Senate urged to begin new 'Hello Garci' probe

Senate Minority Floor Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday urged the Senate to begin what he called the "mother of all investigations" or a new inquiry into alleged cheating during the 2004 elections, specifically the so-called "Hello Garci" scandal. "I strongly suggest na umpisahan na yung Hello Garci investigation sa Senate. If you open that up, you'll solve many of the issues," Cayetano said during a press conference in Pasay City on Friday. In 2005, a taped conversation about alleged vote-rigging between a woman presumed to be former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a man presumed to be former poll commissioner Virgilio Garcillano surfaced. It became known as the “Hello Garci" controversy. Arroyo, incumbent Pampanga congresswoman, has earlier denied involvement into the supposed rigging of votes in the 2004 elections. Cayetano and Sen. Panfilo Lacson had filed separate resolutions seeking an inquiry into the alleged massive poll fraud in 2004 and 2007. Sen. Francis Escudero has likewise filed a joint resolution seeking the creation of a fact-finding commission that would supposedly bring closure to allegations of massive poll fraud in 2004 which allegedly benefited Arroyo. Cayetano, however, said some senators were reportedly showing "resistance" to the reinvestigation. "I don't know (why). That's what I'm trying to find out," he said without naming the senators who were reportedly resistant to the probe. Against the reinvestigation Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said he was against the reopening of the investigation into the alleged poll irregularities in the past because they are not the authorities who should probe the matter. The Senate had already investigated the Hello Garci investigation in the past but Cayetano said they only focused on wiretapping while the probe in the House of Representatives was discontinued due to several attempts to impeach Mrs. Arroyo. DOJ-Comelec probe The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Commission on Elections (Comelec) had earlier said that they will be conducting a joint investigation into allegations of fraud during the 2004 and 2007 polls. Cayetano said there shouldn't be anything wrong if they both conduct probes. "Walang mawawala kung sasabayan ito ng Senate," he said. He likewise said that it's the best time to resume the investigation because they recently learned that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo's choppers which were sold to the Philippine National Police (PNP) might have been used for "special operations" during the 2004 polls. "Nakatali din ito sa maraming scam," he said. 2004, 2007 polls Mrs. Arroyo won in the 2004 presidentials elections after garnering 12,905,808 votes over the late actor Fernando Poe Jr.'s 11,782,232 votes. Poe claimed that Arroyo had robbed him of his electoral victory. He died a few months after the May 2004 polls on Dec. 14, 2004 but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest. In 2005, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) dismissed the protest. During the same year, the Hello Garci tapes surfaced. Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes, speaking as Poe's lawyer, maintained that the late actor was the real winner in the 2004 elections. Aside from the 2004 polls, former Maguindanao elections supervisor Lintang Bedol and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan have also tagged Mrs. Arroyo in rigging the 2007 polls. In his affidavit, Bedol said he was ordered by Mrs. Arroyo through the Ampatuans to ensure that then senatorial bets Lacson, Cayetano, and Benigno Aquino III would “get zero votes" in Maguindanao province during the 2007 elections. The votes were allegedly transferred to candidates allied with Mrs. Arroyo, particularly Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, who resigned amid allegations of poll fraud. - VVP, GMA News