Hello Garci scandal
Encyclopedia
The Hello Garci scandal (or just Hello Garci) was a political scandal
and electoral crisis in the Philippines
.
The scandal involved former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
, who allegedly rigged the 2004 national election
in her favor. The official results of that election gave Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro
the presidency and vice-presidency, respectively. Hundreds of national and local positions were also contested during this election. The scandal and crisis began in June 2005 when audio recordings of a phone call conversation between President Arroyo and then Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
allegedly talking about the rigging of the 2004 national election results, were released to the public. This escalated, when the minority of the lower house of Congress attempted to impeach Arroyo. This was blocked by Arroyo's coalition in September 2005. No trial has taken place thus far.
Allegations against Arroyo and her accomplices in government are many, including electoral fraud
and a subsequent cover-up
. The administration has denied some of the allegations and challenged others in court. The House of Representatives, which is dominated by Arroyo's coalition allies, blocked attempts for an impeachment trial. Arroyo's most well-known alleged accomplice from the electoral commission, Virgilio Garcillano, was missing for a few months, but has returned to the capital in late 2005. Allegations persist regarding possible conspirators from the government who helped in his escape, and another alleged cover-up. Garcillano denied any wrongdoing, before his disappearance, and after his return. In December 2006, Garcillano was cleared of perjury charges by the Department of Justice. A Senate investigation is ongoing.
Samuel Ong
, a former deputy director of the country's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), declared in a June 10, 2005, press conference that he possessed original recordings of a wiretap
ped conversation between Arroyo and an official of the Commission on Elections, who was alleged to be Virgilio Garcillano
. In the following weeks, the media analyzed contents of the tapes. The Ong recordings allegedly proved that Arroyo rigged the 2004 national election
to maintain her presidency and the political success of her allies. Arroyo denied the accusations of election rigging in a television broadcast on June 27, but acknowledged that it was her voice on the tape. Protests occurred frequently during the crisis either in favor or against Arroyo and her administration. Attempts to impeach Arroyo failed on September 6.
, CNN
/Time
, and Pulse Asia
measured public opinion regarding the allegations and other related issues.
According to a CNN/Time poll, 57.5 percent of the people surveyed said that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should not finish her term. A Pulse Asia survey released on Philippine news on July 12 showed that 57% of the people wanted incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign from office.
The Social Weather Stations
or SWS June 28–30, 2005 Metro Manila poll results yielded that 59% say GMA told the Comelec official to cheat and 84% support full airing of tapes. In the same survey, President Arroyo received a rather poor net trust rating of -31 while the COMELEC's net trust rating was -27.
According to the SWS
July 12–14, 2005 Metro Manila Poll: GMA should resign, say 62%; or else she should be impeached, say 85%. President Arroyo's net trust rating was still poor at -33. Incidentally, President Arroyo's net trust rating has stayed low (negative) since then.
On January 25, 2008, Pulse Asia
survey
(commissioned by Genuine Opposition
(GO) per former Senator Sergio Osmeña III) stated that 58% percent of Filipinos in Mindanao
believed that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
cheated in the Philippine general election, 2004
. 70% also "believed that because of recurring allegations of election fraud, the credibility of the balloting process in Mindanao was at a record low."
One 17-second snippet of the recorded phone conversation that is widely alleged to be between Gloria Arroyo and election official Virgilio Garcillano ("Garci") features a woman discussing the election returns; the woman says (translated from Tagalog) "Hello? Hello? Hello Garci? So, will I still lead by more than 1M (million)?"
Shortly after the scandal broke, Randy David
, a nonpartisan columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
, cited two excerpts from the Ong recording in an article. Sheila Coronel
, of the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism, was able to decipher some of the garbled parts of the tape, which allegedly implicated Arroyo in the scandal. David analyzed the tapes using ethnomethodology
and came to the same conclusions as did Coronel. His analysis described one of the speakers as a female coming across as a person speaking to her subordinate. Later, Arroyo acknowledged that it was her voice on the recording (Arroyo's "I'm Sorry" speech, 3.96MB MP3
). However, no trial took place regarding Arroyo's intentions with her conversations in the recordings. According to Philippine law, both recordings are part of the public domain and are freely distributable.
In his editorial on June 12, 2005 for the Philippine Daily Inquirer
, Randy David said,
David described Arroyo's subordinate as a "man...not in the business of counting votes; he produces them."
