100ARAW.com

Up to now, a dark cloud of doubt hovers over the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration. But it is less about People Power 2 (twas a triumphant exercise of the sovereign will which was wasted by Arroyo) and more about the fraudulent 2004 presidential elections.

The cheating by President Arroyo was so brazen. She was found to have made incriminating phone calls to then-Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, with military spies said to have recorded the calls.

Thanks to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism blog which has long compiled and kept the materials, we can revisit the issue and remind the nation of this unresolved crime which Arroyo has so far evaded by hook or by crook:

• Hello Garci tapes
• Hello Garci transcripts

Never in the history of the Philippines has a sitting president been caught on tape discussing the results of the elections with a Comelec official. Arroyo holds that “distinction” and her place in history books as a presidential fraud is secure.

The scandal led Filipinos to poke fun at Arroyo who proudly claimed until those days that she won over opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. with a margin of one million votes. Remember too the Hello Garci ringtones which Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez tried but failed to ban from being downloaded and used by the public.

Yes, Arroyo said “I’m sorry” but her loyalists in the House of Representatives defeated through mere numerical superiority the impeachment complaint that sought to hold her accountable for stealing the 2004 presidential elections.  The issue remains unresolved and we have to wait until Arroyo relinquishes the presidency so we could sue her.

We must remember Hello Garci especially now as we prepare to elect someone to replace Arroyo. May bago bang Garci? Does this Garci know how to unlock the secrets of the automated election system?

We must make sure Arroyo and any new Garci won’t do anything like or worse than Hello Garci. Otherwise, an opposition victory won’t happen. Even those who claim that their candidate would just cruise his way to the presidency should take a good look again at Hello Garci and re-learn the lessons of how this administration would do practically anything to perpetuate itself in power.