Nawalan ng power ang mga suntok ni Manny sa mga nakalaban sa botohan

BAUNGON, BUKIDNON- “Hello, Garci?”

The man who was accused of being the implementor of allegedly the biggest election fraud in the country’s history and who stood in the center of the biggest political scandal in recent history claimed he was slowly losing hope for reforms in the country’s political system and vowed never to join politics again.

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Virgilio Garcillano told The STAR that it seems widespread vote-buying done before the very eyes of authorities is already an acceptable norm to Filipinos.

“It is very saddening that no one can stand up, reject the offer of money and say it is wrong,” Garcillano said.

The former Comelec official claimed that during his time, he tried to at least slowly eradicate vote-buying.

He said this is the kind of practice that would eventually bog down and prevent the country from holding honest and peaceful elections.

“Even if I have all the money in the world, I will not resort to vote-buying, as this is to me distasteful and I cannot swallow (it),” Garcillano added.

“There is something wrong with our educational system and our psyche as Filipinos, since we were not able to teach the children of yesteryear who are now adults the good value of honor, to stand for what is right. Instead, we value material things above all,” Garcillano stressed.

Seeming to have totally given up, Garcillano said he will not even push for political and electoral reforms in a private capacity, having failed to do so as a Comelec commissioner.

“I don’t know what lies ahead but what I pity most are the children and future generations, that we cannot leave a good legacy to them of how fair, honest elections can be conducted (to) reflect the free will of people and not the color of the dirty politicians’ money,” Garcillano said.

Garcillano said that during his time as Comelec commissioner he tried to stop vote-buying but rich traditional politicians who wanted to keep the people in rural areas poor kept blocking his efforts.  

Garcillano, who brazenly used his “Hello, Garci” infamy in his campaign by substituting it for the lyrics of “Hello, Dolly,” now ironically believes he is the victim of cheap political gimmickry and black propaganda hurled against him by his political opponents, particularly the camp of re-electionist Bukidnon Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri.

Zubiri, who belongs to Lakas-CMD, supported the candidacy of agriculturist Candido Pancrudo for the first congressional district of Bukidnon.

Garcillano finally conceded and accepted defeat, saying any attempt to protest the alleged widespread vote-buying and dirty political tricks is an exercise in futility.

The 67-year-old lawyer thanked all his supporters and volunteers, as well as his town mates in Baungon for giving him a landslide victory.  —Ben Serrano