EDITORIAL - Nothing more to say

He has nothing more to say on the “Hello, Garci” scandal, according to Virgilio Garcillano. The former Commission on Elections commissioner issued the statement in reaction to calls for him to disclose what he knows about allegations of cheating in the 2004 general elections.

Garcillano is no Lintang Bedol, who has emerged from several years of hiding and has started serving a six-month sentence for losing election returns in Maguindanao in the 2007 polls. Authorities have presented three witnesses to corroborate Bedol’s allegations. Bedol has expressed readiness to testify about poll manipulation in 2007, and even in 2004. If the government wants to finally unearth the truth about the presidential race in 2004, it will have to depend on witnesses other than Garcillano and obtain supporting documents elsewhere.

From the start, Garcillano has denied being the “Garci” addressed by a woman who sounded like then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a phone conversation recorded on tape supposedly by military intelligence agents in 2004. But Garcillano also apparently tried to capitalize on his notoriety, identifying himself as “Garci” when he ran for Congress in Bukidnon in the 2007 midterm elections. He lost.

If Garcillano had a story to tell, he would’ve talked by now. When the vote-rigging scandal erupted, he went into hiding – an act that is generally seen in this country as an indication of guilt. But the “Garci” tape was not officially authenticated, Arroyo held on to power, the scandal died down, and Garcillano was emboldened to emerge from hiding and even seek public office.

Today, with Arroyo no longer enjoying presidential immunity from lawsuits, cases against her are piling up, and allegations that the vote was rigged in her favor in 2004 are being revived. If the administration wants the truth about the “Hello, Garci” case, it should be prepared to do so even without the help of Garcillano. Bedol appears eager to talk, and he might have evidence to support his story. Instead of pinning hopes on Garcillano’s testimony, the government should prepare for his likely prosecution for manipulating the vote.