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Friday, April 14, 2006
Probe clearing generals of poll fraud 'not watered down'
MANILA -- Navy Flag officer-in-command Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga said the result of the investigation on the alleged involvement of four generals in poll rigging activities in the 2004 elections had not been "watered down".
Mayuga, who led the inquiry when he was the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) inspector general, added on Wednesday he made sure that "fair procedure" was followed all throughout the investigation.
While Mayuga cleared Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, retired Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, and retired Marine Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani of poll rigging charges, he recommended that other officers be further investigated for exhibiting "unprofessional conduct" during the time they acted as deputies of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
"They had their shortcomings...they went beyond the duties of a Comelec deputy," Mayuga said over the state-run NBN 4. He did not identify the officers recommended for further investigation.
A military insider privy to the investigation, however, said that those recommended for further investigation were two colonels and a captain.
He discounted any irregularity in the investigation. "I don't think the members of the board would allow that. I am putting my credibility at stake."
Insinuations of a whitewash came following presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor's announcement earlier Wednesday that the Mayuga report had cleared four senior officers from allegations of involvement in election fraud.
According to Mayuga, not one witness testified that the four senior officers, who were mentioned in alleged wiretapped conversations between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a former election commissioner, participated in any election fraud.
On the other officers recommended for further investigation, Mayuga said it would be up to Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga to order when the investigation would start.
The insider said these officers were found to have either enticed others to vote for a certain partylist group, accompanied a local candidate, or tried bribing an election officer.
Last year, Western Mindanao election officer Helen Aguila-Flores accused Army Captain Valentino Lopez of offering 50 million reportedly to ensure the win of a local candidate in the region.
Lopez, who once served as security officer for former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, denied the accusations.
Mayuga said the probe lasted for four months and the result took almost two months to finalize. The final report consisted of 15 pages along with a foot-thick annexes.
Mayuga and other members of the investigating board heard the testimonies of over 70 resource persons. Their identities have been kept confidential for security reasons.
None of the resource persons presented direct evidence linking the four senior officials of election irregularities, Mayuga said. (PNA)
(April 14, 2006 issue)
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