Sheila Coronel, described not only electoral fraud, but also the involvement of the independent watchdog group Namfrel. In her analysis, Coronel alleged that corruption was clearly evident. She also commented on the garbled portions of the tape, which were digitally enhanced for clarity. Allegedly, Arroyo whispered "Yung dagdag, yung dagdag" ("The addition, the addition"), implying fraud and mentioned Namfrel's sympathy for her. In her blog, she said,
, who claims that Arroyo is related to a kidnapping operation. Michael Zuce claimed that he was present in an incident where Arroyo allegedly bribed officials from the Commission on Elections. Retired general Francisco Gudani claimed that he can prove military involvement in Arroyo's alleged acts of electoral fraud. Roberto Verzola, leader of the Philippine Greens
and an IT expert, also claimed that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
cheated and the citizens' election watchdog, National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections
(Namfrel) was also involved. Jay Carizo, from the Institute for Popular Democracy, developed the election cheating indicators. Other sources claimed fraud in several other government positions, as well as the murder of political opponents by incumbents. There were also eyewitness claims as well. Loren Legarda
also claimed that she had evidence of being cheated by Noli de Castro
also won the vice presidency, in 2004.
in the country was usually done by manipulating the ballot
s. However, a new technique has arisen which just involves the manipulating the election return or ER, which is a summary of the votes in precincts. Evidence exist showing that the 32,000 sets of overprinted ERs of the Commission of Elections could manipulate an election by as much as three million votes. Such number of votes could change a result.
The scandal would also be referenced by television personality Joey de Leon
during a publicized feud with fellow television personality Willie Revillame
surrounding allegations of rigging on ABS-CBN
's program Wowowee
Joey jokingly called upon the Department of Trade and Industry
to stop probing the Hello Garci scandal, and begin probing "Hello Pappy" instead, in reference to Willie's nickname.
, as well as the president herself, acknowledged that it was indeed Arroyo's voice. The protesting public insisted that the tapes and CDs proved electoral fraud
, and that Arroyo cheated and rigged the 2004 elections. A sizable number of people wanted the results of the 2004 elections to be made invalid. The Supreme Court withheld judgment on the matter, refraining from actions toward invalidating the election. The administration said the Ong recordings were inadmissible in court, since the audio was taped without consent.
Initially, there were two possible outcomes for the government; Arroyo could have either resigned or be ousted through a constitutionally accepted process. These actions could only take place after addressing the current state of the faulty electoral system. The other outcome was for Arroyo to be cleared of any wrong doing. Neither outcome occurred, and hence no final course of action was taken to resolve Arroyo's legitimacy or to prevent electoral fraud. Those unrealized possible outcomes could have resolved definitely the legitimacy issue, and could have made Arroyo accountable for any wrongdoing. However, Philippine law and the country's flawed electoral rules complicate the legitimacy and accountability
problem. The law only mentions impeachment followed with a conviction as a possible way of removing certain serving legitimate government officials. The law however is unclear on how to prosecute and convict the sitting official if illegitimacy is the problem, due to allegations of vote rigging. Conrado de Quiros, a strong advocate of electoral reforms, argues that a special presidential election must be done in coinciding with midterm elections to resolve legitimacy.
Whether the special presidential elections occurs or not, a significant number of incumbent politicians who are allied with administration and who were elected during the tainted 2004 elections
may be deposed by voter backlash in the upcoming 2007 midterm elections
, assuming the election to be free and fair. The electorate would use the upcoming election as a referendum on accountability and legitimacy for Arroyo and her political supporters. All of the seats of Arroyo's supporters in the House of Representatives, half of the Senate, and all local government positions are to be contested. De Quiros also describes this contest as a contest of "democracy vs. the cheaters".
and an allegedly faulty election system that allows cheaters to win and get away with it. This is manifested in a humorous local saying that, "There are two types of people in elections. Those who win and those who get cheated out of office." Politically outspoken student groups mention that this is rather new for Philippine politics, and shows a gradual development of the voting public, the electorate.
