‘Garci’ probe terminated, but issue not closed — lawmakers

The House of Representatives may have terminated the "Hello, Garci" inquiry but lawmakers from the administration and opposition believe the issue is far from over.

"There is no closure. More questions need to be answered with the pathetic and shameless stonewalling of (former election commissioner Virgilio) Garcillano, capped by his claim that he cannot recognize his own voice," said opposition Rep. Roilo Golez.

He was referring to audio recordings, purportedly of Garcillano having improper phone conversations with President Arroyo during the 2004 presidential vote count.

"Are they afraid of what monster lies at the end of an honest-to-goodness investigation? It is a sad moment in the history of the House that the majority used their numbers to kill the search for the truth," Golez said.

Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza said the issue would continue "hounding the intelligence of the Filipino people."

"Closure on the ‘Hello, Garci’ scandal will never be reached until and unless the wiretaps are fully explained and admitted to. Also, Garcillano has told too many lies for him to be credible in the eyes of Congress and of the people," said Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla.

Arroyo ally Davao del Sur Rep. Douglas Cagas agreed that there would be no closure, but blamed the opposition for fixating on the removal of Mrs. Arroyo from office over the accusations.

"There will never be any closure of an issue, real or imagined, for as long as GMA is in office. That is their real target," he said.

Cagas’ colleagues in the ruling party Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, Reps. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City and Eduardo Veloso of Leyte, said what was important was that the House did its job and conducted an inquiry in aid of legislation, such as amending the wiretap law.

"While a lot of issues needed to be resolved, we did not lose sight of our main task, which is to come up with the necessary remedial legislation. The committees gave each and every member the opportunity to speak up," Cuenco said.

The inquiry’s findings, which will be submitted to the legislature next month, will "guide the House on the necessary remedial legislation that must be pursued by Congress," Veloso said. "Ours was an inquiry in aid of legislation, not persecution or prosecution."

After more than seven months, five House committees concluded their joint inquiry into the scandal that led to Mrs. Arroyo’s worst crisis since she assumed office in 2001.

North Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Talino-Santos, who heads the inquiry, declared the hearings terminated after a motion from Nueva Ecija Rep. Aurelio Umali. There was no objection from the opposition.

Malacañang heaved a sigh of relief over the conclusion of the House investigation and administration officials hoped the issue would finally be put to rest and that the nation could move on.

Administration officials urged lawmakers yesterday to now devote their time and energy to pending pieces of legislation.

"We’re glad that they’re finally over it. Congress can surely use the time and energy to work on… legislation that can do more good for the country rather than talking about those tapes," Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said.

Earlier, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that ultimately, the people would draw their own conclusions.

"As I’ve always said before, the people would have to decide on that. It has been heard so much, the people will decide for themselves," Ermita said. "There will be elections again and we will see who the people choose to believe with all the controversy."

Ermita said he could not say who exactly would benefit from the conclusion of the House inquiry.

But Ermita said it was about time that the issue be considered closed, saying the matter only proved to be a distraction.

"Imagine, we came towards the end of year, we thought it would end already and suddenly, there it was again," he said. — With Aurea Calica