Garcillano: There is no 'Garci'

MANILA, Philippines - There is no “Garci,” and there was no cheating.

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Virgilio Garcillano insisted he was not involved in manipulating the results of the 2004 national elections to make then presidential bet Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo win.

In an interview with GMA-7’s “24 Oras” at his farm in Bukidnon, Garcillano said he did not receive any directive from Arroyo to manipulate the election.

“Was there any evidence shown that I even attempted or tried or actually cheated for the president in that election? None. For the last few years that I have been attacked every now and then by media and the politicians, I would like to emphasize that that’s what I do not like,” he noted.

Garcillano also claimed that he does not want to join politics “because I do not like the way politics is being done.” He ran for congressman in 2007 but lost.

Garcillano resigned from the Comelec after he was allegedly wiretapped plotting with Mrs. Arroyo to manipulate the election results in Mindanao.

The alleged poll rigging came to be known as the “Hello, Garci” scandal. The controversy continued to haunt the Arroyo administration until she stepped down last June 30.

Garcillano had described the tapes as “baloney,” as Arroyo had never called him “Garci.”

“There is no Garci,” he claimed. He admitted talking with Arroyo but not about cheating. 

He said the former president just inquired about her lead over her closest rival then, the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr.         

“’Bakit ang result ng aking boto (Why is my votes) over FPJ is already reduced to 89,200?”Garcillano said, quoting Arroyo.

He said he just assured Arroyo that he would “look into it.”

“It was not improper (to talk with the president) because anybody can talk to any government official,” he said.

Garcillano added that he regrets having joined the Comelec as the scandal had scarred him for life. He lamented that every time there is poll irregularity, his name would always be mentioned.