According to pundits, the past 60 years of the Philippine history already has a reputation of electoral fraud, proven or otherwise. It is just that no one ever gets caught or punished. Analysts assert that the people have always been desensitized to their politicians cheating during elections. Accordingly, people generally doubt their leaders' mandates. The people are often suspicious of the winners, especially in close poll results, but do nothing. Constituents generally allow their leaders, assuming proven acts of cheating, to get away with it until the scandal erupted. Roberto Verzola supports punishing candidates guilty of fraud as the first step for electoral reforms. He said that, "the system can be slow or fast but there will still be cheating unless you punish the cheats." The reforms sought for the electoral system are still clouded with uncertainty.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) initially warned the country's radio and TV networks of a possible forced closure on any network that airs the contents of the Ong tapes. In response, the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) condemned the Arroyo administration for attempting to restrict the airing of the Ong recordings. Eventually, the media were allowed to present the evidence to the public. It should be noted that three out of seven VHF TV channels are controlled by the government.
on the grounds of "betrayal of public trust". Ten minutes later, Jose Rizaldo P. Lopez, a private citizen, filed a similar impeachment complaint. The mainstream pro-impeachment bloc in Congress advocated an amended version of the Lozano complaint.
On August 23, the justice committee delayed a vote on the impeachment complaints, instead focusing on a vote on procedures. The committee eventually sent Report 1012 to the rest of the House of Representatives. The report suggested that impeachment proceedings should cease altogether. Both chambers of Congress and the justice committee are dominated by Arroyo's coalition allies.
On September 6, the minority could not garner the 79 signatures to send the amended impeachment complaint to the Senate. A vote of Report 1012 commenced in favor of the report. Impeachment proceedings ceased, preventing a trial for Arroyo for at least one year.
The following year on January 16, Lozano re-filed the amended impeachment complaint. However, this came with stiff opposition from opposition members in the House, most notably House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, who threatened him with a complaint with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. This was after the opposition claims they plan to file a stronger complaint, calling Lozano's tactics "illegal and unethical", especially because the opposition did not consent to the filing of the complaint. In June, one whole year after the beginning of the scandal, several impeachment complaints were also filed by different groups.
and former vice president Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
. Due to the lack of protesters that took part in common venues, the government's hard line approach in regulating traditional protesting venues in Mendiola and EDSA, and other factors, the protests did not affect the outcome in Congress. Thus, its power soon diminished. Lingering protests remain, accompanied by a campaign to present evidence directly to the electorate, since such evidence were restricted from use in trial. Arroyo eventually pressed on with certain reforms, albeit unrelated to the crisis, that included new taxes that will shrink government's fiscal deficit. The economy has been described as resilient, especially since its recovery was not affected by the scandal. Despite Arroyo's preservation of her hold onto authority, and a resilient economy, most analysts agree that the scandal has failed to address its root causes - pervasive electoral fraud conducted by candidates during elections, the faulty electoral system, and the Commission on Elections that encourages fraud. Accordingly, confidence in Arroyo has declined as explained by Amando Doronila of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
who said.
The crisis has arguably ended with the failure of both the impeachment process and the people power movement to have Arroyo face a public trial
. However the scandal persists, with the electoral fraud issue still unresolved. This is a factor that led to the use of emergency powers
by Arroyo in early 2006.
Justice
s Santiago Ranada and Oswaldo Agcaoili filed (a 15-page petition for prohibition
with temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction
) with the Supreme Court of the Philippines
to enjoin the September 7, 2007 Senate of the Philippines
(committee on national defense) wiretap probe (on the alleged wiretapping of telephone conversations of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
inter alia). On February 12, 2008, the Supreme Court, in a preliminary voting, favored the airing of the Garci tapes, thus nullifying the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) order. But the final voting was scheduled on Friday.
Political scandal
A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...
and electoral crisis in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
The scandal involved former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
, who allegedly rigged the 2004 national election
Philippine presidential election, 2004
The Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections of 2004 was held on Monday, May 10, 2004. In the presidential election, incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo successfully won a full six-year term as President, with a margin of just over one million votes over her leading opponent,...
in her favor. The official results of that election gave Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro
Noli de Castro
Manuel Leuterio de Castro, Jr. , better known as Noli de Castro or "Kabayan" Noli de Castro, was Vice President of the Philippines ....
the presidency and vice-presidency, respectively. Hundreds of national and local positions were also contested during this election. The scandal and crisis began in June 2005 when audio recordings of a phone call conversation between President Arroyo and then Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
Virgilio Garcillano
Virgilio Olivar Garcillano also known as Garci, is a former official of the Philippine Commission on Elections who allegedly was involved in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's alleged electoral fraud in the Hello Garci scandal....
allegedly talking about the rigging of the 2004 national election results, were released to the public. This escalated, when the minority of the lower house of Congress attempted to impeach Arroyo. This was blocked by Arroyo's coalition in September 2005. No trial has taken place thus far.
