Erap camp gathering proof of electronic fraud

MANILA, Philippines - Deposed President Joseph Estrada has ordered his lawyer to gather evidence to prove that last Monday’s election was marred by “electronic electoral fraud.”

George Garcia, Estrada’s lawyer, said yesterday the compact flash cards used in the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines might have been pre-programmed to make certain candidates win.

“We have strong evidence that there were flash cards that were pre-programmed to reflect desired results instead of real results or real votes,” he said.

Garcia said they will submit the evidence of irregularities to Congress when it convenes as a National Board of Canvassers on May 31.

“The duty of Congress is not ministerial, it is not mechanical,” he said. “Their duty is to find out the truth and protect the sovereign will and voice of the Filipino people.”

However, Garcia said Estrada has no plans to file an election protest should Congress determine that he lost the election.

“He will accept the mandate of the people, whatever it is,” he said.

“But the point is how can you accept something which is not yet official? We will bring our case before Congress when Congress convenes on May 31.”

Garcia said they doubted that Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III had posted a lead of more than five million votes against Estrada.

“We are doubting that because there are many incidents that transpired. We will reveal that in Congress. Definitely at this point former President Estrada did not lose,” he said.

Garcia said it is astounding that Estrada did not win in his hometown of San Juan.

“There are things that we cannot believe and we are continuously gathering evidence,” he said.

“This is not for us to prove that perhaps President Estrada won. What we are saying is: Are these results credible?

“We are trying to avoid an electronically determined president of the Philippines. We have two weeks to gather all the evidence.”

Garcia said they will ask Congress not to rely too much on the Certificates of Canvass received electronically.

“We will move that all the flash disks be taken, and if possible for Congress to conduct a parallel manual count in certain areas,” he said.

“They can always do that. I am speaking for President Estrada, not for the party. What we are saying here is that we cannot believe the huge lead.”

Garcia said Congress must require that not only election results are turned over to them but also all the compact flash cards distributed nationwide so they can be examined for possible pre-programming.

“Congress will be the last bastion to ferret out the real votes that were cast,” he said.

Garcia said Congress under the Constitution has the sole authority to canvass the votes for president and the vice-president.

“When the Commission on Elections (Comelec) speaks, it sends different signals to the people,” he said.

“We do not want to preempt the performance or the function of Congress. I hope the Comelec will stop issuing unofficial results on presidential and vice-presidential candidates because if the result released by Comelec will not tally (with) the results as may be canvassed by the Congress of the Philippines…

“Which among the two will be followed? The credibility of one body will be destroyed. So, let us wait for the proper time when Congress will canvass the results for the president and vice president.”

Garcia said Estrada stands firm that he will not concede.

“He said it is very easy to accept defeat. But we need to know the truth because of several issues that have to be answered because of the results of automation.”

Garcia cited “irregularities which we believe will reflect in the credibility of the elections,” particularly in Masbate where “the results being conducted in the random manual audit did not tally with the automated results.”

Garcia said some people must be investigated in connection with the alleged electronic fraud.

“I think there are candidates who had conceded and they will withdraw it,” he said.

Margaux Salcedo, Estrada’s spokeswoman, said reports reaching them showed electoral fraud in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Visayas and Metro Manila.

“President Estrada is the champion of the masses,” she said.

“It goes without saying that we would like to see his victory but more than this, we are after the higher purpose of ensuring that in this election the results tallied reflect the true will of the people.”

Jambi: ‘Electronic Garci’ took place

Sen. Jamby Madrigal exposed yesterday what she called “Electronic Garci” allegedly carried out by pre-programmed compact flash cards in favor of certain candidates in last Monday’s elections.

In a joint conference with presidential candidates Nicanor Perlas and JC de los Reyes at her residence in New Manila, Quezon City, Madrigal said they had not conceded to the validity and integrity of the “unproven and flawed automated system.”

“We have decided to put the Filipino people’s interest at the forefront,” she said.

“We have put our political agenda aside. There has been a constant and steady flow of reports from the field that have suggested that there were considerable problems with automated election.”

Madrigal, Perlas and De los Reyes asked the Comelec to clarify how it managed to recall, replace and reprogram the 76,000 CF cards in a few days.

“What happened to the supposed recalled flash cards, how sure (are we) the same flash cards were not pre-programmed to favor particular candidates,” she asked.

De los Reyes said systematic cheating was the case of Ang Kapatiran candidate Grace Rinoza Plazo from Nasugbo, Batangas who initially got 11,894 votes, but when the results were transmitted she got only 47 votes from the whole province of Batangas.

“The election result defied logic, in my case I got only 242 votes right in Olongapo where I garnered 40,000 votes when I ran for councilor,” he said.

