THE recent Philippine automated elections were held on May 10, 2010, the 113rd anniversary of the murder-by-execution of the "Father of Philippine Revolution," Andres Bonifacio. A month after, on June 19, the 149th anniversary of the birth of Jose Rizal, a coalition seeking mainly to "unravel the truth surrounding the May 2010 elections" held a seven-hour forum that explained the mechanics of the AES and its failure and showed the many blatant lies perpetrated by both the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Smartmatic-TIM. Could the apparent historical coincidences timed with important days associated with the country's two national heroes forebode of the ultimate revelation of what really happened during the Filipinos' first experience with automated polls?
June 19, Jose Rizal B-day - May 10, Andres Bonifacio's Death
(2010 Coincidences w/ National Heroes' Significant Dates)
The MIGHT e2010 (Movement for Integrity in Governance and Honesty and Truth in the May 2010 Elections) forum also presented surprise witness Jonathan Manalang, the Operations Director of the technical support center of Smartmatic. Manalang, whose testimony before the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms was cut short by Makati Cong. Teddy Boy Locsin made some rather surprising revelations about the AES elections. He revealed that there was a "superserver" located in Antel Building in Quezon which Smartmatic lied about and that excess PCOS machines were delivered to certain areas.
Illegality?
The resource persons also pointed to the glaring illegality of the automated polls. Election lawyer Araold Bayobay listed the actions and decisions committed by no less than Comelec itself in clear violation of the Poll Automation Law. Former Assemblyman Homobono severely criticized congress for its the proclamation of now-"President-elect" Noynoy Aquino despite the absence of a quorum, which he says is blatant violation of due process and the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Conspiracy of Cheating?
Former Assemblyman Homobono Adaza and Atty. Arnold Bayobay categorically spoke of cheating at both the local and national levels. Adaza referred to documents showing the nationwide pattern of improbable zero vote results. Suspiciously, the joint congressional oversight committee on automated elections or JCOC-AE has refused to investigate the glaring anomaly.
Striking evidence of apparent fraud at the presidential level was also shown. Bayobay presented election returns from a precinct in Pampanga that showed former President Joseph Estrada as the winner, followed by Sen. Manuel Villar and now-"President-elect" Noynoy Aquino trailing as third. However, he says that the transmitted report reflected Aquino as the winner.
Where Did Our Votes Go? forum on the truth of the Philippine
Mainstream Media Co-Optation?
The collusion of mainstream media to failure and probable cheating in the polls was also questioned. Manalang also testified to how at one point, the media was reporting on the supposed transmission Of 50 percent of the Certificates of Canvass or COC despite the fact that only 20 percent transmission was reflected in the headquarters of Smartmatic-TIM. Presidential candidate Nicanor Perlas had earlier wondered where the excess media-reported votes were coming from.
The group as a whole criticized the mainstream media for "conspiring" with both Smartmatic and the COMELEC in keeping facts away from public knowledge. According to Adaza, the mainstream organization's selection coverage of elections have worked against fomenting nationwide awareness of the conduct of the recent automated polls, hinting of the deliberate co-optation of media in electronic fraud.
The transcript of a video presentation of the forum follows:
"As we struggle to get to the truth. The truth that will give honor to each Filipino's vote."
-- Patricia Ilagan, MIGHT e2010
"We wake up one day and the votes are set and we do not even know how our votes were counted. I think we owe it to ourselves to look for the truth. And we thank you for being here in search of the truth, so that each and every one of us can make our own conclusions, but we should not let democracy be assaulted if there is any question of the 2010 elections being fraudulently conducted."
-- Sen. Jamby Madrigal
What Really Happened with your Votes?
"What really happened with your votes? what went through this election on May 10. It's anything but not perfect."
-- Mr. Edmundo G. Casino (Philippine Computer Society, Board of Director)
Legal and technical explanations from I.T. experts and lawyers
"... if one of those people puts something malicious in the software and is distributed to all the machines, then that one person could be responsible for change of, possibly tens of thousands of votes, maybe even hundreds of thousands across the country. That's the very danger of the situation."
"So if you can hack the memory cards, you can control an election"
_________
"The good commissioner decided... this May 10, 2010 ... that practically debunks the provision of the law with regards section 6 of Republic Act No. 9369 under the title minimum system capabilities."
________
"One, it did not minimize cheating; in fact, it opened up more windows of opportunity to cheat in manners which would be very difficult for non-IT familiar watchers to comprehend."
--Vice-Gov. Emmanuel Pinol, North Cotabato
First Automated Polls Fail
"If this goes unattended, this country goes kaput in every elections."
