SUSPENDED lawyer Allan Paguia asked the
Commission on Elections on Wednesday to investigate alleged
election fraud involving former elections commissioner Virgilio
Garcillano.
In the petition, Paguia named President
Arroyo and Garcillano, who is accused of masterminding cheating
in the May 2004 presidential elections, as the respondents.
Paguia said the two are guilty of electoral
fraud and violations of the poll body’s Rules of Procedures.
Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos questioned
the timing of Paguia’s petition
"Why only now? They have had their
opportunities in the past. Why now when we are busy for the
coming elections," said a visibly irked Abalos.
He said it is impossible to conduct an
investigation before the May 14 elections.
"We have no more time for investigation. What
do you expect us to do? We are too busy with the elections.
Malamang iyan after na ng eleksyon," he replied.
The "Hello Garci" wiretapped conversations
between Arroyo and Garcillano were considered by the opposition
as proof that the Arroyo camp cheated in the 2004 polls.
In the recordings, Arroyo was heard asking
Garcillano if she would lead by a million votes. "It could not
be less than 1 million," she was also heard saying in the
recordings which triggered calls for her resignation.
Garcillano has appeared before a House
inquiry but a report issued by five committees that investigated
the "Hello Garci" scandal virtually cleared him of wrongdoing.
Paguia, a former lawyer of President Joseph
Estrada, has admitted preparing a tape but said it was not the
same one that Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye made public on June
6, 2005.
Bunye has presented two versions, one of
which he said was original and the other spliced.
Bunye has identified Paguia as annotator in
the "spliced" version of the tape.
Paguia was suspended from law practice by the Supreme Court
after he said the tribunal was ignorant of the Constitution when
it upheld the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration. –
Gerard Anthony Naval
