Details on 2004 presidential election fraud coming out

Mayuga report downplayed crucial testimonies

Still on the 2004 poll fraud, Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares said the Mayuga panel for all but erased all references to the testimony of a Comelec regional director that a nephew of then Comelec Commissioner Garcillano tried to bribe her to tamper with election results in favor of Macapagal-Arroyo in Zamboanga during the 2004 elections.

Colmenares said he was “surprised to see hidden in page 40 of the Summary of Testimonies annexed to the Mayuga Report that Comelec Region IX Director Atty. Helen Flores testified that Garcillano’s nephew and security aide Capt. Valentino Lopez approached her during the tabulation of the canvassing at the Zamboanga Coliseum. Flores said she was ‘bribed with a huge amount ‘ not only to favor a mayoralty candidate but also to ‘remedy the big lead presidential contender Fernando Poe Jr. had.’ Mayuga did not even mention this in his report,” Colmenares said.

Colmenares said Flores even mentioned that the first offer was P50 million ($1.19 million) and the second was P100 million ($2.38 million). This was all stated in the report annexes.

“The Mayuga Panel which was tasked to investigate involvement of the military in election fraud did not find this reference to Macapagal-Arroyo important, never mind that it was one of the most damning testimonies on the issue. Worse, Mayuga did not even mention the confirmation of Capt. Lopez that Garcillano was really in Mindanao during the 2004 elections. This despite Garcillano’s strong denial that he was there at the time,” Colmenares said.

Garcillano was initially appointed by then Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos to be the Commissioner in Charge (CIC) of the regions in Mindanao, but was transferred to the Bicol and Southern Tagalog regions due to the protest of then Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

According to reports, Garcillano used his assignment to Bicol as an alibi to deny that he was in Mindanao at the height of the elections. Certain quarters have also pointed out that it was suspicious how Abalos also appointed him to be his Deputy Commissioner in charge of Personnel during the elections because the post practically gave him the power to redeploy Comelec election officers in Mindanao and even the generals of the AFP deputized by Comelec.

“Capt. Lopez in page 45 of the same Summary Annex testified that he is the nephew and security aide of Garcillano going with him in his travels during the elections. He then admitted that he travelled with Garcillano to Tawi-tawi, Zamboanga, Sulu, Cagayan de Oro and Batangas, and even confirmed that he met with Atty. Flores in the Zamboanga Gym during the canvassing as Garcillano’s advance party as the latter saw to the canvass,” Colmenares also shared.

The lawmaker said this was a detail that should have caught the attention of serious investigators, “But Garcillano’s presence in Mindanao did not merit any mention in the Mayuga report. Whether or not these allegations are true, Mayuga should have probed deeper into these testimonies if he was intent on finding out the truth,” he insisted.

He added that Abalos was suddenly hospitalized for “internal bleeding” just before the 2004 elections and could not be found during the election day on May 10. Abalos left Garcillano in charge of Comelec personnel movements and deployment.

In 2004 known Garcillano protégés Wilfredo Daraug and Borromeo Patangan were assigned as election officers in Basilan where Arroyo got 79,702 votes against Poe’s 48,685.

Comelec Director Rey Sumalipao was assigned in Lanao del Sur where Arroyo got 128,301 votes against a surprisingly low 43,302 votes for the popular Poe. Director Wayne Asdala, who was killed a few years later, was assigned in Maguinadanao where Arroyo got 193,938 votes against Poe’s 59,892.

Garcillano protégé Mike Abbas was assigned in Tawi-Tawi where Poe, despite his popularity among Muslims, only won by 15,000 votes over Arroyo.

“The Mayuga Panel also chose not to interview Comelec Director Atty. Joselyn de Mesa, who presided over the canvassing in Sulu where Poe won by nearly 18,000 votes. According to reports, she refused the bribes offered by military officers and politicians to reverse the votes in Sulo,” Colmenares said.

He said de Mesa will be invited once the House investigates the 2004 election fraud.

“This is one more reason why Congress should investigate what really happened during the 2004 elections. We need to ask the crucial questions which Mayuga failed to ask. We need to pursue and undertake legislative remedies to ensure that election fraud is stamped out. Otherwise, we will be suspected of avoiding investigations that involve the Arroyos. In fact, the investigation is not mainly about Rep. Arroyo at all, but rather about the need to amend the Election Code to insulate it from partisan electioneering by military and other public officials,” he said.