_________
Proof of Fraud from Known Politicians - Modern way Cheating
"I was surprised when he asked me if I am willing to engage his services, including those of his partners to guarantee the victory of my entire slate in the province. He further told me that they could manipulate the PCOS machines and as a matter of fact, all PCOS machines will be reprogrammed before elections to accommodate all politicians who will enlist their services"
-- Gov. Ace Barbers, Surigao del Norte
"It is easier to cheat in this elections because it is all automatic"
-- Pastor Ronald Tan, Vice-Mayoralty candidate, Tagaytay City
Those who Deny the Truth to be Heard
"It is not their right at all to hear it in my committee. The committee has the right to hear this in executive session. If he wants to speak, the cameras please go down to the parking lot and listen to him."
-- Cong. Teddy Boy Locsin
Truth that Every Filipino Deserves - For a Country Free of Fraud & Corruption
"We must uncover truth now. I am saying this: we must prosecute this individuals now. If it is really his desire and claim to rid this nation of corruption, start here, start with this election."
-- Pastor Ronald Tan of Tagaytay City
Uncovering the Truth
Question: "Are you guys telling us that Noynoy Aquino and Jejomar Binay are not the winners?
"To really uncover truth, now whether or not it is Noynoy or whether or not it is Erap or whether or not it is Villar, that is actually a... that's beside the point."
-- Pastor Tan
Who made the Problems
"The Problem is not about the law. It was about the implementation and the people behind."
Knowing who Really won the Elections
"Erap Estrada won. But in the election returns that was used in the canvass, it was Noynoy Aquino who won." -- Atty. Arnold Bayobay
Leaders willing to Tell All - Know how they Made Fun on the Elections
"The Elections held on May 10, 2010 is illegal and unconstitutional. Here, you don't come out with a receipt, insert your card...ah, the ballot and you get "Congratulations." 'Congratulations, stupid.'... hehe.
"The sooner we throw this fellow out into the Mindanao Pit, the better it will be for us."
-- Ex-Cong. Homobono Adaza
Be Strong, Fight for the Truth - Learn the Whole Truth
"Let us build the house of this country that is founded on rock, beginning today."
-- ex-Assemblyman Adaza
[Media Complicity?]
"Nothing is changed since Martial Law, except that the people following you are more invisible and have more power because if they can control media, they can control the way you think. And we cannot allow the mainstream media to control the way we think, into thinking that this was the cleanest elections that we ever had."
-- Sen. Madrigal
Question: "The question is right behind our guests. Where did our votes go? What do I tell my family?"
The forum held at the Manila Polo Club was attended by some 500 people that included intellectuals, civil society leaders, NGOs, academics, corporate executives, religious, student leaders, retired military and police officers, socialites and a few European diplomats.
The MIGHT e2010 coalition includes the Philippine Computer Society, Bro. Eddie Villanueva's Bangon Pilipinas, Councilor Jc de los Reyes' Ang Kapatiran Party, Anti-Trapo Movement of the Philippines, Brigada Berde, Bantay Garci 2010, Mahal Ko Bayan Ko, Center for Alternative Development Initiatives, Buklod National Political Party, Quezon City Political Coalition for Truth, Para Sa Bansa Movement, Buklod Political Party, ATRIPPEDA.
Cunanan, Buddy. A ‘MIGHT e2010’ Show of Force. Manilatmes.net. 22 June 2010. http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/opinion/19985-a-might-e2010-show-of-force
R.I.P., Samuel Ong. Be in peace where your soul will traverse. Your noble efforts to inform your Filipino compatriots of the terrible crime and farce behind the presidency of the incumbent through your dissemination of the "Hello, Garci?" tapes will not be in vain. In time, the Cheater, Fake 'President' Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will reap her awful karma. In time, no wicked crime against the motherland will go unpunished.
The agony of choosing whether to go by the way of the heroes, or give in to the seduction of the richly rewarded traitors of the Republic, you excruciatingly went through. In the end, you chose to whistle the truth--surreptitiously at first, and when you sensed mortal danger, you publicly owned up to it. For four years you endured so much, as you hoped and waited for change. The sweet closure of justice did not come in your lifetime, but it will, it should, in time.
History will judge you a patriotic hero—that I am sure of. In behalf of the Filipinos who were unable to physically comfort you, or adequately support you during your principled crusade, I bid you a farewell laden with the heartfelt gratitude of a nation you served with conviction.
Samuel Ong a "hero of truth," says Ex-Pres. Joseph Estrada (Dir. Samuel Ong was the former deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation who presented the "mother of all tapes," the master tape containing the wiretapped conversations about apparent vote rigging between President Gloria Arroyo and elections commissioner Garcillano and certain military and other officials during the 2004 presidential elections. Born October 8, 1945, Ong succumbed to lung cancer on May 22, 2009. He is said to have died minutes after having the deposed President Joseph "Erap" Estrada on his bedside. Erap referred to him as a "hero of truth)."
WHEN Gloria Macapagal Arroyo [delivered] her eighth State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa session hall [last July 28, 2008], she [stood] close to where, three years ago, police commandos say they replaced genuine election returns (ERs) with fake ones in ballot boxes that were being readied for a recount of the 2004 presidential election.
