AFP Cheated For Glo

Posted by Luz Rimban 
PCIJ

TWO military officers today told the Senate defense committee that the Commission on Elections, aided by other top military officials, maneuvered to "slacken" security in Lanao del Sur, leaving the door open to massive cheating in the province in the May 10, 2004 elections.

Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani said he was relieved of his post as Marine brigade commander of Task Force Ranao without justification on May 12, 2004, two days after the elections, and just as the counting of ballots and canvassing of election returns was getting underway. His name was mentioned in a portion of the Hello,Garci tape.

The Senate hearing comes at a time when it seemed the Hello, Garci issue had died down and President Arroyo is going on the offensive, suppressing rallies and taking punitive action against government officials perceived to have turned against her.

Gudani and his subordinate, Lt. Col. Alex Balutan, defied an order from Malacañang preventing military officers from appearing at today's hearing. 

At 1 a.m. today, Gudani said he got word  from the AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Generoso Senga, coursed through the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy, not to appear at the Senate. Gudani is currently the assistant superintendent of the PMA.

Part of the order from the AFP hierarchy said: "Per instruction of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, no officer of the AFP shall appear before the Senate hearing without her approval."

Balutan told the Senate that Gudani's relief could not be explained to the soldiers in the field, especially since the officer sent to replace him was someone not from the same service and rank.

Gudani's replacement was a certain Col. Pirino of the Philippine Army  (believed to Col. Gominto Pirino of the 5th Infantry Brigade) who, according to Balutan, told the brigade "to support the administration" and " luwagan namin ang security sa canvassing area (loosen security in the canvassing area)."

Balutan said his commander was relieved "for no apparent reason, for being apolitical, for being impartial."

In his opening statement at the Senate, Gudani said "for the past few months, my conscience has bothered me" and that he had decided to tell the truth, because it was what the PMA honor code compelled him to do.

"I am here as assistant superintendent of the PMA where we teach the cadets the honor code which says that a cadet does not cheat, does not steal, and does not lie, nor does he tolerate tolerate these…I would not have the honor to  face the cadets if I didn't' tell the truth," Gudani said.

Gudani also said he was appearing before the Senate in behalf of the Military Christian Fellowship, an organization of born-again Christian soldiers, of which Gudani is president.

In his testimony, Gudani also said that on May 12, he was summoned to Manila by his superior, Marine Commandant Gen. Teodocio, and Navy Flag Officer In Command (FOIC) Admiral Ernesto de Leon. Gudani said he was told to take a break — play golf, go to Boracay — which to him was an "incomprehensible and illogical order" since his presence in the field was needed at that crucial period in the election process.

Gudani returned to Lanao on May 20, much to the chagrin of Garcillano and a certain Gene, believed to be a political operator, as shown by this portion of the Hello, Garci conversation:

Conversation between Gary (V. Garcillano) and Gene on 08 13:25 hotel June '04

Gene: Boss, nakatanggap ako ng certification ngayon dito galing sa mga bata natin sa Lanao, nag failure na naman pala dahil kay Gudani.

Garcillano: Oo nga eh.

Gene: Putang-ina, sino ba yang Gudani, bakit ganun yun?

Garcillano: Yun ang pinaalis ko.

Gene: Oo nga, ba't andudoon na naman, papaano 'to?

Garcillano: Oo nga, bumalik na naman. Kaya nga ayaw makialam si First Gentleman dyan. Sabi ko nga, pinasabihan ko nga kay Ruben Reyes na paalisin na nyo yan.

Gene: Putang-ina, tarantado talaga to.

Garcillano: Oo, pinaalis ko yan eh. Pero after three days after elections, bumalik man dyan. And nag (garbled) dyan si Col. Quirino thru Gen. Esperon at tsaka si Gen. Kyamko.

Gene: Eh ano ba gagawin ko, gagawan ko pa ba ng memo 'to o ipapareschedule, papaano, gagawa ako ng memo sa en banc?

