Alleged coup plotter Lim wants closure on ‘Hello Garci’ scandal

Former Scout Ranger Regiment commander and accused coup plotter Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim on Monday joined 22 other amnesty grantees in taking their oath to the Constitution — the final requirement for the reprieve given by President Benigno Aquino III for soldiers and policemen who tried to overthrow the Arroyo administration. Lim, during the ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, renewed his call to put closure on the issues — especially the “Hello Garci" scandal — that they brought up in their failed attempts to topple what they perceived as a corruption-ridden administration. “Why are there soldiers and policemen like us who are willing to rebel and sacrifice their career [and] make life difficult for their families? It’s because of what they are fighting for. So for a start, these should be addressed, put closure to all these issues like the ‘Hello Garci,’ which I call the ‘original sin’," said Lim. The “Hello Garci" controversy of 2005 refers to the wiretapped conversations of a woman, perceived to be then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and man, perceived to be then Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garciliano, detailing the alleged rigging of the 2004 elections, which Arroyo won. Apart from the supposed irregularity in the 2004 elections, the other issues raised by Lim’s group included alleged corruption in the Arroyo government. “There should be a closure to this. I cannot understand why, after all the long time that has passed, there is still no closure to it," Lim said. The military had conducted an investigation on a number of military officials who were mentioned in the wiretapped conversations. The investigation cleared the officers for lack of evidence and witnesses, but the report has yet to be made public. In February 2006, Lim led several soldiers in a failed plan to march to EDSA Shrine where they were supposed to withdraw their support from Arroyo. The plot was preempted when the military leadership detained Lim hours before the plot was to be executed. A year later, in November, Lim joined in the siege of the Manila Peninsula Hotel along with Oakwood mutiny leader, former Navy Lt. (sg) turned Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. The two led a group that walked out of a Makati City court where Lim was testifying for the alleged mutineers. On whether Arroyo should be pursued for her alleged sins, Lim said: “Personalities should be secondary. More than the personalities is the system. Whoever are the personalities who benefited (from irregularities) should be pursued whoever they are." Lim is presently a consultant with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. He was deemed separated from the military service when he ran for senator in last year’s elections. He lost. A total of 35 amnesty grantees were scheduled to take the oath on Monday but 12 were not able to make it to the ceremony. The 12 and the others who failed to come in the two previous oath-takings may claim their certificates before the Department of National Defense and take their oath individually while those abroad may do so before the country’s consulate. - KBK, GMA News