The ER switching at the Batasan had been talked about and reported on since 2005, when Arroyo apologized to the nation for talking to an election official while the votes were being counted, in what has since been known as the "Hello, Garci" scandal.
Recently, some of those who took part in that clandestine operation have sought legal refuge, executing affidavits and taped testimonies of their involvement. Others told friends in confidence, while a few boasted about it in drinking sessions.
They said they switched the ERs of several provinces on three occasions to reconcile these with the figures in the certificates of canvass (COCs) and statements of votes (SOVs) that were tampered with in the 2004 elections.
The stories told by some of the participants and their confidants in the Batasan operation constitute what could be grounds for another impeachment case against Arroyo.
They revive allegations that not only did the President cheat in the 2004 elections, but also tried to cover her tracks by switching the ERs that would have been scrutinized in 2005. At that time, the presidential electoral protest filed by Arroyo's opponent, Fernando Poe Jr., was still pending. Poe died of a heart attack in December 2004, but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest.
Orders came from Ebdane and Franco
Among those who took part in the Batasan operation were members of the Special Action Force (SAF), an elite combat unit of the Philippine National Police
Some of them said they got their orders from Gen. Marcelino Franco, then commanding officer of the SAF. Both Franco and the then chief of the SAF Intelligence and Investigation Division, Supt. Rafael Santiago, were present at a briefing on the operation, SAF sources said.
The SAF sources refused to be named for fear of their safety and those of their families.
"Basta ang initial info po sa amin ay legal operation po ito pero hindi pa namin alam ang nature ng operation (The initial info we got was that it was a legal operation, but we didn't know the nature of the operation)," a SAF commando said. Franco, in turn, got his orders from the former PNP chief, Brig Gen. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., a trusted adviser of Arroyo, SAF sources said.
Ebdane had denied the allegations in previous reports. VERA Files tried getting his side of the story but has not received a reply.
Franco, who has since retired from the PNP and is assistant vice president of Security Bank, also declined to comment on his role in the ER switching operation. Santiago, now senior superintendent and head of the Northern Police District's Intelligence and Investigation Division, ignored requests for an interview.
How the switching happened
SAF sources said the first ER switching operation took place around midnight of Jan. 23, 2005, a Sunday.
Here's what happened based on interviews, taped testimonies, and documents obtained by VERA Files.
A van and three other vehicles arrived at the South Wing entrance of the Batasan complex. Two dozen people alighted from the vehicles, five of them non-commissioned officers, the rest civilians. Santiago was the team leader.
At that time, a makeshift storage room had been erected at the South Wing lobby for ballot boxes containing the returns of the 2004 elections. The boxes had been brought there for the national canvassing.
The go signal came from SAF officers, among them Inspectors Rafael Lero and Samson Kimayong. While some stood guard, others unloaded from the van some 20 to 30 cigarette cartons containing documents.
As a lock picker opened the ballot boxes, SAF commandos said, the others took out the contents of the ballot boxes and replaced them with the documents they brought with them.
After three hours, they packed up, loaded what they took from the ballot boxes into their vehicles and proceeded to the residence of election lawyer Roque Bello in Brookside Hills, Cainta, Rizal.
The operation was repeated six days later on Jan. 29 and on the first weekend of February.
Chief Inspector Ferdinand Ortega, chief of the SAF contingent assigned at the Batasan, was present in all three operations.
Today, Lero and Kimayong have been promoted to senior inspectors and are also assigned at the NPD.
Ortega became commandant of the SAF Training School in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, right after the Batasan operation. Now a superintendent, he heads the SAF operations office in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.
Ortega and Lero likewise ignored VERA Files' requests for an interview. Contacted by phone, Kimayong denied any knowledge of the 2005 operation.
Returns fabricated by election lawyer Bello
What the SAF brought to the Batasan South Wing were fake election returns allegedly fabricated under the supervision of Bello. They stuffed these into the ballot boxes after they took out the genuine election returns, which they took to Bello's place.
Contacted for his side, Bello said he had already denied involvement in the operation way back in March 2006 when pictures of the alleged manufacturing of ERs in his house appeared in Malaya and Newsbreak. "It's not true," he reiterated his denial.
Two weeks weeks before the Batasan ER switching operation, Poe's widow, Susan Roces, had petitioned the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to replace her husband in the electoral protest he had initiated.
Poe's running mate, Loren Legarda, had filed a similar protest, questioning the proclamation of her rival Noli de Castro and citing irregularities in the canvassing of votes in a number of provinces, many of them in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
Both Arroyo and De Castro had been proclaimed president and vice president after an administration-dominated Congress acting as National Board of Canvassers declared Arroyo the winner with 12,905,808 votes against closest rival Poe who got 11,782,232 votes. De Castro garnered 15,100,431 votes against Legarda's 14,218,709.
