Comelec chief tells Garcillano not to seek reappointment

Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos advised embattled former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano yesterday not to seek reappointment out of delicadeza (a sense of decency).

"If I were (Garcillano), I would write the President a letter thanking her for the opportunities to serve and, at the same time, tell her not to reconsider him for reappointment in the light of what is happening," Abalos said.

The Comelec chief said if Garcillano no longer seeks reappointment, the public will no longer believe he is clinging to his post.

Garcillano’s appointment to the Comelec was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) and the President must reappoint Garcillano if he is to remain installed at his Intramuros office.

Abalos said that, as of Friday last week, Garcillano was no longer connected with the Comelec because his appointment had lapsed.

The President did not issue any new appointments for Garcillano or Commissioner Manuel Barcelona, whose appointment was also bypassed by the CA.

Meanwhile, former solicitor general Frank Chavez urged Garcillano to come out and reveal the truth, offering to stand as Garcillano’s lawyer if he chose to tell all.

"You have obviously served your President well," Chavez said. "The time has now come for you to serve the people and the truth."

In a statement, Chavez said Garcillano should "openly admit your criminal conversation with (President Arroyo) and your compliance with her transcribed request to pad votes in her favor."

In an interview with The STAR, Chavez said he is willing to stand as legal counsel for Garcillano if the latter should seek his services.

Chavez said he is willing to be Garcillano’s lawyer pro bono (for free) if Garcillano requests it, "on certain conditions which only we will discuss."

Addressing Garcillano, Chavez said: "Your conversation with the President (is) now probably just dull echoes in your memory, but in your quiet, solitary moments when you confront your lonesome, you will realize that you have done a grievous wrong."

"You must now right that wrong," Chavez, who is the attorney of jueteng whistle-blower Sandra Cam, said to Garcillano. "It is not too late for you to redeem yourself before the Filipino people. Come out in the open and speak the truth."

Garcillano was tagged as the person alleged to be speaking with Mrs. Arroyo in a supposedly wiretapped conversation bared by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, lawyer Alan Paguia and former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Samuel Ong.

Ong disappeared shortly after he faced the media last Friday and said the master tapes of the wiretapped conversation were in his possession.

The President has steadfastly refused to comment on the matter.

Chavez said Garcillano seems to be following the President’s lead by remaining silent and keeping out of the public eye.

"The transcripts of the controversial tapes reveal the many crimes you have committed and the crimes you proposed to commit," Chavez told Garcillano.

According to Chavez, "the overwhelming evidence would surely prevail over (Garcillano’s) bare denials. You and your co- conspirators have been caught on tape."

Under the Rules of Court, audiotaped evidence is not admissible in court; however, transcripts of such recordings are admissible in court. Evidence obtained by illicit means, such as illegal wiretapping, is also inadmissible in court and cannot be used as evidence in any legal proceedings.

Chavez told Garcillano "now that you have been used, you are being discarded like a piece of rag. You have not been reappointed to the Comelec and no such reappointment is forthcoming."

He reminded Garcillano that he is now vulnerable and expendable.

"I dread to hear one day that tracks have been covered at your extreme prejudice," he said to Garcillano in what seemed to be an appeal to the Comelec commissioner’s conscience. "I do not wish to believe that you have allowed yourself to be used — not only to steal votes but to steal the soul of the nation."

Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran said Garcillano "should not be allowed to leave the country or go into hiding. The investigation into the tapes scandal has yet to fully unfold and Garcillano is a key player." — Michael Punongbayan, Jess Diaz and Mayen Jaymalin