Cop details 2004 ‘poll fraud’ cover-up

Police Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago on Thursday presented to the media a detailed account of his team’s operation to cover up for the alleged massive cheating in the 2004 presidential elections that supposedly favored then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Accompanied by his lawyer Victor Rodriguez, Santiago presented to the Department of Justice a PowerPoint presentation to establish that the 2004 election was marred with fraud. He said that he and his team of Special Action Force (SAF) policemen were instructed to provide security, assistance and access to men who broke into the Batasan Pambansa in January and February 2005 for four times. The purpose of the break-ins, he said, was to switch original election returns (ERs) with doctored ones so that in the event of a recount, Arroyo will still retain her 1.1-million lead over her fiercest contender, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. “There was clear election fraud in the 2004 elections and those responsible tried to cover their tracks by switching the Election Returns (ERs) that would have been scrutinized in 2005. At that time, the presidential electoral protest filed by Arroyo’s opponent, Fernando Poe Jr., was still pending. FPJ died of a heart attack in December 2004, but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest," Santiago said. The presentation also showed screen grabs of videos where the ERs were being taken from the Batasan Pambansa complex, where election documents in the 2004 polls were stored. The images showed silhouettes of men supposedly employed by election lawyer Roque Bello and son Roel Bello, the purported election operators behind the manufacture of the fake ERs. The two had already denied the accusation. Earlier in the day, Santiago submitted his sworn affidavit to attest that then Philippine National Police chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered him to carry out the operation. Ebdane has since denied ordering Santiago and his men to break into the Batasan building to switch election returns with fabricated ones.) Garcillano and Rasalan Of the thousands original ERs pilfered from the Batasan complex, Santiago and his men were able to keep about 38 ERs to themselves. The 38 documents, all from Mindanao, were turned over to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last week in preparation for the joint investigating committee to be formed by the DOJ and the Commission on Elections. In his presentation on Thursday, Santiago said they realized the gravity of their break-ins when the “Hello Garci" controversy broke out in June 2005, about three months after their fourth and last break-in on Feb. 27, 2005. The controversy scandal refers to the wiretapped conversations between a woman believed to be Mrs. Arroyo and a man believed to be then-Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The two individuals discussed rigging the 2004 election results. “After recordings of the wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and Garcillano on the cheating in the 2004 elections became public, the police commandos involved in the Batasan operation realized the value of the video and election returns in their hands," Santiago said. The police colonel added that the “Hello Garci" scandal and a videotaped confession of election operator Arsenio Rasalan in July 2006 bolstered his perception that there was fraud in the 2004 polls. Rasalan has confessed that Roque Bello wanted the replacement of the ERs in the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, and Saranggani. The 38 stolen ERs that Santiago’s team possessed were from Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The ERs from the provinces supposedly did not match the statements of votes (SOVs) and certificates of canvass (COCs), giving rise to suspicion that there were irregularities like the shaving and padding of votes. Santiago cries harassment On Friday, Santiago said the charges of extortion that have recently cropped up against him were part of a plan to harass him for coming forward and baring his knowledge of the Batasan break-ins. “This is expected. Hindi ako magnanakaw," he said. His lawyer likewise questioned the timing of the allegations. “Why only today? Upon conferring with Col. Santiago, it is his belief that the purpose is to water down his credibility and that of the presentation done today," said Rodriguez. — KBK, GMA News