The minority members of the Joint Committee of Congress did not sign the NBC's final report and instead issued "The True Report," which was their own version of the results of the 2004 elections that showed Poe winning over Arroyo by 511,981 votes and Legarda over De Castro by 702,311 votes.
Citing several cases of manufactured election returns, tampered statement of votes and certificates of votes, the minority challenged the joint committee and Congress "to show that the numbers on those questioned certificates of canvass match their corresponding statements of votes and election returns."
"The truth is in those election returns," the minority said.
ERs are documents prepared by boards of election inspectors at the precinct level.
For president and vice president, the ERs are sent to the provincial and city boards of canvassers who then prepare certificates of canvass (COC) supported by statements of votes (SOV). The votes garnered by the candidates in the ER, SOV and COC are supposed to match.
'Hello, Garci'
This, in fact, seemed to be a concern uppermost in Arroyo's mind shortly after the 2004 elections. A portion of the "Hello, Garci" tapes records her voicing her worry to then Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
Following are excerpts from a late evening conversation between Arroyo and Garcillano on June 2, 2004:
GMA: Hello. Dun sa Lanao del Sur tsaka sa Basilan, di raw nagma-match ang SOV sa COC?
Garcillano: Hindi nagma-match? May posibilidad na hindi mag-match kung hindi nila sinunod 'yung individual SOV ng mga munisipyo...
GMA: So, nagma-match?
Garcillano: Oho. Sa Basilan, alam nyo naman ang mga military dun eh, hindi masyadong marunong kasi silang gumawa eh. Katulad ho dun sa Sulu sina General Habacon.
During the congressional canvassing, minority members called the NBC's attention to the disparity in figures reflected in the COCs, which was the basis of the proclamation, and in their copies of SOVs and ERs.
The then presiding officers, Sen. Francis Pangilinan and then Rep. Raul Gonzalez, now justice secretary, brushed aside the minority's concern, and merely responded by saying, "Noted."
Rasalan: Money to tamper returns came from Arroyo
In July 2006, Artemio Rasalan, a self-confessed election operator, executed an affidavit and videotaped confession of his role in what he described as a "grand clandestine operation to head off a looming crisis."
This crisis was expected to erupt once the PET discovered the tampered ERs and the unmatching SOVs and COCs.
Rasalan said Bello had asked him sometime in July 2004 to undertake an operation that would "produce at least 10,000 new election returns duly accompanied by the appropriate Comelec envelopes: officially numbered envelope seals and the official Comelec inks for thumb marking."
He identified nine provinces the ERs of which had to be replaced. These are Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat and Saranggani in Mindanao and Isabela in Luzon.
Rasalan quoted the election lawyer as saying that it was Ebdane who engaged Bello's services on orders of Arroyo. Two months later, Rasalan said, Roque told him he was coordinating closely with Garcillano.
"He (Roque) said the money for this special operation will be provided by PGMA [Arroyo's initials]. As a matter of fact, a few days thereafter, I was told by Attorney Bello that Commissioner Garcillano met with PGMA at her La Vista home to receive the money," Rasalan said.
They started making the fake ERs in mid-October 2004, Rasalan stated. It took them two months to finish the work. He then delivered the 10,000 fabricated ERs to Bello's home in Brookside Hills Subdivision, Cainta, Rizal for the printing of the correct original serial numbers.
With the 10,000 fake ERs ready, the last step was to put them inside the ballot boxes guarded by the SAF at the Batasan building so that when the PET started opening the ballot boxes, the figures there would match those in the tampered COCs and SOVs.
Special Action Force of the Philippines
IT WAS NO accident that it was the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police that penetrated the Batasan Pambansa and stuffed the ballot boxes with fake election returns to make it look like Gloria Arroyo won the 2004 elections.
Established in 1983 initially to help combat insurgency and later to "destroy enemy forces that undermine the nation's stability," the police commandos are trained as a rapid deployment force and to "noiselessly operate in the shadows."
In its 25-year history, the elite unit has not been impervious to the country's political upheavals. The SAF joined the February 1986 people power revolution that followed the defection of its founder, then Armed Forces vice chief of staff and Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police chief Fidel V. Ramos, and toppled President Ferdinand Marcos.
But in early 2005, some of the SAF's own members said they undermined democracy when the unit switched the election returns on orders of former PNP chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.
Ebdane knew fully well and harnessed the unit's commando skills. After all, he had served as SAF commander from August 1989 to February 1991.
It also helped that the SAF was one of the units securing the House.
Had no one talked, the operation that took place on Jan. 23 and 29 and the first weekend of February 2005 would have been SAF's secret.
Franco 'principled,' but 'pragmatic' too
His colleagues describe Chief Supt. Marcelino Franco, who approved the operation as SAF commander at the time, as a "very serious, principled and highly professional" officer. But they also said that as a leader, he can be "very pragmatic."
Franco would later be implicated in the alleged plan of the Marines and Army Scout Rangers in February 2006 to withdraw support from Arroyo.