Allegations against Arroyo and her accomplices in government are many, including electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
and a subsequent cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
. The administration has denied some of the allegations and challenged others in court. The House of Representatives, which is dominated by Arroyo's coalition allies, blocked attempts for an impeachment trial. Arroyo's most well-known alleged accomplice from the electoral commission, Virgilio Garcillano, was missing for a few months, but has returned to the capital in late 2005. Allegations persist regarding possible conspirators from the government who helped in his escape, and another alleged cover-up. Garcillano denied any wrongdoing, before his disappearance, and after his return. In December 2006, Garcillano was cleared of perjury charges by the Department of Justice. A Senate investigation is ongoing.
Events history
Samuel Ong
Samuel Ong was a former deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines and is a whistleblower, declaring that the 2004 national elections was rigged, starting an electoral crisis....
, a former deputy director of the country's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), declared in a June 10, 2005, press conference that he possessed original recordings of a wiretap
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
ped conversation between Arroyo and an official of the Commission on Elections, who was alleged to be Virgilio Garcillano
Virgilio Garcillano
Virgilio Olivar Garcillano also known as Garci, is a former official of the Philippine Commission on Elections who allegedly was involved in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's alleged electoral fraud in the Hello Garci scandal....
. In the following weeks, the media analyzed contents of the tapes. The Ong recordings allegedly proved that Arroyo rigged the 2004 national election
Philippine general election, 2004
The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 10, 2004. The major coalitions that participated are the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan composed of parties that support the candidacy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino ,...
to maintain her presidency and the political success of her allies. Arroyo denied the accusations of election rigging in a television broadcast on June 27, but acknowledged that it was her voice on the tape. Protests occurred frequently during the crisis either in favor or against Arroyo and her administration. Attempts to impeach Arroyo failed on September 6.
Public opinion
During the scandal, various polls and surveys conducted by Social Weather StationsSocial Weather Stations
The Social Weather Stations or SWS is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It is a private, independent, non-partisan, non-profit scientific institute in the Philippines which conducts social surveys and does survey-based social science research and other educational activities, using...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
/Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and Pulse Asia
Pulse Asia
Pulse Asia, Inc. is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It was launched by professional academics recognized as experts in their respective fields of study. It monitors salient socio-economic, political and cultural issues in the minds of the Filipino public.-Profile:According to its...
measured public opinion regarding the allegations and other related issues.
According to a CNN/Time poll, 57.5 percent of the people surveyed said that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should not finish her term. A Pulse Asia survey released on Philippine news on July 12 showed that 57% of the people wanted incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign from office.
The Social Weather Stations
Social Weather Stations
The Social Weather Stations or SWS is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It is a private, independent, non-partisan, non-profit scientific institute in the Philippines which conducts social surveys and does survey-based social science research and other educational activities, using...
or SWS June 28–30, 2005 Metro Manila poll results yielded that 59% say GMA told the Comelec official to cheat and 84% support full airing of tapes. In the same survey, President Arroyo received a rather poor net trust rating of -31 while the COMELEC's net trust rating was -27.
According to the SWS
Social Weather Stations
The Social Weather Stations or SWS is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It is a private, independent, non-partisan, non-profit scientific institute in the Philippines which conducts social surveys and does survey-based social science research and other educational activities, using...
July 12–14, 2005 Metro Manila Poll: GMA should resign, say 62%; or else she should be impeached, say 85%. President Arroyo's net trust rating was still poor at -33. Incidentally, President Arroyo's net trust rating has stayed low (negative) since then.
On January 25, 2008, Pulse Asia
Pulse Asia
Pulse Asia, Inc. is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It was launched by professional academics recognized as experts in their respective fields of study. It monitors salient socio-economic, political and cultural issues in the minds of the Filipino public.-Profile:According to its...
survey
Statistical survey
Survey methodology is the field that studies surveys, that is, the sample of individuals from a population with a view towards making statistical inferences about the population using the sample. Polls about public opinion, such as political beliefs, are reported in the news media in democracies....
