens to be his wife." (To be continued)