Witness says he handed out 2004 bribe money for GMA

MANILA, Philippines - A former Shari’a court judge yesterday admitted that he handed out bribes from then first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to make former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo win in the 2004 elections.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Judge Nagamura Moner also apologized to the family of the late Fernando Poe Jr., then a presidential bet, for being a poll fraud operator.

“I’m sorry that I’m saying this only now. I know if I said this before, there might have been a chance that (former) President GMA would not have won in the elections. Madame Susan Roces…Madame Grace Llamanzares… Sorry,” Moner said. Roces is Poe’s widow, Llamanzares the couple’s only daughter.

Moner claimed that he delivered the money to former Manila International Airport Authority general manager Alfonso Cusi.

Arroyo’s lawyer Inocencio Ferrer Jr. denied Moner’s allegation, saying “it’s another case of a fairytale.”

“It’s completely without basis and untrue,” Inocencio said.

He urged the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to disbar Moner for “having admitted a crime.”

“But as far as my client is concerned, the allegations are not true,” he said.

The bribery issue came up during an investigation by the Senate into the Philippine National Police helicopter deal.

During the probe, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada showed flight records of two helicopters supposedly used by Mr. Arroyo to fly to Mindanao during and after the 2004 elections

The records were also supported by affidavits of witnesses in the alleged election cheating.