PING'S COP 'VIDEOGRAPHER' NO LONGER IN COUNTRY / 17 MORE WANT TO TALK
MANILA, JULY 30, 2011 (TRIBUNE) By Angie M. Rosales - The police officer who was pointed to by a senator as the person who took the video showing the alleged "break-in" at the Batasang Pambansa in 2004, referring to the purported "switching" of ballot boxes during the height of the canvassing procedures of the presidential and vice presidential race, is no longer in the country.
"He is no longer here in the country. But there's a way to contact him and he is already thinking on (whether to testify). Actually he is inclined to come out to testify but he is not here in the country right now," Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.
Lacson has been coming with "exposés" a la MacArthy, the American congressman who was on a wild communist witchhunt" who always claimed he had a list of communists and their sympathizers, naming, without evidence, many American celebrities, in business, movies and politics.
A certain Lt. Joel Pinawin, an intelligence officer, surfaced Thursday afternoon in the office of Lacson to turn over to the senator copies of videos recorded via a mobile phone on the supposed ballot-switching incident that was said to have taken place in the Batasang Pambansa building several years ago.
Pinawain allegedly acted as "custodian" of these clips.
Sources said the person who recorded the incident was a certain Senior Insp. Ramon Garcia, a member of the PNP's special action force (SAF).
This amateur video already surfaced sometime in 2004, months after the national canvassing, but neither the then administration senators and congressmen, who are now the allies of President Aquino, took notice of this video and even dismissed it. No one in the House majority demanded that this break-in be probed and question the fact of the absence of the surveillance tapes which would have shown the alleged break-in, as they were all allies with then President Gloria Arroyo.
Most, if not all of them, who now call for a probe and allege the switching of the electoral returns (ERs) gave this video, which was much too grainy to even show the switching, the prominence they are giving it now.
Lacson admitted that the said video will be useless as evidence against the actual perpetrators and the brains behind the supposed ballot switching, unless accompanied by an affidavit, which would also be useless, unless attested to by the affiant in open court.
"If it will be used as evidence, the person who took it should be present to attest to the personalities (captured in the video), the place where this happened and so forth," he said.
Lacson, who last Thursday, told reporters that he intends to submit this information to the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) which will be conducting a joint investigation on the alleged poll fraud operations in 2004, said he will only do so if it already has an accompanying affidavit by the owner of the video.
"It will only be useless. It can be easily crushed in court if you fail to present the person who actually took the video, because it is he who can testify that he was there when it happened. He will be the one who can explain what this is all about. If we will just pass this on without affirmation from the owner, it will only be considered hearsay.
"So it will be better if that person can testify before the DoJ and before the courts," he said.
Lacson was assured by Pinawin that the source of the video is willing to testify on the issue.
As for the commitment to return home, the senator said talks are already ongoing regarding this arrangement.
Former President Joseph Estrada yesterday called on all those who have any knowledge on the 2004 electoral fraud to come out and contribute their information. "Let us have a 'bayanihan' for the truth to surface," Estrada said.
"It is a fact that GMA was never a legitimate president. It is a known that FPJ won the 2004 presidential elections in spite of the P728 million Fertilizer Fund Scam, the Garci Generals Scam; in spite of using billions of funds from PagCor and the PCSO; and inspite of using the military, the police and the Comelec. She (GMA) still lost the elections – that is why (the GMA camp) had to resort to cheating," Estrada said.
"The problem was that there was a grand conspiracy to suppress the truth during the Arroyo Administration. But you need not worry this time," Estrada said. "We are nearly there to get at the truth. If you were silent then due to fear of the corrupt government of Arroyo, don't be afraid today because the present administration is only after the truth."
Estrada said he believes justice for the Filipino people is in the horizon, adding that the country needs to correct history because it cannot move on without closure. "I hope that not only FPJ but the Filipino people will finally be vindicated, if only to correct history. We owe the truth not only to the millions of Filipinos whose will was suppressed but also to the future generations."