Garcillano: Ipa-reschedule natin.

Gene: Gagawa ako ng ano ha.

Garcillano: Oo para sa commission en banc.

Gudani's name was mentioned by Garcillano in a conversation he had with President Arroyo on May 28. In that call, Garcillano told the President Gudani was siding with the opposition:

Conversation between a male (believed to be V. Garcillano) and a female (believed to be Pres.Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) on 28 22:13 May 2004

Garcillano: Hello, good evening ma'am.

GMA: Hello, the FPJ camp raw will file a case against the Board of Canvassers of ano, dun sa Marawi, and the military?

Garcillano: Ano ma'am?

GMA: The FPJ camp raw will file a case raw against the Board of Canvassers and the military in Marawi?

Garcillano: Hindi naman ho siguro nila maa-ano yung ating Board of Canvassers, pero ang military,kasi si Gudani, sa kanila si Gudani. I do not know why they will file.

GMA: Oo, oo.

Garcillano: Sa kanila si Gudani ma'am. In fact that's why we have, I have to work with Gen. Esperon and Gen. Kyamko na at that time, pinalitan namin si Gudani for a while. Kaya kwan, pero bakit nila file-filan yang mga military na sa kanila lahat. Halos ayaw na nga mag-give way sa aming mga tao.

GMA: Oo, meron silang pina … (line cut)

Gudani said the suspicions were unfounded. He surmised that they were associating him with the camp of former presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. because he happened to sit beside Poe, opposition leader Ernesto Maceda and Poe's running mate Loren Legarda during a plane ride from Mindanao to Manila.

Gudani also testified:

• That it was Garcillano who was giving orders to Provincial Elections Supervisor Rey Sumalipao, although Garcillano was officially the commissioner in charge of Southern Tagalog and Bicol.

• That one or two weeks before the elections, Sumalipao revised plans made well in advance of the elections, changing policies, replacing board of election inspectors, and causing much confusion. Gudani said the moves were made on orders of Garcillano who signed the memos implementing the changes.

• That he had information that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo made two trips to Mindanao via a private helicopter to deliver cartons of cash. Gudani said an informant told him Arroyo carried around P250 million in each of those two trips. The helicopter landed "somewhere in Iligan." Gudani said he and his informant knew the person who supposedly helped divide the cash and tie them up in bundles.

Asked whether they got orders, received bribes or were persuaded or influenced by any one to manipulate the elections, the two officers admitted receiving bribe offers from local candidates.

Gudani said he was offered P1.2 million by a mayoralty candidate "to protect his votes." Gudani said, "I politely declined because the Marines don't do that."

Balutan was also offered P300,000 also by a mayoralty candidate. He said he reported the offer to his commandant, and said he did not need to protect anyone's votes because he was already doing that as part of his job.  

At the start of the hearing, committee chairman Rodolfo Biazon agreed to the suggestion of Sen. Panfilo Lacson to place both officers "under the legal custody" of the Senate, given the sensitive nature of their testimony, and to prevent reprisal from their superiors who might charge them for going on AWOL.

Arangkada for September 29, 2005

 

        PAGPANLUGPIT

 

        Usa niana ka higayon, kapid-an na ka tuig ang nilabay, dihay usa ka pangu sa usa ka gingharian nga gipasanginlang nanikas, nangawat ug namakak:   Una siyang gipasanginlan nga nigamit sa kuwarta sa ilegal nga sugal pagtikas sa eleksiyon; dayon nitumaw ang misteryusong tape recording sa iyang pakig-istorya sa tagduma sa eleksiyon nga nag-detalye sa pagpaburot sa iyang boto ug pagkawat sa mandato sa katawhan.