In his affidavit, former Armed Forces chief Hermogenes Esperon, then the commanding general of the Philippine Army, said that his two classmates in the Philippine Military Academy (Class '74)-Franco and Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, then commandant of the Philippine Marines-had asked him to join them in their plan to withdraw support from Arroyo.
Esperon said this happened in a late-night meeting on Feb. 23 at the residence of then AFP chief Generoso Senga. He said Franco confirmed that "most of the elements of SAF-PNP will sympathize with those who will march and withdraw support from PGMA."
Military officers accused of planning the February 2006 protest activity said Franco knew first-hand that Arroyo cheated in the elections. Unlike those who are detained and being tried in court martial for mutiny, no charges were ever filed against Franco.
SAF sources said prior to the Batasan ER switching operation, Franco met with Ebdane and Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. He then entrusted the task to Supt. Rafael Santiago, the commanding officer of SAF's Intelligence and Investigation Division.
Santiago, in turn, brought in young police officers, including Inspectors Rafael Lero and Samson Kimayong.
Santiago is said to be the quintessential intelligence agent. "Now you see him, now you don't," a police officer said.
Chief Inspector Ferdinand Ortega, who headed the SAF unit in the Batasan during the ER switching operation, appears to be well-liked in police circles. A colleague finds him "nakakatawang mayabang (amusing and a braggart)." He is affectionately called "Bungo" or skull, after the famous Baguio City police officer, Bobby Ortega, who was portrayed in two movies by the late actor Rudy Fernandez.
About 6,000 genuine election returns were replaced with manufactured returns in the January to February 2005 operations, a SAF source said.
A fourth operation was planned, but Chief Inspector Jimmy Laguyo, who by then had replaced Ortega at the SAF's unit at the Batasan, refused to cooperate, the source said. Franco had Laguyo transferred to Abra.
The fourth operation never materialized. The unit was kept preoccupied by a failed jailbreak at the SAF headquarters on March 14, 2005 in which suspected Abu Sayyaf members were killed. The Commission on Human Rights had ordered an investigation of the SAF shortly after the incident.
Reward for Batasan operators
The efforts of the SAF commandos who participated in the Batasan operation did not go unrewarded. The enlisted personnel were each given P10,000 one month after the operation.
"May natanggap kaming sobre na ibinigay sa amin na patago na sabi nila, 'Ito panggastos niyo. Ito 'yung reward natin sa operation natin sa Batasan (We were each secretly handed an envelope and told, 'This is for your expenses; this is our reward for the Batasan operation),'" one of them said.
He added, "Nung binuksan ko po 'yung envelope, naglalaman po ng P10,000. Hindi ko alam kung matuwa ako doon o matakot na gastusi 'yun kasi 'yun nga sa operation na 'yun (When I opened the envelope, it contained P10,000. I didn't know if I should be happy or be afraid to spend it because it was for that operation)."
Another enlisted policeman said they were summoned to the SAF office for the "good news." He said the higher-up who handed them the envelopes advised them, "Huwag na lang kayo maingay. Sa atin-atin lang ito (Don't talk about this. Let's keep this among ourselves)."
'Souvenirs' of election returns switching
The switching of the election returns at the Batasan was caught on video through a mobile phone camera. ABS-CBN had shown the video, but it went largely unnoticed.
But a SAF member who took part in the operation also has in his possession evidence-he calls it "souvenir"- of the operation: copies of the genuine election returns.
He said he removed five envelopes containing the returns from the van he was riding after the team left the Batasan compound in February 2005 and brought them home with him. Some of his colleagues did likewise.
The SAF member said he got curious and decided to inspect the contents of the boxes that had not been sealed with masking tape. "Yun 'yung election returns. Dahil po ako isang botante, alam ko po ang style ng election return (They were election returns. I'm a voter, so I know the style of an election return)," he said.
VERA Files was shown the envelopes containing the returns.
After the recordings of the wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and Garcillano on the cheating in the 2004 elections became public, the police commandos involved in the Batasan operation realized the value of the video and election returns in their hands.
Some of them said they all wanted to make public the evidence they had but feared this would endanger their lives and those of their families. They then thought of relocating abroad but they needed money to do that.
Sen. Loren Legarda, who was then protesting Noli de Castro's proclamation as vice president, said in an interview she met with Joel Pinawin, a first lieutenant in the Army Reserve Corps who acted as liaison for the SAF personnel. She was shown a video of ballot boxes being moved at the Batasan but said the video was rather dark.
"But they were selling it to me," she said.
Legarda does not remember the amount that was asked, but a source close to the SAF personnel said the group had hoped to raise P200 million, or P10 million each for the 20 people involved in the operation.
Said Legarda: "Where will I get the money? Kakatalo ko lang. Dinaya ako, malungkot, walang trabaho. Wala akong pera (I just lost. I was cheated, sad, jobless and penniless). I told them to do it for the country."