Estrada called on all possible whistleblowers. " I urge all of you, whether you were with the military, the police, even civilians," Estrada said, "to all come out and share the information that you have on the 2004 poll fraud for the sake of our country. Let us help each other in order to bring back the dignity of the nation."
Estrada commended and expressed all out support for the policemen who are now prospective state witnesses for the 2004 poll fraud against then presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.
Meanwhile, the family of the late actor accepted and welcomed the apology of Sr. Supt. Rafael Santiago, who admitted taking part in the alleged ballot election returns switching.
MTRCB Chairman Grace Poe Llamanzares said the revelation of a senior police officer and five others that they were involved in switching ERs is considered a breakthrough in proving allegations that Arroyo may have snatched the presidency away from Poe.
She also said that bringing up the past amid calls to move will bury the ghost and horror of the 2004 polls and determine who was the real winner.
In a TV interview Friday, Lllamanzares said "a lot of people are saying that we should move on, that it would be inconvenient to bring the past back, but what we're after now is to strengthen our institutions."
Santiago said he and his men stole election returns kept in the Batasang Pambansa building in 2005, upon the orders of then PNP Director General and now Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.
On Friday morning, Santiago sent his apologies to Poe's widow, movie actress Susan Roces.
"My mom said that perhaps, it was not meant for FPJ to actually sit in office...(his) purpose was for people to realize the sanctity of their votes, and the importance of leaders with a true mandate," Llamanzares added.
She said her mother has become very emotional because of this most recent news.
"It's a triumph not just for my family, and not just for personal vendetta, it's also a triumph for the nation. We're grateful for the strength and courage they are showing," she said.
She also called on the government to provide protection for the policemen.
She said their revelation, while considered allegations at this time, "is not something you can just invent."
Poe died in December 2004 following a stroke.
Based on the official tabulation by the National Board of Canvassers, using Comelec documents, Arroyo got 12,095,808 votes (40 percent) while Poe got 11,782,232 votes. (36 percent), a difference of 1,123,576 votes.
However, in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), where rampant cheating allegedly took place, Arroyo got 549,944 votes (62percent) while Poe got 272,715 votes (31 percent).
Based on the Social Weather Stations (SWS) exit poll and poll watch dog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) count, however, it was Poe who won in the ARMM. Both the SWS and the Namfrel, however, declared Arroyo the winner of the race.
SWS's exit poll showed Poe got 50 percent of ARMM votes while Arroyo got 44 percent. Namfrel said Poe got 56 percent of ARMM votes while Arroyo got 34 percent.
The Arroyo camp called the allegations of Santiago that they were ordered to steal and replace election returns stored in the Congress Building to ensure Arroyo would still emerge as wnner in the 2004 presidential elections in the event a recount is ordered are "totally ridiculous."
"Santiago's tale is reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller of a major hype of thievery worthy of a cinematic production," Arroyo's lawyer Raul Lambino exclaimed during a telephone interview.
"He should be made aware there are seven copies of the ER, one for the Comelec, one for the accredited poll watchdog, one for the majority party, one for the dominant minority party, one each for the provincial and the municipal and one for Congress," said Lambino.
"So, if you would steal the copy in Congress and replaced it with a manufactured one, there are still six other copies you have to contend with. And if they had replaced the ER stored in Congress with a manufactured one, it would obviously not tally with the other six ERs. You will have a problem with that," Lambino explained.
"So, what's the use of stealing and replacing the ERs in Congress?"
Even if a recount is ordered, Lambino said it would not be the ERs that would be recounted but the original source of the document, which is the ballot.
"The ER would be useless in a recount. It would be the ballot which will be recounted," said Lambino. "What is Santiago talking about when he said that the ER's had to be replaced to ensure that GMA would still emerge as winner in case a recount is ordered?" With Jason Faustino and Tribune wires
17 more want to talk on poll fraud By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) Updated July 30, 2011 12:00 AM
[Photo is loading... Norman Duco, a member of the PNP-Special Action Force, which allegedly switched election returns at the Batasan in 2004, attends a press conference at the DOJ yesterday. JONJON VICENCIO]
MANILA, Philippines - More than a dozen persons have expressed willingness to come out and reveal more details of alleged massive irregularities in the 2004 and 2007 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.