De los Reyes also expressed surprised that his votes remained at 39,000 when he has the support of the Catholic Church.

“There are about 76 million Roman Catholics in the country, about 300,000 are made up of clergy and the religious; even if only 20 percent of them would vote for me that’s already 60,000 votes, but where are the votes?” he asked.

The three presidential candidates have joined forces to document and present to the public what they claimed was “Electronic Garci” to prove their allegations.

They also called for a full manual audit of the ballots as soon as possible.

“There may be operators similar to the Garci scandal and all citizens must pray, watch and act to save this election,” De los Reyes said.

In a statement, Perlas, Madrigal and De los Reyes said they are investigating the conduct of last Monday’s elections to check on incidents of highly questionable cases of erroneous transmission of votes and other things that occurred in voting precincts nationwide.

“Since the 11th of May, the media have been asking us why we have not yet conceded and why one of us retracted an earlier concession,” read the statement. “The question is not whether we should concede to any particular candidate but whether to concede or not to the validity and integrity of an unproven and flawed automated election system.

“In the recent euphoria surrounding the perceived success of these automated elections, we may sound like voices crying out in the wilderness, but ours is a voice of caution and reason, a stand based on principle rather than on personal politics and agenda.

Madrigal said they have set up a website, www.integridadsahalalan.com where voters and other people who witnessed incidents of electoral fraud can report their complaints.

“We’re asking questions at this point,” she said.

Perlas said things are not as white as the Comelec has projected.

“There is evidence of massive fraud,” he said. “And we want to look into these many evidence. That is our mission.”

Madrigal said the matter is about the integrity of the elections, not about them lagging behind in the Comelec count.

“There are flaws in the system and there were irregularities, there were discrepancies in the transmission,” she said.

“We want to establish our stand of not taking the popular view but standing for the Filipino people. One thing that they were never able to answer is why they disabled the verification process in the PCOS machines.”

Perlas said that he and his Partido ng Marangal na Sambayanan were receiving so many reports from across the country of incidents of irregularities in the reading and transmission of votes from precincts nationwide.

“We’re rushing this as soon as possible,” he said.

 “We collate them as they come in. So many things are coming in.”

Bro. Eddie complains of electoral fraud

Presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva and his Bangon Pilipinas Party is set to investigate documented reports from their members that votes for their candidates were not counted in the last elections.

Speaking to reporters at the Quezon Memorial Circle yesterday, Bangon Pilipinas vice-presidential candidate Perfecto Yasay said they have received complaints from a growing number of voters that their choice of candidates in last Monday’s elections has not been counted by the PCOS machines.

“They claim under oath that in the precincts where they voted, election results show a lesser number of votes obtained by Bangon candidates than the actual number of votes cast in their favor,” he said.

The STAR gathered that Villanueva garnered zero votes even in precincts where many of his supporters voted for him.

“What happened to our votes?” Villanueva asked. “We will seek justice for this. Our lawyers will definitely look into this matter.”

Yasay said the complaint of electoral fraud could ultimately involve millions of votes.

“It is a matter of great and urgent national importance not only because it impacts on the right of suffrage of the citizenry but if confirmed to be true, constitutes a grave threat to Philippine democracy,” he said.

Bangon Pilipinas lawyers are studying possible remedies to uphold and safeguard the rights of the people and submit recommendations as quickly as possible, Yasay said.

Rosales: Polls have again given hope to Filipinos

Archbishop of Manila Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales believes the success of last Monday’s elections has again given hope to the Filipino people.

In a message to some 20 priests during a noontime thanksgiving Mass at the Manila Cathedral, Rosales said it is worthwhile to hope again, not just dwell on the shadows of darkness.

“It is good to be simple. It is good to be humble,” he said. “It’s good to forgive ourselves once more.”

However, Rosales said it was not a perfect election.

“Yes, we have to admit there were flaws… it wasn’t perfect and I don’t think (there’s such a thing) but by and large it was a successful election,” he said.

Rosales congratulated all those who had played significant roles in ensuring the success of the elections.

The people must now help their leaders in addressing the country’s perennial problems – poverty, unemployment, corruption and peace, he added.

Among the priests in the Mass were Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado, Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, Military Ordinate Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Media Office director Monsignor Pedro Quitorio III.

Others present in the Mass were Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, Armed Forces chief Gen. Delfin Bangit, Philippine National Police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting chair Henrietta de Villa, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and his daughter Gwen who ran for senator under the Nacionalista Party. — With Perseus Echeminada, Rainier Allan Ronda, Jerry Botial, Evelyn Macairan, Sheila Crisostomo