        Usa sa iyang mga torotot niangkon nga iya sa pangu ang tingog sa recording pero di tagduma sa eleksiyon ang iyang ka-istorya kon dili usa lang ka lider sa politika.  Gipakita pa gani ang lider sa katawhan ug gipapirma og affidavit nga kasarangan rang tsika sa politika ang ilang gihimo sa pangu.

-o0o-

        Pero ang pangu nipakita sa nasudnong telebisyon aron pag-angkon nga nakig-istorya siya sa usa sa mga tagduma sa eleksiyon.  Niinsistir hinuon nga wa siya manikas kay igo lang gipanalipdan ang iyang mga boto.   Dayon nangayo siyag pasaylo.  Naglibog ang katawhan kay wa man siyay sayop nga giangkon.

        Gidudahan sang kaligdong sa pangu.  Ang iyang torotot nga nabistong namakak gipabilin sa puwesto.  Samtang ang iyang lider sa politika wa na hisguti, morang nuog nga gisalibay sa suok kay di na man kapuslan.

        Ang iyang sinaligang mga sakop sa gabinete nanganaog sa ilang puwesto ug giawhag ang pangu sa pagkanaog sab sa Palasyo.   Ang dagkong lider sa politika, nga gipangulohan sa kanhi pangu nga nakapabanhaw sa demokrasya sa gingharian, ug negosyo, nga naglakip sa labing dagkog amot sa iyang kampanya, niawhag sab niya pagpahawa.

-o0o-

        Human gitoohang nameligro nang mapalagpot sama sa iyang gisundang kurakot nga pangu, ang naapiking pangu nakaangkon og lig-ong mga alyado sa laing kanhi pangu, sa mga obispo sa simbahan, sa kinabag-an sa mga politiko ug kasundalohan sa gingharian.

        Ang pangu nagdumili na pagtubag sa mga pasangil batok niya.   Giawhag ang iyang mga kaatbang sa pagsang-at sa ilang mga reklamo sa bay balaoranan.  Dihang nituman ang mga lider sa oposisyon, gigamit ang iyang alyadong mga magbabalaod pagluok sa kaso, bisan wa pay napresentar nga bisan usa ka saksi ug ebidensiya.

-o0o-

        Aron pagsegurong di moulbo ang kasuko sa giilad niyang katawhan, gidid-an niyang mga protesta sa kadalanan, giawhag ang mga magbabalaod sa paghunong na sa tanang imbestigasyon sa mga pasangil batok niya ug gidid-an ang mga opisyal sa iyang pamunoan pagdawat sa mga imbitasyon ug pagpanubag sa mga pangutana sa bay balaoranan.

        Kon nahibung mo ning akong sinuwatan, nag-praktis na kong daan unsaon paglusot ang umaabot nga mga pagpanlugpit sa katungod sa katawhan pagpakisusi ug pagsangyaw sa kamatuoran.   Kon nakamay-ong mo ning mga panghitabo nga akong gihulagway, salamat.  Wa pa diay hingpit mapitlok ang kaligdong, katarung ug maisugon nga pagpakabana.   [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Refuse To Be Ruled

There's The Rub : Logic 101

Conrado de Quiros dequiros@info.com.ph
Inquirer News Service

DEAR groups opposing Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo:

Is another Edsa People Power uprising still possible? Is driving people out into the streets to storm the gates of heaven, or hell, still possible?

Archbishop Fernando Capalla says no. But just to be sure, he enjoins the faithful to be faithful to him and desist from heeding your calls to do so. Archbishop Orlando Quevedo says the same thing, noting that the people are indifferent and attributing it to public skepticism about the truth you bear.

It is true: The people are indifferent, but for a reason that has nothing to do with the one Quevedo adduces. The truth you bear is near-universally believed. We know that, from the surveys that say the overwhelming majority of Filipinos believe Ms Arroyo cheated in the elections. That makes her a usurper in their eyes, one ruling without a mandate from them. Indeed, we know that from Pepe Miranda's survey that shows the overwhelming majority of Filipinos now distrust their authority figures universally, from Malacañang to the media, from Congress to the Catholic Church. The public regards the bishops themselves to be corrupt. Well, Capalla makes a strong case for it.