Election returns now with Comelec
The tampering and swapping of the election returns became evident when the Supreme Court, acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal hearing Legarda's election protest, opened the ballot boxes for Nalindong and Taraka towns in Lanao del Sur.
The copies of the returns that were given to the Commission on Elections, National Citizens Movement for Free Elections and the dominant and minority parties showed opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. and Legarda leading Arroyo and De Castro. But the returns in the ballot boxes retrieved from the Batasan showed the opposite.
Despite the discrepancies, the Supreme Court dismissed last January Legarda's petition, citing insufficient evidence of fraud.
Poe's suit against Arroyo before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) was dismissed on March 29, 2005. The tribunal said his widow, actress Susan Roces, could not replace him as petitioner because "she would not immediately and directly benefit from the outcome should it be determined that the declared president did not truly get the highest number of votes."
The returns from the 2004 elections, including the fabricated ones, are no longer at the House of Representatives. Last February, shortly after he became speaker of the House, Rep. Prospero Nograles ordered the ballot boxes containing the returns moved from the South Wing to the Commission on Elections. The makeshift room where they were once stored has been dismantled.
Last March, former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. called for an investigation of the 2005 switching of election returns at the Batasan.
***Note: All additional photos of Gloria Arroyo, Fernando Poe Jr., Noli de Castro, Loren Legarda, Susan Roces and Virgilio Garcillano have been added by Jesusa Bernardo. Additional ER tampering photos were directly taken from the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism website.
SPECIAL NOTE: When using the CiteMAT citation generator for this reprint article, you need to manually input/replace the author's name as "Ellen Tordesillas".
On June 24, 2004, a stealth operation of grave national impact was conducted by the Congress of the Philippines. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the controversial sitting President who took power after the popularly elected Joseph Estrada was deposed in the undemocratic EDSA II conspiracy in January 2001, was proclaimed as the victor of the 2004 May 11 elections in a manner that defied the spirit of electoral victory and the essence of a "proclamation." At around 3:30 am--yes, Virginia, at such a still-dusky morning hour when most Filipinos are generally still tucked in their beds--Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia raised the hands of Arroyo and proclaimed her "President-elect."
What explains the surreptitious proclamation that ensured the people who were supposed to have given the petite Arroyo the mandate of electoral victory (over "1 M" lead over opposition bet Fernando Poe Jr.) would not be able to share in a supposedly glorious moment is the conspiratorial story of cheating and cover-up sealed at the very halls of the Philippine Congress.
Up until that unprecedented pre-dawn proclamation, Congress was abuzzed with heated deliberations and debates over allegation of massive fraud during the May 11, 2004 polls. The predominantly pro-administration legislators, however, swiftly turned down every protest issue and argument raised by the lawyers and Congress supporters of Poe with the oft-repeated words "Noted" expressed by Senate canvassing committee head Sen. Francis Pangilinan. In the end, Congress, which had turned itself into a joint congressional canvassing panel, elected not to determine the real winner in the 2004 Presidential race by refusing to open the Certificates of Canvass from a few questioned provinces. The frivolous rationale given by the administration allies who made up the majority in Congress was as anomalous as the stealth manner of the 3:30 AM proclamation: it would take a "long time" to finish the canvassing.
Never mind if the questioned COC's would show the real victor voted by the Filipino people. Apparently, the administration solons could not bear to delay the proclamation of their "president-elect"--their presidential candidate they have been allied with since 2001. So, with swift haste and dubious timing, the search for the real victor in the presidential race was killed. Congress proclaimed the controversial Arroyo as "President-elect," to be inaugurated as the 14th President six days later.
The Wiretapped Case of Electoral Fraud
Truth, even political truth, has a way of making itself known, however. Within exactly 12 months since the allegations of massive electoral fraud, tapes of wiretapped conversations would reveal the truth behind the apparently systematic efforts of Congress to cover up the May 11, 2004 and install a bogus president.
The tapes that have come to be known as the "Hello Garci" tapes primarily show the conversations between Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in connection with operations surrounding the May 11 elections and vote canvassing. The operations revealed by the tapes were designed to cheat Arroyo's way towards continued hold on power and rob FPJ of electoral victory. The tapes around 3 hours long were revealed to the public through certain hostile members of the Philippine military. They show other voices, including certain military loyalist, and reveal an apparently broad conspiracy of electoral fraud perpetuated by Malacanang, the Commission of Elections and its "citizen's arm" NAMFREL.
The authenticity of the tapes, particularly the authenticity of the voices of Arroyo and Garcillano, has been verified by the companies Uniquest Pty (Australia) and Voice Identification (United States). Uniquest's Brian Lovell, forensic voice expert of note, expressed the professional opinion that "there is no evidence that would suggest that the conversations have been altered in any way from their original recorded form."
