Senate reso seeks to uncover 'real winner' in 2004 polls

Senator Francis Escudero on Tuesday filed a joint resolution asking both chambers of Congress to create a fact-finding commission that would look into the alleged anomalies during the controversial 2004 presidential elections. Escudero, who was the spokesperson of defeated 2004 presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr., said he filed Joint Resolution No. 11 to bring closure to allegations of massive poll fraud which allegedly benefited former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. "The ghost of 2004 has continuously haunted our democratic system and electoral processes. We need to establish a fact-finding commission, define its powers and functions to enable it to make recommendations on who to recognize as the true fifteenth president of the republic," Escudero said in a statement. Not against Gloria "This move is geared toward setting the record and correcting history. It is not about prosecuting or persecuting former President Arroyo; this is about uncovering the truth and to serve and give corresponding recognition to FPJ if indeed it can be given by that commission," said Escudero. Under the joint resolution, the commission shall be composed of a retired Supreme Court justice who will serve as chairperson; the Ombudsman; the secretary of the Department of Justice; an Elections commissioner; and a senator and a representative as ex-officio members. The commission shall have have the power to issue subpoena; compel the attendance of witnesses and production of evidence; cite in contempt any person who shall disobey any of its issuances, orders or resolutions; issue orders and resolutions necessary or incidental to its functions as a fact finding body; and issue rules and regulations on the receipt, evaluation, admission and custody of evidence. 2004 polls Mrs. Arroyo won in the 2004 elections after garnering 12,905,808 votes over Poe's 11,782,232 votes. Poe claimed that Mrs. Arroyo had robbed him of his electoral victory. He died on Dec. 14, 2004 but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest. In March 2005, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) dismissed the protest. In June 2005, a taped conversation about alleged vote-rigging between a woman presumed to be Mrs. Arroyo and a man presumed to be ex-Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano surfaced. It became known as the “Hello Garci" controversy. Both Mrs. Arroyo and Garcillano have since denied being involved in the supposed rigging of the 2004 elections. Early this month, former Maguindanao elections supervisor Lintang Bedol and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan also tagged Mrs. Arroyo in the alleged rigging of the 2007 polls. They claimed the Arroyo administration wanted not only a 12-0 win for administration senatorial candidates, but also for some opposition candidates to get zero votes in Maguindanao. Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes had earlier said the Comelec will likely investigate the new claims by Bedol and Ampatuan, although he is likely to inhibit himself and even testify, since he was a lawyer for the opposition in the 2004 and 2007 elections. — RSJ, GMA News