The heavy security, the TV reporter annotated, was because of the reported switching of election returns that happened after 2004 elections.
In July 2008, I did for Vera Files a special report on the 2004 ER switching, which was the last stage of the grand conspiracy set up by Gloria Arroyo to defraud the Filipino people of their choice of president.
The ER switching, carried out starting at around midnight of Jan. 23, 2005, was done by the Special Action Force, the elite unit of the Philippine National Police.
They said they switched the genuine election ERs of several provinces on three occasions to reconcile these with the figures in the certificates of canvass and statements of votes that were tampered with in the 2004 elections.
The operation was done because Arroyo was covering her tracks by switching the ERs that would have been scrutinized in the presidential electoral protest filed by her opponent, Fernando Poe Jr. which at that time was still pending. Poe died of a heart attack in December 2004, but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest.
The SAF who participated in the ER switching operation said they got their orders from Gen. Marcelino Franco, then commanding officer of the SAF. Both Franco and the then chief of the SAF Intelligence and Investigation Division, Supt. Rafael Santiago, were present at a briefing on the operation, sources said.
Franco, in turn, got his orders from the former PNP chief, Brig Gen. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., a trusted adviser of Arroyo, SAF sources said. Ebdane had denied the allegations.
Franco, who has since retired from the PNP and is assistant vice president of Security Bank, also declined to comment on his role in the ER switching operation.
Santiago, who at the time I wrote the article in 2008, was senior superintendent and head of the Northern Police District’s Intelligence and Investigation Division, ignored requests for an interview.
Here’s part of my Vera Files report:
“A van and three other vehicles arrived at the South Wing entrance of the Batasan complex. Two dozen people alighted from the vehicles, five of them non-commissioned officers, the rest civilians. Santiago was the team leader.
“At that time, a makeshift storage room had been erected at the South Wing lobby for ballot boxes containing the returns of the 2004 elections. The boxes had been brought there for the national canvassing.
“The go signal came from SAF officers, among them Inspectors Rafael Lero and Samson Kimayong. While some stood guard, others unloaded from the van some 20 to 30 cigarette cartons containing documents.
“As a lock picker opened the ballot boxes, SAF commandos said, the others took out the contents of the ballot boxes and replaced them with the documents they brought with them.
“After three hours, they packed up, loaded what they took from the ballot boxes into their vehicles and proceeded to the residence of election lawyer Roque Bello in Brookside Hills, Cainta, Rizal.
“The operation was repeated six days later on Jan. 29 and on the first weekend of February.”
“Police Chief Insp. Ferdinand Ortega, chief of the SAF contingent assigned at the Batasan, was present in all three operations.
“Ortega became commandant of the SAF Training School in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, right after the Batasan operation. Now a superintendent, he heads the SAF operations office in Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.
“What the SAF brought to the Batasan South Wing were fake election returns allegedly fabricated under the supervision of Bello. They stuffed these into the ballot boxes after they took out the genuine election returns, which they took to Bello’s place.
“Contacted for his side, Bello said he had already denied involvement in the operation way back in March 2006 when pictures of the alleged manufacturing of ERs in his house appeared in Malaya and Newsbreak. ‘It’s not true,’ he reiterated his denial.”
Recently, one of my sources for the story, who has kept some of the genuine ERs taken from the Batasan Pambansa called me up saying that if the incoming Aquino administration wants to investigate the 2004 elections fraud, he would be willing to testify.
During my research for the story, the SAF officers mentioned declined to talk. It might be a different story when Arroyo is gone.
************
VERA Files two-part special reports on the 2004 ER switching:
The Batasan alleged ER switching won’t happen without the blessings or knowledge by then House Speaker Jose De Venecia and other top House leadership. It was an inside job. The PNP SAF unit was then just walk-in-the-park operations. Most likely security cameras were turned-off or disabled. We hope that the incoming Aquino government will re-investigate the alleged Gloria Arroyo government’s conspiracy and complicity to rig the 2004 presidential election result in her favor.
Ellen,
You must contact your friends in the Aquino camp just in case matuloy yun commission to investigate gloria’s crimes. I hope he is still in possession of those documents.
Their testimonies in a tribunal, if any, would most probably happen next year. Just in time for the whole class of ’78 to have reached retirement.
Kaya nga itong si Mr. Noted Pangilinan napaka suwerte kay Sharon Cuneta. Ngayon dikit na sa liberal party.
“Truth has been the number one victim in this country over the last nine years. Not least the truth about who won the 2004 elections. Or the truth about God’s truth and Garci’s truth. It’s time we gave Truth its due.
Two is that every time we have a new government, the call is for the new leader to heal, unite and reconcile. I’m all for healing and uniting and reconciling but with one life-and-death caveat: Let us heal the wounds of the people and not those who oppressed them. Let us unite with the people and not with those who oppressed them. Let us reconcile with the people and not with those who oppressed them.”
from the column of the great columnist Conrado de Quiros, i completely agree with him.
Jake Las Pinas – May 26, 2010 5:28 am
RE: Kaya nga itong si Mr. Noted Pangilinan napaka suwerte kay Sharon Cuneta. Ngayon dikit na sa liberal party.
Well, Igan Jake LP…i’m not hapi sa hilatsa ng ng bukadura no Mr. NOTED, coz’ isa rin yang young Tradpols?
Ngayon…e lipat-bakod yan, pero before asshole yan ng rehimeng arroyo…but now, HEPA-B wannabees na.
Paano titino ang Pinas kung walang itiketa ang pulitiko sa ating bansa…idinadaan sa tapang ng apog, balimbing con hunyango, away-bati, at ang mabigat dito e pag di nagustuhan ang hilatsa o diskarte ng partido alin sa dalawa…magtatayo ng sariling grupo and/or lipat-bakod.
