Monday, June 20, 2005

Arangkada for June 21, 2005

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                       PRUYBA SA TIKAS

 

Dugang ebidensiya nga di minao-mao ang audio recording sa giingong istorya nilang Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ug kanhi Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Virgilio Garcillano pagtikas sa eleksiyon sa niaging tuig: Gipanangtang ang tanang mga opisyal sa Comelec nga nahisgutan sa recording gikan sa pagduma sa umaabot nga eleksiyon sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Si Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos nipatawag sa mga opisyal sa Comelec sa ARMM aron pagseguro nga wa silay dapigan atol sa eleksiyon unya sa Agosto 8.

Ang mas klarong ebidensiya gibisto sa Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). Sa artikulo ni Yvonne Chua nga nigawas sa ilang web log (

http://www.pcij.org/blog) gahapon, gitaho sa PCIJ nga nitakdo ang mga pasalig ni Garcillano ngadto sa presidente atol sa giingong tulo sa 10 nila ka panag-istorya sa telepono sa gibutyag ni National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) Provincial Chairman Abdullah Dalidig sa Lanao del Sur nga labing grabeng kaso sa "dagdag-bawas" sa tibuok nasud.

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Ang angayng pasidunggan nga wa hingpit malubong sa kangitngit ang katawhan sa labing grabeng krisis sa administrasyon ni Presidente Arroyo, labi na dihang gigapos sa Malakanyang ug sa National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ang tradisyonal nga media organizations pagsibya sa audio recording ug pagpatik sa kinatibuk-ang transcript ini, mao ang PCIJ ug ubang websites kansang kaisog ug kaligdong nahimong iwag sa publiko nga gihikawan sa ilang lehitimong katungod sa pagpakisayod.

Ang gobyerno, labi na si Justice Secetary Raul Gonzalez, nga maoy nahimong berdugo sa pagpanghasi, way nahimo sa pagpahilom sa progresibong websites kay di man nila mahimong tak-opan ang Internet. Ang liderato sa PCIJ gipunit sa TxtPower (

http://www.txtpower.org) nga maoy nitanyag sa libreng download sa nagkalainlaing bersiyon sa popular nga "Hello Garci" ring tones.

Ang kalamposan sa PCIJ, TxtPower ug ubang websites klarong maoy nakapugos sa Malakanyang ug NTC pagbalitok ug pag-uyon na lang nga isibya sa kinatibuk-an ang kontrobersiyal nga recording.

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Way sukaranan ang mga tambag ngadtong Presidente Arroyo nga iyang sundon si kanhi presidente Bill Clinton sa Estados Unidos kinsa nakalikay sa impeachment pinaagi sa pag-angkon sa iyang sala ug pagpangayo og pasaylo sa katawhan. Ang atraso ni Clinton nga napamatud-an sa mga imbestigador nga gipangulohan ni Kenneth Star mao ra ang iyang pakighilawas ni Monica Lewinsky sa Oval Office sa White House samtang ang pasangil batok ni Presidente Arroyo mao nga iyang gitikas ang eleksiyon sa niaging tuig.

Si Clinton nasakpang nagbudhi sa iyang asawa, si karon Senador Hillary Clinton; samtang si Presidente Arroyo gitumbok nga nangawat sa mandato sa katawhan. Ang atraso ni Clinton maisip nga depekto sa kaligdong, samtang ang pasangil batok ni Arroyo, kon mapamatud-an, makahimo niyang di haom sa labing taas nga puwesto sa nasud. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

The Lanao del Sur Vote (by PCIJ)

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Posted by Yvonne Chua

OF the 10 recorded conversations supposedly between President Arroyo and Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano from May 28 to June 2, 2004, three of these were calls from the President who showed special interest in the canvassing in Lanao del Sur province in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

Post-election accounts show that it was in Lanao del Sur where one of the worst cases of "dagdag-bawas" (vote-padding and shaving) in the May 10, 2004 elections took place. The charge was made by not only the political opposition but no less than Namfrel provincial chair Abdullah Dalidig.

In their May 29 conversation, the President is heard asking Garcillano if she would still lead by more than one million votes nationwide.  The commissioner, who noted that opposition bet Fernando Poe Jr. was leading in certain places, assured Arroyo, " Mataas ho siya pero mag-compensate po sa Lanao yan."  The President, he said, could still get the one-million-plus lead "if we can get more in Lanao," adding that he was still expecting the poll results from seven more municipalities of Lanao del Sur's 39 provinces.  The results from Lanao del Sur were among the last that were transmitted to Congress.

The race between Poe and Arroyo for the presidency was close. In the congressional canvass, Poe beat the President in Luzon and Metro Manila by 1,755,837 votes, but was defeated in the Visayas by 2,323,493 votes.  In the Mindanao count, he lost to Arroyo by 300,399 ballots.  In the end, the action star was defeated by more than one million votes.

In her June 2 phone call to the elections commissioner, the President sought clarification on the reported mismatch between the statement of votes (SOVs) and certificates of canvass (COCs) in Lanao del Sur and Basilan. Garcillano gave the President this assurance:" Dun naman sa Basilan at Lanao Sur, ito ho yung ginawa nilang magpataas sa inyo, maayos naman ang paggawa ehHuwag ho kayong masyadong mabahala. Anyway, we will take care of this. Kakausapin ko rin si Atty. Makalintal."

COCs cover the count at the municipal leveland SOVs at the provincial level. Election returns (ERs) are at the precinct level.