"There are many feelers (from people) who want to talk and they come mostly from Mindanao," Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes said.
He said only a few of the "17 to 18 feelers" came from Comelec personnel and that the poll body is now "verifying the personalities."
The potential witnesses have expressed readiness to help in the investigation into the alleged poll fraud to be jointly undertaken by the Comelec and the Department of Justice (DOJ), Brillantes said.
"We really expect more people to come out. Some of them may be telling the truth, others may not. We have to check," he said.
"Anyway, the major players are already out," he added, apparently referring to dismissed Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol; detained former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan; and Maguindanao Comelec employees Saliao Amba, Shariff Saydona and Maysaysay Mohamad.
Some police officers also surfaced recently to claim that they switched election returns at the Batasang Pambansa building in 2005.
"It's just a matter of Garcillano coming out, and then we can complete the picture," Brillantes said, referring to former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
In a wiretapped phone conversation, a voice similar to Garcillano's assured a woman whose voice sounded like then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of more than one million votes over Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 presidential elections. The wiretapped conversation was made public in 2005, ironically by Arroyo's own spokesman.
Garcillano has denied it was his voice, while Arroyo admitted talking to a poll official but only to get his assurance of protection for her votes. She later made a televised apology for her "lapse in judgment."
The 2004 election fraud allegedly resulted in Arroyo winning over Poe by over a million votes.
The manipulation of the results of the 2007 midterm polls was reportedly meant to ensure the victory of Arroyo administration senatorial candidates.
Only senators Joker Arroyo and Juan Miguel Zubiri, among the Arroyo candidates, made it to the Magic 12. Zubiri's victory is still being contested by Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III.
Brillantes said the joint Comelec-DOJ probe team will formally convene next week. He said he would propose that five members comprise the team.
"The function of the committee is purely preliminary investigation only to determine probable cause of an election offense. We'll not be the one to make conviction here," he maintained.
Evidence submitted
Meanwhile, the police team led by Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago that exposed alleged switching of election returns (Ers) at the Batasang Pambansa building turned over to the DOJ 38 of the 6,000 ERs taken from Congress and replaced with fake ones.
With Santiago were Police Officers 2 Alan Layugan, Trifon Laxamana, Rodel Tabangin and Rudy Gahar, and PO1 Norman Duco. They said they hope to submit sworn statements next week detailing their participation in and knowledge of the alleged ER switching operation.
Santiago also clarified that he had no personal knowledge of the involvement of former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in the operation. He said he only heard from "a certain personality" that Mr. Arroyo was financing their operation for which he received P10,000.
"I don't have any knowledge, but we hear that from a certain person who later may, through the efforts of the DOJ, be established," Santiago said, but declined to name the person.
"But as far as my personal knowledge is concerned, I don't know anything about that," he told a press briefing. Santiago, former Zambales police chief, is now assigned to the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame.
Santiago said they were emboldened to come out by the Aquino administration's apparent resolve to get to the bottom of the poll fraud issue.
"It's just now that we feel we would be given a fair fight. We know that our lives are at risk here, our families. We know we are facing powerful people but there will be no turning back. The truth shall set us free," he said.
He said he had been receiving death threats even before his decision to come out.
Apology
The police officer also apologized to the Filipino people and to Susan Roces, Poe's widow, for the "error" in the elections.
"We'd like to extend our apology to the Filipino nation, especially to Madame Susan Roces, for the error that at this point we are trying to rectify," he said.
Santiago said he and his men's role in the break-in was only "providing access and security to those who operated in order to cover their trail, or in order to jibe the tampered COCs (certificate of candidacies) that were made in Lanao with those with the authentic election returns deposited at the House of Representatives that we found out only later."
