Brillantes: 'Hello, Garci' probe not a priority

MANILA, Philippines - Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes disclosed yesterday that investigating the “Hello Garci” poll fraud case in 2004 presidential elections is not his priority at this time.

“That (Hello Garci issue) is not my priority. I was not yet here when it happened,” said Brillantes.

Brillantes said he sees no reason at this time why he should prioritize the investigation into the issue, which happened long before he was appointed to his post.

He further stressed that he should not be held accountable for the continued presence – and promotion – of the so-called “Garci boys,” or those allied with former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, in the commission.

“Bakit daw na-promote? Malay ko. Panahon pa yata ni acting Chairman (Resurreccion) Borra. Ano gagawin ko? Andyan na siya e. Wala namang ginagawa. Ano gusto nila? Tanggalin ko dahil sa assumption na Garci boy siya?” Brillantes added. (Promotions may have come during the time of then chairman Borra. I can’t remove someone just because of accusations of being a Garci boy).

Brillantes said nobody would be relieved from their posts without due process.

Among those tagged as Garci boys were Rey Sumalipao, regional director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Renato Magbutay, Northern Mindanao regional director; Francisco Pobe, Caraga acting assistant regional director; Renault Macarambon, Election and Barangay Affairs Department assistant director; Teopisto Elnas Jr., Election and Barangay Affairs Department director; and Cirilo Nala Jr., Surigao del Sur provincial election supervisor.

The Commission on Appointments (CA) had bypassed Brillantes twice following a prolonged questioning of the Comelec chief, mostly regarding the chairman’s lack of action on the Hello Garci case.

The Hello Garci scandal broke out with the discovery in 2005 of a recorded telephone conversation supposedly between then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Garcillano about the results of the 2004 presidential polls.

Brillantes has served as one of the election lawyers of the late Fernando Poe Jr., whom Arroyo narrowly beat in the 2004 polls.