Bad timing

Looking at the unfolding circus in the "Garci" affair and seeing that his looming appearance is as sudden and mystifying as his previous disappearance several months back, one cannot help but get the feeling that the whole affair is following a certain script cleverly prepared by somebody working behind the scenes and manipulating a pre-conceived outcome. Abruptly vanishing into thin air and suddenly cropping up on his own sweet time are stuffs seen only in cloak and dagger suspense movies. If media do not handle this affair properly, Garci may become a legend in his own right whose every word has the potential of making or breaking political personalities involved in the ongoing crisis. Even the words of his wife have now some value by simply parroting what Garci supposedly told her.

So amidst all the hype surrounding this affair, media should not lose sight of certain legal and factual aspects of this case. First of all, Garci’s true role is limited only to the taped conversation involving election cheating. Thus not all his statement is material in finding out the truth behind the tape. Secondly while there is a taped conversation, there are several tapes circulating so it must first be established which of this tape is genuine. Thirdly, even if the authenticity of the recorded conversation is established, it must not have been clandestinely recorded, intercepted or overheard by tapping a wire or cable or by use of any device or arrangement. Otherwise, it is not admissible as evidence unless both parties to the conversation allowed the recording of the same. Of course, it should also be expected that when Garci comes out and gives a statement, his version will be favorable to him and his backer although it may be unfavorable to some protagonists in this political battle. Hence it can be assumed that Garci already knows what he should say even at the initial stages of the controversy, but he has to "evaporate" first because the timing was bad. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and appearance support this assumption.

Garci’s role is principally to tie up the loose ends left hanging by the June 6, 2005 preemptive move of Bunye on the existence of an alleged tape recording, followed by the President’s own admission and apology on June 27, 2005 that she "had conversations with many people, including a Comelec Official" but it was merely a "lapse of judgment". Garci may either confirm or deny that he was the Comelec Official mentioned by the President. His confirmation may be with or without any further explanation. If it has no further explanation, he has already performed his role since the contents of the tape quite clearly speak for themselves as far as determining whether or not there was mere lapse of judgment on the part of the President. This is a highly unlikely scenario as it simply does not jibe with his disappearance. But if his confirmation contains explanations, it is bound to spark further controversy where he will find himself at the center answering several corollary questions cropping up. On the other hand if he denies that he is the Comelec Official mentioned by the President, his denial will have serious credibility problems in view of his long unexplained absence. There is simply no reason for him to disappear if he is not involved.

The moral of Garci’s story is that he should not have gone into hiding at all. His absence speaks volumes about his involvement. Even if he comes out sooner or later, the timing of his emergence will always be bad. Had he stayed around, he could have used several legal means to stave off self-incrimination. After all, the authenticity and admissibility of the tape in which he may be involved are still to be judicially determined. His disappearance and appearance therefore seems to be only a part of the on going political propaganda war. The press should not allow itself to be used in this propaganda war.

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