'Poll fraud raps won't depend on Garci testimony alone'

TAGBILARAN, Bohol, Philippines – Even without former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, an investigation into allegations of massive fraud in the 2004 polls can take off and result in successful prosecution of those involved, President Aquino said yesterday.

In an informal briefing at the Bohol Tropics Resort here, Aquino clarified that right from the beginning, they had treated Garcillano’s reported “feelers” with “a grain of salt,” and had expected him to flip-flop.

“Our investigation doesn’t depend on them (Garcillano and the others). We cannot take their statement hook, line and sinker,” he said.  

Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas earlier said Garcillano had expressed willingness to reveal everything he knew about the alleged rigging of poll results in 2004. The former Comelec official, however, later denied this in a press briefing.

Aquino said investigators have enough evidence to pin down those responsible for manipulating the results of the 2004 presidential race, officially won by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“I’ll be very disappointed if we cannot file charges before the end of this year,” he told reporters.

“We can’t be taken for a ride that easily,” he said, referring to possible sham testimonies.

“There should be strong evidence,” he added. 

Llamas earlier said Garcillano “blew his chance at redemption” when he reportedly made a turnaround and belied allegations of massive cheating in 2004.

Body formed

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will lead a five-man panel tasked to uncover poll fraud in 2004 and 2007.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told a press conference they have yet to finalize the composition of the panel, but said it would be chaired either by her undersecretary or a senior state prosecutor, with two members each from DOJ and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

After a closed-door meeting with Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes, De Lima said it was agreed that the joint DOJ-Comelec probe would not only be for fact-finding purposes but for preliminary investigation as well.

“It will be a combination of fact-finding and preliminary investigation. After the investigation, there would be direct filing of charges in the DOJ,” she explained.

“I will be closely supervising the committee,” the DOJ chief said, adding that she would have opted to chair the panel if not for her tight schedule.

She said the panel would have a secretariat and legal staff, whose first task is to conduct research and determine if charges could still be filed in connection with the 2004 polls, considering the five-year prescription period for election-related cases.

“The law says the prescription period for filing of charges related to elections is five years from commission of the alleged act. But there is exemption to this – if the alleged fraud was discovered during the proceedings of a protest,” she explained.

De Lima said the probe panel will have subpoena power and anyone who defies its orders can face detention “depending on the gravity of defiance.”

With this, she appealed to the camp of Arroyo to reconsider their reported stance not to participate in the probe.

“They should rethink, reconsider that (position). Otherwise, it will not preclude the committee from using its power,” she said.

She said the coverage of the probe would be “very wide that it will include records in previous cases in the PET (Presidential Electoral Tribunal) and Comelec.”

She said they are “vetting more witnesses,” including more election and police officials.

“I am personally vetting witnesses. I’ve been doing this for the past two weeks. I have talked to some of them already,” she revealed, but declined to name names. She said she believes their testimonies would be enough even without Garcillano’s.

De Lima said the panel is expected to kick off its probe next week with an evaluation of testimonies of Senior Supt. Rafael Santiago and his men on the reported switching of election returns (ERs) at the Batasang Pambansa building in 2005.

Yesterday, Santiago’s men – PO2 Alan Layugan, PO2 Trifon Laxamana, PO1 Norman Duco, PO2 Rodel Tabangin and PO2 Rudy Gahar – submitted to the DOJ their sworn statements affirming their reported participation in the alleged break-in.

“We are here to expose and for the people to know the truth,” PO2 Laxamana told reporters.

Santiago did not appear at the DOJ. His lawyer Vic Rodriguez explained that he opted to submit his affidavit on another day “for security reason.”

Meanwhile, in Baungon, Bukidnon, Garcillano reiterated that he had never been involved in election fraud and that his only wish is to retire in peace.

“The records are all there, I cannot repeat every detail and I have nothing more to say,” he said in a statement read to reporters.  – With Sheila Crisostomo, Edu Punay, Lino dela Cruz