(commissioned by Genuine Opposition
Genuine Opposition
Genuine Opposition is the umbrella political coalition of the parties' senatorial line-up for the 2007 Philippine midterm elections, which is in opposition to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo...
(GO) per former Senator Sergio Osmeña III) stated that 58% percent of Filipinos in Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
believed that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
cheated in the Philippine general election, 2004
Philippine general election, 2004
The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 10, 2004. The major coalitions that participated are the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan composed of parties that support the candidacy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino ,...
. 70% also "believed that because of recurring allegations of election fraud, the credibility of the balloting process in Mindanao was at a record low."
Ong recordings
Two recordings were presented to the public: the Ong recordings and the government endorsed version of the recordings. Uncut copies of the Ong recordings managed to become widespread. The first recordings to be released to the press were used in the Congressional inquiry on the crisis. The second set of recordings, described by the government as the original (SET1A, SET1B, SET1C, SET1D) and spliced (SET2A, SET2B, SET2C, SET2D, SET2E) recordings, was more easily accessible in the Philippines as the government did not restrict the media from airing it. However, the media aired both sets, focusing on the Ong recordings.One 17-second snippet of the recorded phone conversation that is widely alleged to be between Gloria Arroyo and election official Virgilio Garcillano ("Garci") features a woman discussing the election returns; the woman says (translated from Tagalog) "Hello? Hello? Hello Garci? So, will I still lead by more than 1M (million)?"
Shortly after the scandal broke, Randy David
Randy David
Randolf "Randy" S. David is a Filipino journalist, television host and a sociologist. He currently pens a weekly newspaper column for the Philippine Daily Inquirer...
, a nonpartisan columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
, cited two excerpts from the Ong recording in an article. Sheila Coronel
Sheila Coronel
Sheila S. Coronel is winner of the 2003 Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and the Creative Communication Arts. She is also one of the founders of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism...
, of the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism, was able to decipher some of the garbled parts of the tape, which allegedly implicated Arroyo in the scandal. David analyzed the tapes using ethnomethodology
Ethnomethodology
Ethnomethodology is an ethnographic approach to sociological inquiry introduced by the American sociologist Harold Garfinkel . Ethnomethodology's research interest is the study of the everyday methods people use for the production of social order...
and came to the same conclusions as did Coronel. His analysis described one of the speakers as a female coming across as a person speaking to her subordinate. Later, Arroyo acknowledged that it was her voice on the recording (Arroyo's "I'm Sorry" speech, 3.96MB MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
). However, no trial took place regarding Arroyo's intentions with her conversations in the recordings. According to Philippine law, both recordings are part of the public domain and are freely distributable.
In his editorial on June 12, 2005 for the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
, Randy David said,
- "On the surface it does look like an innocent exchange. The key word here is "nagco-correspond" – a gloss that refers to the practice of fixing canvass results at, say, the provincial level so that they are not at variance with precinct election returns or statement of votes for municipalities. The other gloss is the question "Kumpleto?" This is not a harmless inquiry. Given the kind of response it elicits, it is an urgent demand to make sure the doctoring is done with care".
David described Arroyo's subordinate as a "man...not in the business of counting votes; he produces them."
Sheila Coronel, described not only electoral fraud, but also the involvement of the independent watchdog group Namfrel. In her analysis, Coronel alleged that corruption was clearly evident. She also commented on the garbled portions of the tape, which were digitally enhanced for clarity. Allegedly, Arroyo whispered "Yung dagdag, yung dagdag" ("The addition, the addition"), implying fraud and mentioned Namfrel's sympathy for her. In her blog, she said,
- "The conversations, after all, provide damning proof that Garcillano was, in the words of a Comelec official, “the plotter for electoral fraud, the overall supervisor and commander in chief” of the manipulation of the count in favor of the administration. The recording points to systemic and institutional fraud perpetrated by the Comelec. Does this mean that the President, by confirming her phone calls to the commissioner, also provided, albeit indirectly, a virtual confirmation of the fraud?"
Other evidence
After the Ong allegations surfaced, many others also claimed to have evidence of cheating by the Arroyo administration; however some of those facing the additional allegations have not been given opportunity to provide solid evidence. Rashma Hali, an electoral official from BasilanBasilan
The Province of Basilan is an island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Basilan is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula...
