5 SAF men detail operation to cover up for 2004 'poll fraud'

Five Special Action Force (SAF) policemen who belonged to the team that broke into the Batasan Pambansa in 2005 submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) their affidavits detailing the operation to allegedly cover up for the massive cheating in the 2004 presidential polls. One affidavit contained the statements of Police Officer 2 Rudy Gahar, PO 2 Alan Layugan and PO1 Norman Duco; the other contained those of PO2 Trifon Laxamana Jr. and PO2 Rodel Tabangin. The five men belonged to a team led by Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago. At the time of the break-ins in January and February 2005, Santiago headed the Philippine National Police's (PNP) SAF Force Intelligence and Investigation Division (FIID). The five SAF policemen may have submitted separate affidavits, but the two documents contained overlapping statements. The five unanimously said that they decided to come out to provide information to establish that cheating marred the 2004 presidential elections, which was won by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. "We stand by the contents of our affidavit and we are ready to face any inquiry that will be conducted in any legal forum by providing all we know about the operations in Batasang Pambansa which we were ordered to undertake which we deemed very essential in establishing the election fraud committed during the 2004 Presidential Election," the five said. "We are therefore respectfully submitting this joint affidavit not for our personal redemption from our misdemeanor, but, to serve as a light for us to see the truth behind the elections in 2004 with our fervent prayer that the truth shall set us free," they added. Feared for their lives In explaining why it took them more than six years before revealing the so-called special operation, the five said they feared for their lives and those of their families. "We decided to keep our silence for fear of our lives and that of our families since we believe that those behind the orders to undertake the same were already in power. That our [commanding officer] PSUPT Santiago, thought that the only way we can survive the possible repercussion of our action is to get out of SAF, stay together and guard each others back." "We realized that our group has become vulnerable from those who wants us to spill out the beans after two members of the team were left in SAF went through an unfortunate experience and a subject of a 'Tag of War,'" they added. Batasan break-ins In their affidavits, the five SAF policemen said that on Jan. 20, 2005, Santiago personally selected them and other men "to join a risky and highly confidential operation to take place at a later time." They added that the break-ins were carried out on January 23 and 29, and February 5 and 27. They said that they did not know the purpose of the operation because they were only given instructions on a "need-to-know" basis. "The only order of Col. Santiago is to prepare ourselves with complete combat equipment (Full Battle Gear) while waiting for further instruction," they said. A convoy of four vehicles took part in the operation on the evening of Jan. 23. The convoy included an armored van with PNP-SAF markings, a Nissan Frontier, the private car of a certain Inspector Ramon Garcia, the Ford Escape of Santiago. The group of Gahar, Layugan, and Duco were on board the armored van while the group of Laxamana and Tabangin were on board the Frontier. "Upon arrival inside the Batasan Complex, our vehicle stopped near the barracks of the In-House Security located near the SAF Barracks insidde the Batasan Complex. We were given instruction to check and monitor the movements of the house security," said Laxamana and Tabangin. The five men said they saw the arrival of then SAF director Chief Supt. Marcelino Franco. Gahar's group said that Franco went to the office of police Chief Inspector Ferdinand Ortega, head of the SAF unit assigned to augment the security at the Batasan Complex. They also said they saw one "El Bello" at the complex. The five said that after the meeting, the convoy went to the residence at Brookside Hills Subdivision in Cainta, Rizal. The house was owned by a certain "Bello," who is allegedly veteran election lawyer Roque Bello. Five civilians then came out of the house and loaded "numerous cigarette boxes inside the closed van." "We hurriedy returned to the Batasan Complex afterwards and we were again advised to position ourselves near the [House of Representatives] security barracks," said Laxamana and Tabangin. ER switching For their part, Gahar's group said they parked the armored van at a parking area of the Batasan's south wing where about five unidentified civilians unloaded the boxes that came from the Brookside residence. The civilians later returned to the van "carrying a set of boxes and immediately loaded it inside the closed van then took another set of boxes in exchange for what they got. This went on until all the boxes were replaced." It was at this point where the original ERs stored at the House of Representatives were being replaced with fake ones that were allegedly manufactured at the Bello residence. A similar operation happened on Jan. 29, the second break-in. Gahar, Layugan, and Duco said that it was only during the third break-in on February 5 that they discovered that what was being stolen from the Batasan building were ERs. "Because of the very warm condition inside the closed van, I (PO1 Gahar) got hold of an opened envelope from one of the boxes and used it as a fan. Out of curiosity, we looked at the content of it and we were amazed upon discovering that the boxes brought by Bello's group to the van taken from the inside of the Batasan building all contained Election Returns," said the affidavit of Gahar's group. A fourth break-in was also carried out on Feb. 27, 2005. Poll fraud In their affidavits, the five men said they realized they committed wrongdoing when actress Susan Roces asked the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) if she can pursue the election protest of her late husband, Fernando Poe Jr., on his behalf. Poe, who died in December 2004, was the closest contender of Mrs. Arroyo during the 2004 polls. "We started to panic when the break-in and switching of fake Election Returns inside the Batasan Complex started to come out in the news. We realized that we committed a grave error in the Batasan Operation when Susan Roces (the wife of Fernando Poe Jr.) had petitioned the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) to replace her husband in the electoral protest he had initiated," said the five men. The so-called Batasan break-ins were supposedly carried out in anticipation of a recount to be requested by Roces. But the protest did not gain ground and a recount never materialized because the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET, junked the Poe election protest in early 2005. Last week, the five men and Santiago submitted to the Justice Department at least 38 of the 6,000 original election returns (ERs) that were pilfered from the Batasan complex. The DOJ and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) are set to begin a joint inquiry into the allegations of cheating in the 2004 and 2007 elections. — RSJ, GMA News