What we have in fact is a paradox. The people know they are being ruled by someone who has no right to, but do not seem to want to do anything about it.

The reason for this, as I've proposed in several columns, is this: In the past two Edsa uprisings, the alternative was clear, it was implicit in the struggle to oust the tyrant itself. The affirmation was contained in the negation. Oust Marcos, install Cory: that was the universal, if tacit, cry of the first Edsa. As Juan Ponce Enrile found out the hard way when he tried to install himself in power, presuming himself to be the country's savior with a military mutiny. He was rejected. Oust Joseph Estrada, follow the constitutional line of succession: that was the universally understood, if equally silent, cry of the second Edsa. Ms Arroyo might not have earned the moral right to replace Estrada -- she was no Cory -- but she had the legal right to. As the people who called for "Resign All" also learned the hard way. They were rejected.

There is nothing like that today. Right now, the unarticulated and anguished, cry of the nation is: Oust Gloria, then what? The line of succession cannot be followed because Noli de Castro is a beneficiary of Ms Arroyo's cheating and because the position of president was never vacated, it was never occupied. There is no affirmation contained in the negation. That's what has caught the nation in its vise, causing paralysis.

That cannot be broken by all this talk of a transitional government or council of elders, revolutionary or not, eclectic or not, representative or not. And I am truly begging you to put all that aside. The idea of a transitional whatever is the same thing as the reality of a fake president: It has no legitimacy. It will rule without a mandate from the people, like Ms Arroyo. Why should that inspire anybody to want to take to the streets? It is not inspiring hope, it is stoking fear. And you wonder why the people are apathetic.

You want to rekindle the fires of rage and dreams, there is only one call, and that is (credible) elections. I agree you have to prepare for that -- which means lining up the current election commissioners against the wall, metaphorically or literally -- and some group has to do it. But only for that: the faster elections are held, the better. I myself cannot abide a preparatory group that lasts beyond a couple of months or so. You cannot agree on something so basic, you can dream all you want about the miraculous changes you will work upon the country once you are in power, but it will take a miracle for you to un-stick Ate Glue from her seat.

I disagree that elections, however credible, won't go very far in solving the problems of the country. At the very least it will un-stick Ate Glue faster, and that is far enough by itself. You will notice-if you have not buried your noses under piles of agenda-that Ate Glue is veering the country toward martial law, if she has not done so already. If the Firm can forcibly un-stick my colleague in this space, Raul Pangalangan, from his position as dean of the University of the Philippines' College of Law, then it can un-stick anything, including every vestige of democracy from this country.

More than that, elections answer completely the question of legitimacy. Which is, to repeat, the real issue: It is not about Ms Arroyo's performance, it is about her legitimacy. It is not whether she is messing up the country or not, it is whether she has a right to. Logic 101: The problem is that Ms Arroyo cheated in the elections and we have no rightful president. The answer is to have new elections and have a rightful president. The problem is that Ms Arroyo stole the vote from the voters. The answer is to give the voters back their vote. The problem is that the people have been silenced. The answer is to let the people speak.

I go back to my earlier question: Is People Power still possible?

I have little doubt that given the spark of outrage and the flame of inspiration, Filipinos will always take to the streets to right a humongous wrong done them. Today's apathy is not natural, it is induced, not least by you yourselves. But quite apart from that, why should People Power express itself only by people taking to the streets? I do not know why at this late date, you have not called on the citizens to fight tyranny with civil disobedience. The people can express their power in many ways, not least by refusing to be real citizens to a fake president. We are not powerless before someone who insists on ruling us without our consent. We can always refuse to be ruled. We can always be adamant before the arrogant. We can always do what we tell our kids to do when they are offered drugs:

Just say no.