The following are the transcripts* of the more "telling" selections of the Hello Garci tapes, alternatively called Gloriagate tapes. The person addressed as "Ma'am" in the conversations, or "Code 1" and "PGMA" by the narrator refers to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; the "Gary" in the tapes is no other than the (former) Commissions on Elections officer Virgilio Garcillano. Discussed in the tapes are vote padding and manipulations in the counting , including those on COC's, and the role played by Commission on Elections (COMELEC) officers, National Movement for Free Elections or (NAMFREL), Philippine Army Generals, and "allies" in Congress in defrauding opposition standard bearer FPJ of victory.
Gloriagate No. 2 Delay Senatorial Canvassing
(Conversation between Gary and a female on 11:25 26 May 2004)
Gary: Hello, Ma'am
Female: Hello...,
...Is it possible that there will be a delay in the, the senatorial canvassing until after the voting on the rules tonight?
Gary: On the rules? Ah yes...
Female: ...in the Senate, so there will be no fight. Between two allies, this
...one will of course get mad, the other one, will also get mad for sure...
(line cut)
Gloriagate No. 5 "More Than 1M"
(Conversation between male and female on 29 09:43 hotel 2004)
Female: Hello...
Gary: Hello, Ma'am, good morning again.
Female: Yes, yes.
Gary: OK Ma'am, s/he is higher but will be compensated in Lanao.
Female: So, will I still lead by more than one M., overall?
Gary: Ahh, more or less, it's the advantage Ma'am.
Female: Yes...
Gary: The turnout will appear to be the same. Female: It cannot be less than one M?
Gary: Yes, ma...
...we will try to push that for that. But as of the other day, 902.
Female: Which is why!
Gary: Yes, and then uh, if we can uh, get more in, uh, Lanao...
Female: Is it not yet done? Gary: Yes, not yet supposedly...
...there are still, uhh, the...
...to arrive sev... seven municipalities.
Female: Ah ok, yes, yes...
Gary: Alright
Female: OK, OK, yes, ...OK...
Gloriagate No. 7 Made to Cheat
(Conversation between Gary and One unidentified female believed to be PGMA on 29 1400hrs. May 2004)
Gary: Hello ma'am,
Good afternoon...
PGMA: Yes, yes...
PGMA: According to the other camp, they are planning among themselves (that) they say They are said to have affidavits in their possession--
--from teachers and Board of Canvassers (saying) that they witnessed and were made to cheat.
Gary: I do not have...
where could they have...?
that one earlier, what you mentioned on Pangutaran, it's like this:
it's true that, uh, that what appeared there, FPJ was reversed
...but the canvassing in the province...
...the results--what were put down were also the original - the original results were also the ones put down because of the words and figures were not changed.
PGMA: Mmmm, mmmm.
Gary: It is because they - Gen. Abahacon, is not yet an expert in such a thing, partly they're the ones who did there
PGMA: Mmmm
Gary: uh...The election officer of that, of Pangutaran explained to me also, uh...
PGMA: Mmmm.
Gary:But in the canvass, the Provincial Board of Canvassers said, what was done…but in the canvass, what were instructed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers, were the ones I did ...also his/her original votes, which were counted so there is nothing more...
(line cut).
Gloriagate No. 08 The Addition
(Conversation between Gary and an unidentified female... believed to be... PGMA on 31, 23:17 hotel May 2004)
Gary: Hello, Ma'am.
PGMA: Hello, also the what, the other camp, th...
...they're trying to get their NAMFREL copies of the Municipal COCs.
Gary: From NAMFREL ?
NAMFREL copies ho?
PGMA: Uh-uh
Gary: Ah, there is no more Ma'am, the NAMFREL is OK towards us,
...they are now sympathetic to us...
PGMA: Yes, yes but with this information, does NAMREL match our tally?
Gary: Yes.
PGMA: But that is that... ...the addition, the addition...
Gary: Yes, we, uhh,
...will get in advance uh, our personal copy if that's why they
GMA: Yes, yes, yes.
Gary: OK...
...alright, Ma'am.
Gloriagate No. 13 Maguindanao
(Conversation between PGMA and Gary on 06 1900 hours June '04)
PGMA: Hello.
Gary: Hello Ma'am,
Good evening.
You called?
PGMA: Yes...
...yes. According to Teng, it should perhaps be best if we can ensure that the documents in Maguindanao are consistent.
Gary: Yes, Ma'am. Uhh...yung uh, that...
...it is not really so much of a problem in Maguindanao...
...uh, but what was it that you texted last night as to the presence of uh...fake uh... precincts and I'm supposed to be the mastermind?
PGMA: Yes, yes...
Gary: But Ma'am what Ma'am.. I can't understand what, uh they are trying to drive at... when, uh... 120 days before elections the precincts were already established.
PGMA Ah OK, OK
Gary: Yes.
PGMA: Perhaps what, maybe it is just one shot in the dark. But I'm just letting you know everything I find out so we can always make uh...
...the appropriate remedies, o, yes?
Gary: Yes.
PGMA: OK.