Then on June 8, the President supposedly made yet another call to Garcillano, shortly after Namfrel's Dalidig appeared in a press conference at a Quezon City restaurant alleging "dagdag-bawas"in Lanao del Sur. Garcillano offered to attend to the matter by getting Rex Sumalipao, provincial election supervisor of Lanao del Sur, to help. "…Rex Sumalipao, the supervisor, is coming, and we will also try to make him say something after this. Pagsasalitahin ko sila ho without letting the people know that I am the one who will address it ho," he told the President. (Sumalipao is now Comelec's assistant regional director for ARMM.)

The final congressional tally shows Arroyo winning in Lanao del Sur. She garnered 128,301 votes and Poe 43,302 in the elections held on May 10, 2004. The President got another 30,447 and Poe 6,805 in the special elections that were subsequently held in Lanao del Sur towns where failure of elections was declared.

But according to Namfrel's summary of provincial ERs, which forms part of its June 30, 2004 terminal report on the elections, Poe was leading Arroyo, 42,374 to 32,389, and the opposition's Loren Legarda beating Noli de Castro, 56,568 to 23,242, in Lanao del Sur. Namfrel tabulated 82.98 percent of the ERs nationwide.

Documents from Namfrel's chapter in Lanao del Sur illustrate the extent of the alleged vote-padding and shaving. The most interesting involved the town of Poona Bayabao. Located about 37 kilometers from Marawi City, this town merited special mention in Garcillano's May 30 conversation with a certain Rey, whose voice Comelec and ARMM sources identified as that of election supervisor Rey Sumalipao. Sumalipao reported to Garcillano that an en banc order had been issued: He was "to continue with the canvassing but suspend the proclamation."

A copy of the COC that Namfrel obtained of the voting in Poona Bayabao shows President Arroyo and Legarda (it gets the fourth copy) leading their opponents 4,700 to zero. But the ERs that the poll monitor was furnished (Namfrel gets the sixth copy) reveal a big discrepancy: Neither Poe nor De Castro obtained zero votes. In two tables prepared later by the Namfrel chapter summarizing the ERs in 13 precincts in Poona Bayabao, Poe got 767 and Arroyo 964, while Legarda obtained 1,252 and De Castro, 350.

Diladig's chapter also prepared tables comparing the ERs and COCs in seven other towns: Lambayanague, Taraka, Saguiaran, Marantao, Mulondo, Binidayan and Balindong. Dalidig counted 10,077 more votes in the COC. [Some tables contain computation errors.] According to the Namfrel chapter, the President's votes were padded by 21,217 votes while Poe's were shaved by 9,174.

The political report, in its minority report, also identified Poona Bayabao, Tara, Saguiaran, Lumbanayague, Marantao and Mulondo as towns where "dagdag-bawas" purportedly took place.  The report also listed the towns of Tubaran, Taguluan II, Masiu and Bulig. By the opposition's reckoning, a total of 6,986 were added to the President's votes in the four towns, While Poe's votes were reduced by 2,680 in Wao. But Congress simply "noted" the minority's objections and request for a return to the ERs, and proceeded with the canvass.

Since the wiretapped conversations were made public, Dalidig told the Philippines Daily Inquirer he felt vindicated because neither the Namfrel national office nor Congress had paid him heed during the canvassing.

The six to seven Lanao del Sur towns that were still canvassing the votes weeks after the elections were held also formed the subject of Garcillano's conversations with other people, presumably including Comelec field officers.

The elections commissioner told an unidentified man on May 25 votes might still be obtained in seven towns in Lanao del Sur. "Kung makuha natin yung maximum sa Cotabato at madagdagan ng Lanao Sur, tama yung sinasabi mo," he said.

On the same day, a certain Danny informed Garcillano that the candidate they were helping was reported to have won in six municipalities in Lanao del Sur. He replied: "Mananalo talaga siya. Nandun si Louie, Macarambon eh. Pababantayan ko …" The two then said they should if the candidate were to win by 20,000 to 25,000 votes.

On May 28, Garcillano got a call from a woman that the results from the six towns from Lanao del Sur were arriving in Manila on the last flight from Cagayan de Oro.

Five days later, on June 2, Garcillano is heard telling an unidentified man that "pinagdududahan nga akong nag-kwan sa Lanao Sur." The man had informed Garcillano that former senator Robert Barbers was still expecting the votes from 27 towns in Lanao del Sur.  The ex-senator, however, had gotten his numbers all wrong: The counting was over except in only a handful of precincts, not towns.

Hello, Garci Ring Tone Download

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Here are Mp3 and wav files of the Hello Garci ring tone:

Indymedia server:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (124.1 KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (72.1 KB)

Server Mirror 1:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 2:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

Server Mirror 3:
"Hello Garci" ringtone, MP3 format (360KB)
"Hello Garci" ringtone, WAV format (197KB)

To save, right-click on the file and click save as.

Many thanks to QC Indymedia and Yuga of PinoyBlog and Ploghost for hosting the files.

Links to the entire tape are at the PCIJ blog.

How do I put it in my phone?

1. Download your choice by clicking any or all of the files.

2. Transfer the downloaded file/s from the computer to your phone using either an infrared connection or a USB-to-phone cable.

3. For those whose phones have GPRS/WAP access, point your phone's browser to www.txtpower.org and download it directly to your phone.

4. Once transferred to your phone, the sound file may be used as ringtone for calls or text messages.

Other options

1. Ask for file-transfer from friends who may already have the ringtone. Both your phones should have either infrared or bluetooth connections.

2. Join any of the future anti-GMA rallies and look for the TXTPower banner. Next big date is June 24.

3. Watch out for the TXTPower "Hello Garci" Ringtone Download Team when they go around offices, stores and tiangges, communities and schools!