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Garci tape whistleblower Samuel Ong passes away


MANILA, Philippines - The former National Bureau of Investigation official who exposed the “Hello, Garci" scandal passed away Friday after months of battling lung cancer. Samuel Ong died at past 6 p.m. at the Chinese General Hospital. He was 64. Before he died, former President Joseph Estrada was still able to pay him a visit. Moments after Estrada had left, Ong reportedly went into a cardiac arrest. Doctors tried but failed to revive him. “Hindi pa nga ako nakakarating sa bahay, nauna na sa akin. Hindi ko nga makausap. Pinipisil lang ang kamay ko. Nagulat nga ako," Estrada said. [I have not even returned home, and he even ‘went’ before me. When I went there I could not talk to him. He just pressed my hand. I was shocked.] “Hinintay lang akong dumating [It seemed like he just waited for me]," said Estrada of Ong, who was rewarded a promotion during the deposed president’s administration. The 93-year-old father and all the siblings of the former NBI official - including Henry Ong, Carmelita Ong-Paterno, and Lydia Gomez – were by his side before he passed away. According to his relatives, Ong wanted to be remembered as a public official who put his life and the safety of his family on the line just to ferret out the truth on controversies hounding the government. This was a sentiment shared by Estrada, who said: “Sabi ko naman maalala si Samuel bilang bayani ng katotohanan. He will go down in history." Earlier in the day, Novaliches Bishop-Emeritus Teodoro Bacani rushed to the side of a then ailing Ong to administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. When he arrived at the medical facility, Bacani said he noticed that Ong was already in “bad shape and could no longer talk." Ong had been frequenting the hospital after being diagnosed to have cancer last November 2008. The "Hello, Garci" tapes contained alleged conversations between President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and former Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano about a plot to rig the May 2004 presidential election. On June 10, 2005, Ong presented during a press conference at the Metropolitan Club in Makati City what he claimed to be the "mother of all tapes." He did not play the tape but still claimed Mrs. Arroyo cheated in the polls. Ong's disclosure sparked calls for President Arroyo's resignation: from former President Corazon Aquino to some of her Cabinet members and senior officers, who were then tagged as the Hyatt 10. The President then admitted talking with an election officer, although she did not identify the poll official. Both the President and Garcillano denied ever engaging in the alleged rigging of the May 2004 polls. Ong later sought help from Susan Roces and the Catholic Church. As a result, the whistleblower was given refuge at the San Carlos Seminary. Another whistleblower, former Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) agent Vidal Doble Jr, reportedly paid Ong a visit Wednesday night. - GMANews.TV
Tags: hellogarci
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