Gary: Uh, General uh, Lomibao is already in Zamboanga...
PGMA: Yes, yes.
Gary: You can tell all the people uh, around us uh, talk to him...
...so that (will be able) uh, they will be able to prevent who is going to work.
PGMA: OK, ok...
...ok, alright. Thank you.
The tapes--and transcripts--speak for themselves. The role of Congress in the cheating or cover-up during the 2004 presidential elections is suggested, if not revealed in the tapes. In Gloriagate tape # 2, Arroyo asks to delay the senatorial canvassing "until after the voting on the rules." Tape # 7 contains the discussion between Arroyo and Garcillano regarding how an instance of the doctoring of votes was not realized at the level of provincial COCs because "the words and figures were not changed" by a General who was "not yet expert" in cheating. Juxtaposing this "Hello Garci" information with how the Joint Congressional Committee blocked the opening of the contested provincial COCs back in 2004, the sinister role played by decadent members of Congress in proclaiming a fraudulent Philippine President becomes clear.
It has been four, tumultuous and corrupt-laden years since the stealth 2004 proclamation of the bogus 14th President of the Philippine Republic. A master of patronage politics, Arroyo has weathered the storms brought about by her illegitimate mandate "not once," but many times over. In fact, she has survived the public outcry that followed the disclosure of the wiretapped conversations, although the disgust over Arroyo's continued illegitimate hold on power is far from over.
Today, June 30, 2008 is actually the fourth anniversary of the proclamation of the 2004 bogus Philippine President. I have decided to give her this Hello Garci "relived" article as reminder that she will always be the Fake and Bogus occupant of Malacanang to the majority of the Filipino people.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is seen by the Filipino masses as a bogus, evil leader who has "stolen the Presidency not once, but twice." The first time has to do with her role in unconstitutionally unseating the majority elected Philippine President Joseph "Erap" Estrada in the 2001 Edsa 2, a power grab disguised as a "People Power" uprising.
The second time Arroyo stole the presidency of the Southeast Asian nation was during the 2004 Presidential elections wherein she was supposed to have beaten opposition standard bearer and Estrada's friend, Fernando Poe Jr. The "victory" that led to the highly irregular earlier than 'break-of-dawn' inauguration of Arroyo was heavily tainted with allegations of systematic cheating that involved the Commissions on Elections, the military, business leaders who headed the NAMFREL "citizen's arm" electoral watchdog and administration Congressmen and Senators who covered up the electoral fraud during the congressional canvassing.
2004 Poll Fraud and 'Hello Garci'
The opposition's charges of poll cheating would be later be backed up by the so-called "Hello Garci" tapes that reveal the wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and an elections commissioner assigned to the contested region of Mindanao. Despite convincing proofs, however, the big businesses, the Catholic Church and the Philippine media helped sustain the cover-up of the fraudulent win of Arroyo in the 2004 polls.
The recent falling out between Gloria Arroyo and a protracted staunch ally, deposed House Speaker Jose de Venecia, over the anomalous NBN-ZTE telecommunications contract could just spell hope for the unraveling of the unholy conspiracy to cheat the Filipinos of their electoral choice for president. De Venecia has recently announced his plan to seek the reopening of the House investigations into the "Hello Garci" electoral controversy. As the Speaker and former Arroyo ally during the periods of the electoral canvassing and during the initial "Hello Garci" tapes investigation, De Venecia could certainly shed light on the mechanics of the conspiracy to rig the 2004 Presidential elections and cover up that trampling of the democratic process.
Hopes to Unravel and Rectify the Presidential Fraud
For seven years, the Philippines has been mired in the evil created by the hypocritical and undemocratic designs of the conspirators who simply preferred Arroyo over the choice of the majority class of society, the masses. It's about time that some truth is unraveled and perhaps, that the 2004 electoral cheating be officially rectified somehow.
"Hello Garci" taped conversation between Gloria Arroyo and COMELEC Dir. Garcillano, at 17:51, June 4, 2004:
Transcript of the conversation between Gary (V. Garcillano) and GMA (Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) on 08 17:51, hotel June ’04
Garcillano: Hello.
GMA: Hello, Garci? Anong gagawin natin dun sa NAMFREL presscon, yung NAMFREL Lanao del Sur.
Garcillano: Ah, inaano ko. Meron na ho akong kopya ng ifinax ni Nobong, yung kay Dalidig. But that is not true because I have already here my staff whom I assigned Lanao Sur. Pagkatapos ho si Rey Sumalipao the supervisor is coming and then we will also try to make him say something after this.
GMA: Uhm-um.
Garcillano: Pagsasalitahin ko sila ho without letting people know that I am the one who will address it ho. Ganun lang po, sige po ma’am.
GMA: Ok, ok
Source: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
Gloria Arroyo, rigged the 2004 votes, says the 'Hello Garci' tapes
The cheated presidential aspirant in 2004: Fernando Poe, Jr.
