2 former Arroyo men linked to ‘Koala Bear’ controversy

The search for the source of the video showing a man claiming to have first-hand information on the alleged fraud committed during the May 10 automated elections has unearthed the names of a former Malacañang official and a former Cabinet secretary. In a report in GMA Network’s “24 Oras," Makati City Rep. Teodoro “Teddy Boy" Locsin Jr. pointed to former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita as the source of the video. He said he got the information from House Speaker Prospero Nograles. “The Office of the House Speaker told me it came from Ermita. I point to Ermita and Ermita says it's somebody else," said Locsin, who chairs the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms that is currently investigating alleged irregularities in the recently concluded elections. The video showed a masked man — whom Locsin later referred to as “Koala Bear" — divulging his knowledge on the supposed rigging of the elections to favor, among others, Makati mayor and vice presidential candidate Jejomar Binay. Locsin also said he received information that former Environment secretary Lito Atienza had urged Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales to arrange protection for “Koala Bear." Ermita and Atienza quit their post to run for congressman in Batangas and mayor of Manila, respectively, but both of them lost. Nograles, likewise, was unsuccessful in his mayoral bid in Davao City.

Ermita's admission In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Ermita admitted that he gave a copy of the video tape to Nograles. He said he got his copy from Manila Times columnist Buddy Cunanan. “The Speaker asked for a copy, so I made another one," Ermita said. He said Cunanan gave him a copy of the video because the columnist thought he might be interested in poll fraud because of his unsuccessful candidacy. “I got the copy from Buddy Cunanan. He said he heard my name mentioned in the video, and that I may have been a victim of cheating because I lost in Batangas," Ermita said in Filipino. Ermita, however, said he is neither part of the group which took the video nor aware of the real identity of “Koala Bear." Atienza was quoted in the “24 Oras" report as saying that he has no knowledge of the source of the video. Cunanan, for his part, admitted that he was part of the group that took the recording, but refused to divulge the identity of “Koala Bear" amid calls for him to reveal himself. - KBK, GMANews.TV