DOJ: Mike Arroyo tagged in 2004 poll returns 'switching'

UPDATED 2:15 p.m. - A police officer has tagged former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo as the financier of operations to cover up for the alleged widespread cheating in 2004 elections where his wife, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, won the presidency. At a news briefing on Thursday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima identified the police officer as Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago, a member of the police Special Action Force (SAF) and then chief of the Intelligence Division of the Philippine National Police’s National Capital Region command. "The funding daw came from FG (First Gentleman). But as to whether Santiago had personal knowledge, I don't know; that can be clarified in his affidavit," said De Lima, who met with Santiago and five other SAF policemen last Tuesday night. Nothing new Meanwhile, Raul Lambino, legal spokesperson of the Arroyo camp, brushed aside Santiago’s revelations, saying that there is “nothing new" with the police officer’s statement. “Those same allegations were already investigated thoroughly before and even exposed in media. Now, personalities with their own political agenda to advance are like hyenas savoring to devour their fallen prey by capitalizing on matters that in their minds will help them earn some points from the unsuspecting public," he said in a text message. He added that their camp will wait for Santiago’s affidavit first before making further statements on the matter.
Special Operations De Lima said in the supposed special operations carried out in January 2005, Santiago and his companions allegedly stole about 6,000 original election returns (ERs) that were stored at the Batasan Pambansa building, the office of the House of Representatives. Of the 6,000 stolen ERs, 50 were in Santiago's possession. De Lima noted that if a 6,000 ERs were replaced with fake ones and if each ER reflected the votes of about 200 voters, then it means that about 1.2 million votes may have been rigged to show that Arroyo won. The original ERs were then replaced with fake ones so that Mrs. Arroyo would still emerge as the winner should there be a recount of votes for the position of president. The operations, conducted to supposedly hide the Arroyo camp's massive cheating, were prompted by the election protest that Susan Roces said she would pursue in lieu of her deceased husband, Fernando Poe Jr., who was Arroyo’s closest rival in the 2004 elections. Poe died in December 2004. Arroyo won over Poe by about 1.1 million votes. Quoting Santiago, De Lima said the policemen who carried out the operations conducted four break-ins at the Batasan Pambansa in January 2005. Santiago reportedly said that the order came from then Philippine PNP chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and then SAF director Chief Superintendent Marcelino Franco. "Santiago claims to have a meeting previous to the break-ins were retired General Franco and Ebdane at ang utos nga is magkakaron ng operations. Itong mga personnel, mga tao ni Santiago, they were kept out of the loop. Operations like that are being compartmentalized on a need-to-know basis. Ang alam lang nila is they were supposed to escort and transport certain individuals," De Lima said at Thursday’s press briefing. The stolen ERs were then replaced with fake ones, which were being produced at the residence of election lawyer Roque Bello. "It turned out to be the residence of Attorney Roque Bello. I know him. He is an election lawyer. He is a former election supervisor. He has a son, Roel Bello. I can say they have the reputation of being election operators," said De Lima, herself a veteran private election lawyer before joining government service in 2008. De Lima said it was only in the third and fourth break-in that Santiago and his men knew that they were stealing election returns. De Lima: Stolen ERs seemed original At the news briefing, De Lima presented four election returns that she said were turned over to her by Santiago last Tuesday. De Lima also said that she already presented the ERs to Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. Both officials are of the opinion that the stolen ERs were authentic. "All of these, four ERs, na tiningnan namin, alam namin ang mga security marks and our initial determination or finding is that this is authentic. These are authentic. Of course subject to validation sa mas nakakalam sa Comelec. But these are authentic," she said. The four election returns reflected votes from the following: Precinct 54-A in Mapun town in Tawi-Tawi province; Precinct 61-A in Pangutaran, Sulu; Clustered Precincts 226-A and 226-B in Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental; and Precinct 35-A in Magsaysay town in Lanao del Norte. De Lima said Santiago is expected to turn over more stolen ERs later in the day. "They might surface today and they might face the media today. Wala pang naka-set na venue. I'm just waiting for their advice. They said they will turn over to me their sworn statements. They were supposed to finalize with their lawyer yesterday so they can submit today along with other election returns," she said. Whistle-blowers seek protection De Lima also said that Santiago and his group have come forward to ask for coverage under the government’s Witness Protection Program, which is under the Department of Justice. "They requested for my presence [last Tuesday] because they want to be sure of their protection. That is all they ask," she said. She added that the testimonies of Santiago and his group can be used in the case build-up in the joint inquiry to be conducted by the DOJ and the Comelec on the alleged cheating in the 2004 elections. "We hope to [start the investigation] early next week," she said. Case build-up De Lima, however, clarified that the aim of the joint DOJ-Comelec investigation is not to determine who indeed won the 2004 elections, considering that Poe is already dead and that Arroyo's term has expired in 2010. "It's both a factual and legal impossibility for us to declare FPJ or for that matter, anybody, as the real winner of 2004. It's also a constitutional impossibility," she said. She said that the aim of the probe is to validate claims that there was widespread cheating in that particular election. She said it will only be incidental if Poe emerges as the winner in the course of the inquiry. "If that is achieved, that can only be incidental. That will just be stating certain facts, findings, but not to say that he or she is the real winner. If the figures would be validated, then lalabas at lalabas yan, and there's nothing we can do if lalabas ang correct figures," said De Lima. - with Andreo Calonzo, VVP/KBK, GMA News