Santiago claimed that he and his team were acting on the orders of then PNP chief Hermogenes Ebdane and former Special Action Force chief Marcelino Franco.
He also implicated Chief Inspector Ferdinand Ortega, who headed the SAF unit assigned at the Batasan complex.
He also recalled seeing fake ERs being produced in Cainta, Rizal, inside the house of poll lawyer Roque Bello, who, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, has the "reputation of being an operator for election cheating."
Santiago also said the video recording of their operation had already been turned over to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Santiago also called on the police officers involved in the break-in to come out and "be gentleman enough to accept their participation."
When the alleged switching was carried out, Santiago was the head of the SAF's Intelligence Division in the PNP's National Capital Region Command.
De Lima, meanwhile, said the police officers would be given protection. "I know how sensitive, delicate and dangerous their situation is now. So the offer to secure them is there. We will evaluate the sworn statements once these are submitted to us," she said.
"The scenario of them turning state witness is there and that is something that is very strong because they can share with us what happened," she added.
Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, for his part, said Santiago's group must present hard evidence to support all their allegations.
"We would like to know what really happened. We'll ask him to tell all. We won't harass him," said Robredo. "We will have to listen to him first before we decide on the appropriate action to take."
He said it was unlikely that Santiago and the others were unaware of the objective of their operation.
"Common sense dictates, perhaps they knew it (the nature of operations) but they were afraid to talk," said Robredo.
Closure needed
Malacañang meanwhile said the Aquino administration only wanted to put closure to the poll fraud issue and did not intend to persecute Arroyo and her family.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press briefing yesterday that reports linking Mr. Arroyo to the electoral fraud came out before the new witnesses surfaced with their statements.
"We can't really say we are surprised since way back in 2004, there were already reports involving the former first gentleman. But again the process happening now is that Secretary De Lima is conducting a joint probe on the alleged election fraud in 2004 with the Comelec. So they are looking at the evidence that this probe will produce," Valte said.
Valte said it would be up to authorities to determine whether the claims of the witnesses were hearsay or part of political persecution being claimed by Mr. Arroyo.
"And eventually, the courts will decide once cases are filed," Valte said.
Valte said the Arroyos had expressed readiness to answer the charges against them at the proper forum and so the public would just have to wait.
On Thursday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda rebuffed some lawmakers' call for the public to move on and forget about the alleged poll fraud.
"We should remember the past in order for us not to repeat the past (mistakes). That's what we're doing," he said.
"We're coming out with the truth, we're discovering the truth, so that as a people and as a body politic we should not allow ourselves to repeat these illegal acts," he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Lacson twitted the Arroyo camp for saying that the accusations of election fraud were recycled stories.
"My question is why these have become old (news)? Because they never provided closure to the issue. They derailed (the probe). They covered up all their wrongdoings one after the other," Lacson said over dwIZ radio.
"Eventually they will go there (jail) in the end. They engaged in corruption, left and right. If you do something foolish and you do it with regularity, you'll be found out," Lacson said.
In deference to the coming joint DOJ-Comelec probe, Lacson also said he is now considering withdrawing his resolution urging the Blue Ribbon committee to look into the allegations of Santiago.
Former senator Aquilino Pimentel said he welcomes a DOJ-Comelec probe and stressed anyone found guilty of election fraud should be severely punished.
"Election sabotage is a capital offense. There is no bail for those accused and if found guilty, the maximum prison term is 20 years," he told reporters at the Rembrandt news forum in Quezon City.
"Let the former president fully recover from her medical procedures then let her answer all the allegation of misdeeds hurled against her family," Pimentel said. Arroyo is recuperating from spinal surgery at St Luke's Medical Center.
Poe's daughter, Grace Llamanzares, meanwhile, thanked Santiago and his team "for lighting the match."
"We will also never forget those who came out before him to defend the truth. Although we're not sure if this will lead to more incriminating revelations, we hope that this spark will light a fire," she said. With Edu Punay, Perseus Echeminada, Danny Dangcalan, Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Aurea Calica
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