, who claims that Arroyo is related to a kidnapping operation. Michael Zuce claimed that he was present in an incident where Arroyo allegedly bribed officials from the Commission on Elections. Retired general Francisco Gudani claimed that he can prove military involvement in Arroyo's alleged acts of electoral fraud. Roberto Verzola, leader of the Philippine Greens
Green Party of the Philippines
The Green Party of the Philippines is a concept initially proposed by the Philippine Greens, an environmentalist movement in the country. The party would be established when Green activists have managed to build organized mass constituencies and Philippine electoral processes have been sufficiently...
and an IT expert, also claimed that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
cheated and the citizens' election watchdog, National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections
National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections
The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is an election watchdog in the Philippines. It was founded by Jose S. Concepcion, Jr. NAMFREL was formally organized in October 1983 as an offshoot of the New Voters Registration Committee, which was formed in the 1960s. It currently has...
(Namfrel) was also involved. Jay Carizo, from the Institute for Popular Democracy, developed the election cheating indicators. Other sources claimed fraud in several other government positions, as well as the murder of political opponents by incumbents. There were also eyewitness claims as well. Loren Legarda
Loren Legarda
Loren Legarda is a Filipino broadcast journalist, environmentalist, and politician of Visayan ancestry, notable as the only female to top two senatorial elections . During the 2004 Philippine general election, she ran for the position of Vice-President as an Independent with Fernando Poe, Jr...
also claimed that she had evidence of being cheated by Noli de Castro
Noli de Castro
Manuel Leuterio de Castro, Jr. , better known as Noli de Castro or "Kabayan" Noli de Castro, was Vice President of the Philippines ....
also won the vice presidency, in 2004.
Fraud techniques
Electoral fraudElectoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
in the country was usually done by manipulating the ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
s. However, a new technique has arisen which just involves the manipulating the election return or ER, which is a summary of the votes in precincts. Evidence exist showing that the 32,000 sets of overprinted ERs of the Commission of Elections could manipulate an election by as much as three million votes. Such number of votes could change a result.
Effects on popular culture
Lines from the Ong tapes became popular cellphone ringtones after they were made public, especially among the youth during the beginning of their school year in June. A ringtone of the Hello Garci greeting quickly became one of the most downloaded ring tones in the world.The scandal would also be referenced by television personality Joey de Leon
Joey de Leon
José María Ramos de León, better known as Joey de Leon is a Filipino comedian, actor, and television presenter. He hosts the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga!. He is a member of the comedy trio Tito, Vic and Joey that has made several comedy movies and TV shows...
during a publicized feud with fellow television personality Willie Revillame
Willie Revillame
Willie Revillame is a television host, actor, and a recording artist in the Philippines.-Career:He is the host of TV5's primetime variety show Wil Time Bigtime...
surrounding allegations of rigging on ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...
's program Wowowee
Wowowee
Wowowee was a Philippine noon-time variety show broadcast by ABS-CBN. The show premiered on February 5, 2005, and aired live on weekdays and Saturdays. The show was also broadcast worldwide through ABS-CBN's The Filipino Channel...
Joey jokingly called upon the Department of Trade and Industry
Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines)
The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry , abbreviated as DTI is the executive department of the Philippine Government tasked to expand Philippine trade, industries and investments as the means to generate jobs and raise incomes for Filipinos...
to stop probing the Hello Garci scandal, and begin probing "Hello Pappy" instead, in reference to Willie's nickname.
Accountability and legitimacy
The evidence carried with it great consequences. The Ong tape were neutrally authenticated by foreign companies Uniquest (Australia) and Voice Identification (United States). Also, Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio BunyeIgnacio Bunye
Ignacio Rivera Bunye is a Filipino politician who is currently serving as the Monetary Board Member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas since July 3, 2008...
, as well as the president herself, acknowledged that it was indeed Arroyo's voice. The protesting public insisted that the tapes and CDs proved electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
, and that Arroyo cheated and rigged the 2004 elections. A sizable number of people wanted the results of the 2004 elections to be made invalid. The Supreme Court withheld judgment on the matter, refraining from actions toward invalidating the election. The administration said the Ong recordings were inadmissible in court, since the audio was taped without consent.
