Junior officers asked to ‘spill the beans’ on ’04 vote rigging

Come forward and help us.

The new leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) urged junior officers who have knowledge about the reported massive vote-rigging in last year’s elections to shed their fears and come forward.

Ample protection will be given to those who "spill the beans" on their superiors who were supposedly involved in poll fraud, especially in Mindanao, said AFP Inspector General Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga, who heads the military fact-finding board created to look into the controversy.

In an interview, Mayuga also guaranteed full confidentiality as well as the safety of the junior officers.

"What we are saying is that (the junior officers) should come out because in fairness to everybody, I think the Armed Forces is also being scrutinized here. Those who say they have information, come forward, tell us and we will handle it fairly," Mayuga said.

He cautioned the probe "will end up nowhere" if those in the know remain silent.

"In any civilized society, if you really want to expose the truth then be ready also to face the consequences… that’s the way it goes," Mayuga said.

Mayuga also hinted that immunity could be granted to the whistle-blowing junior officers.

"I think the Armed Forces has been very fair to everybody, especially to the officers and men. We have a process in place… a grievance mechanism… that’s why this fact-finding board has been created to determine the professional conduct of our officers and men."

Newly installed AFP chief Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga echoed Mayuga’s call, saying this would effectively address the proliferation of shadowy groups within the three major branches of the military.

"We welcome people to come out in the open so that we can (see) things better. The better thing to do is for all of us to come out into the open and let’s start together… find solutions for all these problems that we have to solve," Senga told Camp Aguinaldo reporters.

Mayuga said Army Capts. Valentino Lopez and Marlon Mendoza are set to be called in within the next few days to share whatever information they have.

Lopez was earlier identified by a provincial director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Zamboanga as the one who tried to bribe her with P50 million reportedly to ensure the victories of President Arroyo and Zamboanga City mayoral candidate Lepeng Wee.

Lepeng failed in his bid. Mrs. Arroyo’s win was cast in doubt after wiretapped recordings of her purported conversations about electoral fraud with former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano were exposed last June.

An impeachment hearing is underway at the House of Representatives investigating the "Hello Garci" tapes and jueteng payoffs against her and members of the First Family. Garcillano has yet to appear before the legislative inquiry and is believed to have fled the country.

Mendoza, for his part, testified before the Senate looking into the jueteng scandal that Garcillano had bragged about suspected gambling lord Rodolfo Pineda giving P300 million to the President’s campaign kitty to ensure her victory.

"We have not set a date for them (Lopez and Mendoza) to appear but my assurance to the general public (is that) we are trying our level best to fast-track everything without losing sight of our priority concern which is of substance and accuracy," Mayuga said.

At the same time Mayuga said the four officers mentioned in the wiretapped conversation between Mrs. Arroyo and Garcillano have already denied talking to or meeting with the missing ex-poll executive.

They are Army chief Maj. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Army 1st Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, Philippine Military Academy (PMA) deputy superintendent Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani and retired Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko.

Of the four, Kyamko and Habacon appeared before the board while Gudani and Esperon submitted their respective sworn affidavits. Both Esperon and Gudani are expected to be called by the fact-finding board to further elaborate on their affidavits.

Mayuga, meanwhile, admitted that so far, the board has yet to obtain positive information on the involvement of military personnel in the supposed rigging of the May 2004 polls.