The Elusive Garci

Since the “Hello, Garci” scandal erupted in June, the one key actor in the controversy remains elusive and is danger of being forgotten.

Former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, accused of committing poll fraud in the May 2004 elections based on his phone conversations which were illegally wiretapped, had gone into hiding since the scandal broke out. Reports varied on his whereabouts, such as, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Marawi City, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and from as far as the United Kingdom and the United States. As of press time, Garcillano actual whereabouts remain in the level of hearsay.

Except for early reports on the scandal and a July 6 Philippine Daily Inquirer exclusive phone interview, news reports about the reclusive Garcillano were largely on his role for allegedly committing election fraud and his whereabouts. Through its consistent coverage, the press, to a large extent, was able to show that Garcillano was needed to clear the allegations, and his disappearance could not have been made without the help of some government officials.

In July and early August, the press focused on Garcillano’s possible whereabouts and the government’s response (or lack of it) in finding Garcillano. The July 7 Philippine Star report, for example, said that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) “urged” Garcillano to come out and answer the charges (“Where is Garci? In Cebu, says wife; in Marawi, says opposition,” p. 2). The Inquirer reported on August 13 that the Palace “has denied that it has Garcillano under custody but it also stated that it will not exert extra effort to find him” (“Garcillano sighted recently in Malaysia, says NBI chief”).

When Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin confirmed on August 17 that Garcillano took a chartered flight for Singapore on July 14 and from there left for the United Kingdom the next day, the press was quick to ask government authorities: How was Garcillano able to elude authorities hunting him and leave the country?

The “Insider” on August 18 quoted Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. saying that Garcillano did not take a commercial flight and his name was not listed in the passenger manifest of the flights that left for Singapore on July 14. The “Insider” report, however, said that even if Garcillano did take a chartered flight to Singapore, he should have still passed through the airport immigration officials. On the same day, “24 Oras” quoted opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson as saying that Garcillano could have possibly escape authorities with the help of his nephew, Capt. Val Lopez, who allegedly has connections with the BID.

According to reports, Garcillano left for Singapore using a Learjet owned by Subic International Air Charter Inc. (Subic Air). Subic Air, according to an August 19 Inquirer report, was owned by Arroyo allies. The brother of Subic Air chair Jose Ch. Alvarez, Palawan Rep. Antonio Alvarez belongs to Arroyo’s political party, Kampi. Rep. Alvarez also endorsed the second complaint filed by lawyer Jose Rizalino Lopez, which has been denounced by the opposition as a sham. Board member Jose Antonio, on the other hand, serves as a special envoy of the government to the People’s Republic of China, the front-page report said (“GMA allies own Subic Air”).

Another Inquirer front-page report on the same day quoted lawmakers, including former administration allies Gilbert Remulla and Robert Ace Barbers, as saying that “a high-profile former election officer like Garcillano could not just easily elude government agents tracking him since June” without government’s help (“Great escape: massive gov’t conspiracy”).

The Inquirer was able to interview Garcillano before the wiretapping scandal broke out. The poll official, in the said August 28 feature article, bemoaned the widespread election fraud in Mindanao, claiming that he could have helped solve it because he lived in the region for more than 40 years (“I’ve been aspiring to be a commissioner since Marcos!”, Sunday Inquirer Magazine).

Ironically, the person who boasted he could do something about the perennial massive election fraud in Mindanao would later figure in an alleged massive poll fraud in the same area.#

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