Despite the recent revelations in the Senate, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday said it is still too early to conclude that the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. won over former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 presidential polls. "We're a long way from that (proving FPJ's victory) because we have to prove it," Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told "News To Go" anchor and GMA News Online editor-in-chief Howie Severino in an interview. He issued the statement after former Shari'a court judge Nagamura Moner, along with other witnesses, testified about the alleged bribery attempts of the Arroyo camp in areas where the former president was losing heavily during the 2004 elections. Moner likewise said that without the cheating, Poe would have won by over one million votes.
Jimenez, however, said that this should first be proven "beyond the shadow of a doubt" before they can acknowledge it as a fact. "The GMA presidency cannot be abolished, it cannot be written off the books, you cannot create an FPJ presidency and say this is what it would have been like, you cannot do that," he said. "I don't know what the historians will do but definitely as far as the Comelec is concerned, as far as the elections are concerned, that's done. [But if it's proven] that there was cheating... I suppose as far as records are concerned, it can be annotated, there's really no problem with that. You can set the record straight," he added. Jimenez said they are more concerned with going after the perpetrators of alleged cheating during the 2004 and 2007 elections, for which the Comelec and Department of Justice even formed a joint committee. "We're really out to get the perpetrators now. [The] partnership with the DOJ, that's a very strong initiative I think on the part of the Comelec," he said, adding that the Senate findings will be included in their investigation.
Thankful Meanwhile, FPJ's daughter, Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairperson Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares, said she was thankful for the revelations in recent Senate hearings. "
Malaki ang pasasalamat namin... unang-una din sa Senado na binuksan nila ulit yung imbestigasyon na ito. Kay Senator [Koko] Pimentel, Sen. [Teofisto] Guingona tapos kay Judge Moner. Nagpapasalamat kami talaga taus-puso," she said in a separate interview with Severino.
Pimentel and Guingona are the chairpersons of the Senate electoral reforms and blue ribbon committees, respectively, which are jointly hearing the allegations of cheating during the 2004 and 2007 elections. During the hearings, several witnesses have alleged that there were operations conducted in Mindanao to ensure Mrs. Arroyo's victory. "
Kaya salamat na lamang na may ganito, sa tingin ko ito ay vindication or pagkapanalo ito hindi lamang ng pamilya namin pero lalung-lalo na yung mga kapatid natin sa Mindanao kasi talaga para sa amin alam namin na nanalo si FPJ doon," said Llamanzares. But she also lamented that the witnesses only surfaced now and not when they were protesting Mrs. Arroyo's victory. "
Bakit ngayon lang kayo? Noon tinatawagan kayo tapos nagpalit kayo ng isip? Pero pag pinag-isipan mo namang mabuti, iba yung mapanggiit at mapang-api na sistema noon kaya mabuti na lang din na ngayon sila lumabas at least yung administrasyon natin nagpapasalamat ako sa ating pangulo na at least nagkakaroon ng accountability at transparency kung ano ba," she said. Because of this, Llamanzares also urged the other witnesses to come out of hiding and reveal what they know about the alleged cheating. "
Dapat lumabas na sila para mabigyan na sila ng proteksyon," she said. Mrs. Arroyo won in the 2004 elections after garnering 12,905,808 votes over Poe's 11,782,232 votes. Poe claimed 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 former Comelec 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.
- KBK/RSJ, GMA News 
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