Magandang halibawa ba ito sa mga sumusunod na generation ng Noypi…kita naman like Tol Defensor, Spice Boyz at iba pang young politicians…kay babata pa e tradpols na, sinungaling pa at traydor na.
Ang sakit pakinggan di ba…nakakakulili ng tenga!
we must be dreaming if we believe truth will come out in the next administration.
Ang komento ng isang Archbishop bow…!
Source: http://www.tribune.net.ph/
So the elections were held. Some immediate vote count results reached the public. Congratulations and commendations came early and fast. “Mabuhay, Comelec!” “Thank you, Smartmatic!” Yes, all these much advanced jubilation and loud cheers came until … serious complaints of also automated cheatings and mechanized frauds surfaced from different parts of the country, some of which are the following: The printing of the first unaccounted 1.5 million ballots for Mindanao. The made-in-China PCOS. The sudden CF cards reformatting. The 60 PCOS found in Antipolo. The garbage destination of machine voting results. The fact of CF cards being in the hands of unauthorized individuals. The either too many or too little number of votes among the national candidates. Two senatorial candidates with an incredibly big number of votes, and one of them won even without campaigning. While supposedly counted votes were already transmitted even before the election day, to this writing some are still unaccounted for. These could have already reached the Comelec long since even with but the employ of messenger pigeons and/or the use of Indian smoke signals!
Paano ito ipapaliwanag ng Comelec…baka todo-cover-up sila sa Smartmatinik ha?
Nagtatanong lang po ang Noypi!
smart..matinik ang companyang ito…ang laki segurong pera ang nakuha nila…and I would not be surprised if they shared their loot….ang buhay nga naman…
Di ba sabi ng Commolect bago na ang ballot boxes para sa nakaraang eleksiyon?
Bakit ‘yung bitbit nila sa Tongress ay ‘yung dating luma pa din?
“Contacted for his side, Bello said he had already denied involvement in the operation way back in March 2006 when pictures of the alleged manufacturing of ERs in his house appeared in Malaya and Newsbreak. ‘It’s not true,’ he reiterated his denial.”
‘Tangna, ganu’n lang?
Sarado na ang kaso?
Kapal ng mukha mo, Bello!
MR, re#11
Hindi naman napalitan ang ballot boxes.
Ang ballot boxes na tinatawag ng Comelec ay iyung itim na polycarbonate box sa ilalim ng PCOS. Nandoon ang mga balota.
Walang lamang balota yung mga nasa picture ni Ellen sa itaas. COCs at SOVs ang laman niyan. Technically, COC boxes ang mga yan.
Isa pang example ng incompetence ng Comelec.
Nasa checklist ng mga BEI na iyung mga balotang hindi nagamit ay bilangin (account for) bago gupitin sa gitna saka ilagay sa ibinigay na brown envelop.
Kundi ba naman mga engot talaga. Sa laki at kapal ng bawat balota, kahit pa 90% ang bumoto at 10% lang ang maiiwang unused ballots, siguradong mawawasak yung broen envelop dahil hindi kasya. Nagtatawanan yung mga teacher dahil meron pang mga selyo samantalang nakausli sa magkabila ang mga ginupit na balota. Ginawa ng iba, binalot na lang ng scotch tape saka itinali sa brown envelop bago sinelyuhan. Ano’ng silbi nung security seals pa kuno? Hindi naman naitago?
Sabihin mo nang bente pesos ang nagastos sa envelop at imprenta ng seals, isa’t kalahating milyong pisong itinapon lang! Di kasi nila pera, mga hayup sila.
RE: Sabihin mo nang bente pesos ang nagastos sa envelop at imprenta ng seals, isa’t kalahating milyong pisong itinapon lang! Di kasi nila pera, mga hayup sila.
Sige, Igan Tongue…sermunan mo ang mga utak-lamok na yan, puro pahirap sa bayan. Mga UGALI-ASAL…ko mo di nila pera ang winawaldas ng Comelec e wala na silang pagmamalasakit dito.
Nakakainit ng kukote…ang daming naghihirap na Noypi, walang maasahang papabor na serbisyo ang dapat ibigay ng gobyerno de bobo ng rehimeng ito. Ngayon…walang pakundangang pagaaksaya ng pera ng bayan, ang daming pwedeng paggamitan ng PISO sa tamang proyekto e gastusin ba naman sa Hocus-PCOS masabi lang na Uto-utomated ang eleksyon.
Sobra kasi ng dudunong…HOY mga mahiya kayo!
“Contacted for his side, Bello said he had already denied involvement in the operation way back in March 2006 when pictures of the alleged manufacturing of ERs in his house appeared in Malaya and Newsbreak. ‘It’s not true,’ he reiterated his denial.” – Magno
Kaya medyo asiwa ako nung merong balitang 60 PCOS machines ang na-take home ng isang bisor ng Smartmatic. Sa teritoryo pa nina Puno at Bello na naman. Laking duda ko pa naman sa katahimikan ni Puno bago mag-eleksiyon. Mukhang may niluluto na naman.
OT: Talo pala yung si Vivienne Tan kay Bingbong Crisologo sa QC.
MR, re#11: Hindi naman napalitan ang ballot boxes. – Ellen
‘Dami palang pinagkakuwartahan ng mga taga Commolect nitong nagdaang palpak na automatic election. Automatic dahil nagkamal sila ng limpak na milyon!
how much longer do we have to wait for them to declare a winner? bagong game ba ito? how to be a millionaire…be a commolect member? or si it how to be a billionaire?