‘Garci boys’ to be included in DOJ-Comelec poll fraud probe

The joint Department of Justice-Commission on Elections (DOJ-Comelec) panel will include in its investigation the election officials linked to former Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who allegedly participated in supposed cheating that marred the 2004 elections. Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said that former ARMM regional election director Ray Sumalipao, whose name was supposedly mentioned in the "Hello Garci" tapes, had volunteered to be part of the joint panel's probe into alleged fraud during the 2004 and 2007 elections. The “Hello, Garci" scandal refers to the alleged wiretapped conversations where vote-rigging in the 2004 elections was discussed by a woman presumed to be then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a man presumed to be Garcillano. "The regional director (Sumalipao) has in fact written to the Comelec asking that he be made part of investigation... so that he can clear himself," Brillantes said during Wednesday's Senate finance committee hearing on the proposed budget of the Comelec for 2012. "Because he said every time there is a hearing, every time there is a commissioner up for confirmation his name always crops up. He said to finish all of this, why don’t you investigate me. And because of this we are going to include him in the investigation into 2004 and 2007 anomalies," Brillantes added. In an interview after the hearing, Brillantes said other poll officials who were linked to Garcillano will also be included in the investigation. "Kasama lahat sila. Gusto na rin nila ma-clear. Kawawa naman kasi mga ito in the sense na everytime, na wala naman formal na investigation, pero every time... parati sila nababanggit," he said. Brillantes said that most of the regional directors of Mindanao, including Sumalipao, have been reshuffled. Sumalipao was reportedly transferred to region IX or X. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News