Initially, there were two possible outcomes for the government; Arroyo could have either resigned or be ousted through a constitutionally accepted process. These actions could only take place after addressing the current state of the faulty electoral system. The other outcome was for Arroyo to be cleared of any wrong doing. Neither outcome occurred, and hence no final course of action was taken to resolve Arroyo's legitimacy or to prevent electoral fraud. Those unrealized possible outcomes could have resolved definitely the legitimacy issue, and could have made Arroyo accountable for any wrongdoing. However, Philippine law and the country's flawed electoral rules complicate the legitimacy and accountability
Accountability
Accountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
problem. The law only mentions impeachment followed with a conviction as a possible way of removing certain serving legitimate government officials. The law however is unclear on how to prosecute and convict the sitting official if illegitimacy is the problem, due to allegations of vote rigging. Conrado de Quiros, a strong advocate of electoral reforms, argues that a special presidential election must be done in coinciding with midterm elections to resolve legitimacy.
- "It is not enough that the elections next year [2007 midterm elections] be turned into a referendum on Arroyo, it is imperative that the elections next year be turned into an occasion to vote for a real president."
- "At the very least, a loud and universal call for special presidential elections next year will let it be known that we are serious about doing something about screwing the voters. No, more than that, about the deceitfulness and lying that are spreading everywhere in this country faster than karaoke. In the end, none of the safeguards against cheating will matter if there is no public vigilance against the threat and no outrage against the commission."
Whether the special presidential elections occurs or not, a significant number of incumbent politicians who are allied with administration and who were elected during the tainted 2004 elections
Philippine general election, 2004
The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 10, 2004. The major coalitions that participated are the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan composed of parties that support the candidacy of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino ,...
may be deposed by voter backlash in the upcoming 2007 midterm elections
Philippine general election, 2007
Legislative and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 14, 2007. Positions contested included half the seats in the Senate, which are elected for six-year terms, and all the seats in the House of Representatives, who were elected for three-year terms...
, assuming the election to be free and fair. The electorate would use the upcoming election as a referendum on accountability and legitimacy for Arroyo and her political supporters. All of the seats of Arroyo's supporters in the House of Representatives, half of the Senate, and all local government positions are to be contested. De Quiros also describes this contest as a contest of "democracy vs. the cheaters".
Electoral system
The Philippines, according to experts, has a reputation for having political issues based on patronage politics and personality politics. To some experts, what is unique about the crisis is that it addresses the greater issue of electoral fraudElectoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
and an allegedly faulty election system that allows cheaters to win and get away with it. This is manifested in a humorous local saying that, "There are two types of people in elections. Those who win and those who get cheated out of office." Politically outspoken student groups mention that this is rather new for Philippine politics, and shows a gradual development of the voting public, the electorate.
According to pundits, the past 60 years of the Philippine history already has a reputation of electoral fraud, proven or otherwise. It is just that no one ever gets caught or punished. Analysts assert that the people have always been desensitized to their politicians cheating during elections. Accordingly, people generally doubt their leaders' mandates. The people are often suspicious of the winners, especially in close poll results, but do nothing. Constituents generally allow their leaders, assuming proven acts of cheating, to get away with it until the scandal erupted. Roberto Verzola supports punishing candidates guilty of fraud as the first step for electoral reforms. He said that, "the system can be slow or fast but there will still be cheating unless you punish the cheats." The reforms sought for the electoral system are still clouded with uncertainty.
Media coverage
Critics alleged that some media groups in broadcast and print were partisan in reporting the crisis. Alternative media, mostly in radio, made similar accusations, though some may be partisan themselves. These accusations though between them are not new, and are common during propaganda wars, as politically motivated groups use connections in media to promote their side. During the latter part of the crisis, this has changed as the media became generally more critical in delivery, which was beneficial for properly informing viewers about the many sides of the issues. The position of the press was thus kept in commentary.The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) initially warned the country's radio and TV networks of a possible forced closure on any network that airs the contents of the Ong tapes. In response, the International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is a global union federation of journalists' trade unions—the largest in the world. The organization aims to protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists...
(IFJ) condemned the Arroyo administration for attempting to restrict the airing of the Ong recordings. Eventually, the media were allowed to present the evidence to the public. It should be noted that three out of seven VHF TV channels are controlled by the government.
Attempts for an impeachment trial
On June 27, human rights lawyer Oliver Lozano filed an impeachment case against ArroyoGloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
on the grounds of "betrayal of public trust". Ten minutes later, Jose Rizaldo P. Lopez, a private citizen, filed a similar impeachment complaint. The mainstream pro-impeachment bloc in Congress advocated an amended version of the Lozano complaint.
