Mayuga: 'Not one witness' directly knew generals cheated

The head of the military fact-finding board that investigated allegations generals mentioned in the "Hello Garci" tapes had aided cheating in the 2004 elections said “not one witness" claimed to directly know the high-ranking military officials were indeed involved. “As to the four senior officers mentioned in the alleged wiretapped conversations, not one witness testified of any direct knowledge whether or not they participated in the election fraud, in any election fraud," said Navy chief Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga. Mayuga read Friday night part of the report over government TV station Channel 4. He led the probe in his capacity as former Inspector General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The four generals mentioned in the alleged wiretapped conservations between President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano were: Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, then head of the Army’s special operations command; retired Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, then Southern Command chief; Southcom chief Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon; and, retired Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, then former 1st Marine Brigade commander. It was implied in the “Hello Garci" tapes that Esperon, Kyamko and Habacon helped in cheating of the elections to ensure President Arroyo’s victory, while Gudani supposedly supported an opponent of the President. In a televised announcement over government-run Channel 4, Mayuga said the board recommended for further investigation some military officials who committed unprofessional conduct during the elections. “The board has been able to identify certain lapses in procedures in the conduct of Comelec deputized duties as well as irregularities of some military personnel and thereby recommended corrective actions," he said. The corrective actions, Mayuga said, include the reassessment of the “utilization of military personnel as members of the board of election inspectors and the clustering of precincts and, second, “restudy the utilization of military camps for canvassing of votes". Mayuga said the third corrective actions say Comelec deputization should be by names, and fourth, “policies regarding AFP participation in future electoral exercises" should be formulated. “And fifth, conduct of further investigation to determine the specific culpability of some AFP personnel on the alleged unprofessional conduct in the performance of election duties," said Mayuga. Mayuga noted that some of the 70 military officials and civilians invited as resource persons observed that close to 300 military personnel were trained and utilized by Comelec as members of the board of elections inspectors. He said the resource persons also observed that “for security reasons and due to limited election-related personnel and resources, canvassing of votes was conducted inside two [military] camps and the assistance of the [military] was solicited in the clustering of precincts in some areas." He also said the resource persons noted that “military personnel served as security officers and escorts of election officials, inspectors and personnel, and safeguarded polling places, ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia." Former AFP chief Gen. Efren Abu ordered the investigation on senior military officials after their names were mentioned in the “Hello Garci" tapes. He tasked Mayuga, who was then AFP inspector general, to head the board. Mayuga, who was appointed Navy chief last December, said he was putting his reputation at stake in the report. Administration critics have insinuated that the delay in the release of the report was because the military was trying to whitewash the results of the investigation. “In summary, despite certain limitations the board carried out its tasks to the best of its ability in accordance to the acceptable standards and proper procedures inviting 17 individuals in the process, lending credibility to the fact finding effort," he said. He said the board’s report comprised 15 pages, excluding the annex documents. Mayuga said he revealed the investigation’s results based on a directive from Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga dated February 10. ‘DEFENSOR’S REPORT’ Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor preempted early Wednesday the official public disclosure of the contents of the Mayuga report. Even before Mayuga’s announcement Defensor already said the investigating panel found evidence of "partisan participation" among the three high-ranking AFP officials. He said the findings could serve as basis for a preliminary investigation, which he hoped would take place immediately. Now that the findings have been released, Defensor said all men in the military service should leave the controversy surrounding the AFP leadership behind. All distracted AFP personnel, Defensor said, should buckle down and get back to work. Mayuga's investigation centered on the military officials mentioned in the "Hello, Garci!" wiretap recordings. Among the most controversial contents of the recordings were the purported discussions between Garcillano and Mrs. Arroyo about manipulating the 2004 election results. The five joint committees in the House of Representatives have already completed their final draft report on the “Hello, Garci!" controversy, and recommended punishments against Garcillano and his coddlers. Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye allayed fears that the Palace covered up the involvement of the four generals in election fraud. He said President Arroyo ordered the AFP to immediately release the report with the hope that the potentially deepening rifts in the Armed Forces would be mended now that the four generals have been cleared. Defensor earlier said among the recommendations included in the Mayuga report is to strip the Comelec of its authority to deputize the military forces during elections. TIMING Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez questioned the timing of the release of the Mayuga report, saying Malacañang could be using news management skills “knowing no major newspaper will have issues on Maundy Thursday and Holy Friday?" Golez, a former National Security Adviser of President Arroyo, said the delay of the publication casts doubts on the authenticity of the report. “Presuming that the generals [implicated in the poll fraud] are innocent, withholding the release for months was most unfair to them as they were left twisting the wind during those months," Golez said. If Malacanang hoped the issue will die, Golez said, “they should not be too confident the issue will not resurrect." The Mayuga report contains the result of the investigation of the Armed Forces on the alleged involvement of military men in the 2004 election fraud. Senator Rodolfo Biazon, meanwhile, refused to accept the contents of the so-called Mayuga report. Biazon, chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, said he would scrutinize the findings of Mayuga. Biazon said he expected the Mayuga investigation to clear the four generals. The senator said he would demand a copy of the “complete" report. “Not just the cover report or the conclusion. I want a copy of the complete report, including annexes," he said in an interview with GMA 7's DZBB. “I want a copy of the statements of the 72 witnesses allegedly investigated by the AFP. I want to examine their statements. I want to know what questions were asked. I want to know how the investigation was conducted," he added. A number of junior soldiers have approached Biazon and expressed willingness to testify in the investigation his committee was conducting on the “Hello, Garci!" wiretap controversy. Two military officials –Gudani and Lt. Col. Alexander Balutan, also from the 1st Marine Brigade – already testified before the Biazon panel. Gudani earlier told senators he was pulled out from Marawi City, Lanao del Sur – his team's base camp – two days after the May 10, 2004 elections and recalled to Manila by Esperon for unknown reasons. Reports indicated tampering of the election results in Marawi City started after Gudani's untimely pullout. Biazon, a former AFP chief of staff, said he would check if the soldiers who wanted to testify in the Senate hearings were among those investigated by the Mayuga panel. He also questioned the lengthy period the Mayuga report was kept from the public, noting that the investigation started in June 2005 and findings were submitted to President Arroyo as early as February this year. “It's April now, why did it take them so long to make this public?" he said. “I don't want to make any conclusions now but … I'd like to know how the investigation was conducted…[and] did they take into consideration a statement from one of the field commanders during the Marines standoff [last February 26] that they want clean elections? I’d like to know," he said. President Arroyo ordered the AFP leadership to make public the Mayuga report on Tuesday, before the opening of her two-day religious retreat at the Mansion House in Baguio City. - GMANews.TV