On August 23, the justice committee delayed a vote on the impeachment complaints, instead focusing on a vote on procedures. The committee eventually sent Report 1012 to the rest of the House of Representatives. The report suggested that impeachment proceedings should cease altogether. Both chambers of Congress and the justice committee are dominated by Arroyo's coalition allies.
On September 6, the minority could not garner the 79 signatures to send the amended impeachment complaint to the Senate. A vote of Report 1012 commenced in favor of the report. Impeachment proceedings ceased, preventing a trial for Arroyo for at least one year.
The following year on January 16, Lozano re-filed the amended impeachment complaint. However, this came with stiff opposition from opposition members in the House, most notably House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, who threatened him with a complaint with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. This was after the opposition claims they plan to file a stronger complaint, calling Lozano's tactics "illegal and unethical", especially because the opposition did not consent to the filing of the complaint. In June, one whole year after the beginning of the scandal, several impeachment complaints were also filed by different groups.
Aftermath
After the failure of impeachment, a broad coalition of protesters engaged the government in peaceful protest for several days, which was reminiscent of the People Power Revolution of 1986. Some of those protesters included former president Corazon AquinoCorazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
and former vice president Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
Teofisto Tayko Guingona, Jr. was the Vice President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2004 during the first term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.-Early Life and Career:...
. Due to the lack of protesters that took part in common venues, the government's hard line approach in regulating traditional protesting venues in Mendiola and EDSA, and other factors, the protests did not affect the outcome in Congress. Thus, its power soon diminished. Lingering protests remain, accompanied by a campaign to present evidence directly to the electorate, since such evidence were restricted from use in trial. Arroyo eventually pressed on with certain reforms, albeit unrelated to the crisis, that included new taxes that will shrink government's fiscal deficit. The economy has been described as resilient, especially since its recovery was not affected by the scandal. Despite Arroyo's preservation of her hold onto authority, and a resilient economy, most analysts agree that the scandal has failed to address its root causes - pervasive electoral fraud conducted by candidates during elections, the faulty electoral system, and the Commission on Elections that encourages fraud. Accordingly, confidence in Arroyo has declined as explained by Amando Doronila of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
who said.
- "The quashing of the complaints is an empty victory for the administration. It merely demonstrated that the administration has the capacity to deploy the advantages of incumbency to save the president from being unseated. Until the president stands trial where she can defend herself and where it can be shown that the accusations are false and do not constitute impeachable offenses, it would be hard for her to regain public confidence and reestablish the legitimacy of her government."
The crisis has arguably ended with the failure of both the impeachment process and the people power movement to have Arroyo face a public trial
Public trial
Public trial or open trial is a trial open to public, as opposed to the secret trial. The term should not be confused with show trial.-United States:...
. However the scandal persists, with the electoral fraud issue still unresolved. This is a factor that led to the use of emergency powers
2006 state of emergency in the Philippines
The Philippines was under a state of emergency, announced by presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye on the morning of February 24, 2006, by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1017. This occurred after the government claimed that it foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt against the administration of...
by Arroyo in early 2006.
Injunction
On September 6, 2007, retired Philippine Court of AppealsPhilippine Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals of the Philippines is the Philippines' second highest judicial court, just after the Supreme Court. The court consists of 68 Associate Justices and 1 Presiding Justice...
Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
s Santiago Ranada and Oswaldo Agcaoili filed (a 15-page petition for prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
with temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction
Preliminary injunction
A preliminary injunction, in equity, is an injunction entered by a court prior to a final determination of the merits of a legal case, in order to restrain a party from going forward with a course of conduct or compelling a party to continue with a course of conduct until the case has been decided...
) with the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Supreme Court of the Philippines
The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...
to enjoin the September 7, 2007 Senate of the Philippines
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
(committee on national defense) wiretap probe (on the alleged wiretapping of telephone conversations of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano
Virgilio Garcillano
Virgilio Olivar Garcillano also known as Garci, is a former official of the Philippine Commission on Elections who allegedly was involved in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's alleged electoral fraud in the Hello Garci scandal....
inter alia). On February 12, 2008, the Supreme Court, in a preliminary voting, favored the airing of the Garci tapes, thus nullifying the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) order. But the final voting was scheduled on Friday.